BARGAIN OF THE MONTH
Joan Sutherland - The Legendary Debut Recital
Gaetano DONIZETTI (1797-1848) Lucia di Lammermoor (1835)
“Ancor non giunse! ... Regnava nel silenzio” [13:04]; “Il doce suono ... Ardon
gl’incensi” (Mad Scene) [16:05]; Linda di Chamounix (1842) “Ah tardi
troppo … O luce di quest’anima” [6:13]; Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901)
Ernani (1844) “Surta è la note … Ernani involami” [8:02]; I Vespri
Siciliani (1855) “Mercè diletti amici” (Bolero) [3:31]; Georg Frederick
HANDEL (1685-1759) Alcina (1735) “Tornami a vagheggiar”
[5:12]; “Ombre pallide” [10:45]
Dame Joan Sutherland (soprano)
Nadine Sautereau (soprano); Paris Opera Chorus; Paris Conservatoire Orchestra/Nello
Santi; Philomusica of London/Sir Anthony Lewis
rec. 1959
REGIS RRC1364 [63:09] 
Joan Sutherland’s international fame was assured after her triumph as Lucia
in February 1959. A recording of the third performance of that production
is available on the Royal Opera House’s own label and should be an essential
part of any collection wanting to represent her art.
The present disc, apart from the two Handel items, derives from Decca’s first
recording after they had signed a contract with her. The main items were recorded
only a few months later. It was an immense success, the first of many, and
it remains an astonishing achievement. The clarity of her singing, especially
given the size of her voice, together with a complete mastery of the coloratura
which enables her to phrase with complete confidence remain as amazing today
as they were on the day of first issue. Inevitably and rightly the collection
is centred on two long extracts from Lucia di Lammermoor. The first
is the cavatina and cabaletta in the fountain scene in which Lucia takes her
companion, Alisa, into her confidence. Although Sutherland performed and recorded
it many times there is an especial freshness in this version, as there is
also in the Mad Scene. Both are helped by including the parts of Alisa, sung
by Nadine Sautereau in a voice well contrasted with Sutherland, in the fountain
scene and the chorus in the Mad Scene, although for some reason they are missing
for a few bars at one point. If you do not have this disc already in one of
its other forms it would be worth acquiring now for these items alone.
In saying that I would not wish to dismiss the rest of the disc. The Verdi
and other Donizetti items are also amazing, sung with accuracy and generosity
of approach but without any of the smudgy coloratura or excessive vibrato
that too many other singers today resort to. The Handel items are more of
a rarity, coming from a disc intended to celebrate the Handel anniversary
in 1959. She had sung in Alcina in 1957 with the Handel Opera Society
and this stage experience of the role certainly shows. The ease with which
she negotiates the notes is again astonishing, and these recordings are well
worth resurrecting despite the later recording of the opera.
The actual recordings are acceptable even if they are obviously of their age.
To be pedantic one might remark that whilst the main items may be legendary,
they did not form Sutherland’s debut recital on disc. That was a 7” Belcantodisc
of music by Donizetti, Rossini and Spohr. It has been reissued elsewhere and
it is a pity that room could not have been found for part of it here. Nonetheless
the essence of this disc is that first Decca recital which marked the emergence
of one of the great artists of the gramophone. There are brief notes about
the singer but little about the music and no text or translations but do not
let this put you off buying it if you do not have these recordings already.
John Sheppard
An immense success, the first of many, and it remains an astonishing achievement.