Sutherland Joan - The Age Of Bel Canto [CD]

Please Note Not All Our New Items Are Shrink Wrapped.All items shipped within 3 working days of payment.A groundbreaking Decca album celebrating the glory of both bel canto and the voice of Sutherland in her prime, long unavailable on its own, reissued complete with a booklet introduction from Richard Bonynge.rrMore than a quarter of a century has now passed since Decca remastered u2018The Age of Bel Cantou2019 among the first releases in its u2018Classic Soundu2019 series of classic albums from the labelu2019s history. While the contents of the album have reappeared complete or excerpted in one or another tribute to Sutherland and her art, it is past time for a new generation of record lovers to appreciate once more how curiosity, research, technical finesse and dedication all contribute towards the making of a classic of the gramophone and not just another recording.rr

u2018What is bel canto?u2019 Sutherland rhetorically asked the readers of High Fidelity in a 1961 article. u2018I believe that it is the essence of opera.u2019 She and her husband, the conductor Richard Bonynge, had some years previously determined to explore and revive the repertoire of an operatic tradition stretching from Handel to Bellini which had in the previous century become almost forgotten. With their performances and Decca recordings, they placed themselves in the vanguard of this revival. u2018I am sure that today we are on the verge of a wonderful new era of singing, and that the opera audience wants more than ever to hear great singing.u2019rr

A few years later, interviewed in company with Bonynge, she expressed herself more forthrightly on the subject. u2018We are entertainers,u2019 she remarked, u2018and unless we entertain the public, the purpose of our work is defeated. Weu2019re the ones who are paid to do that, and they pay to listen, and they should bloody well get something they can enjoy or else itu2019s criminal.u2019rr

u2018Something they can enjoyu2019 is as much as anything the artistic credo behind The Age of Bel Canto, recorded in June 1963, which brought together obscure items from familiar composers (Mozartu2019s Il Re Pastore, Belliniu2019s La Straniera) with composers hardly more than names in a dictionary at the time. As Richard Bonynge wrote for another reissue of the set, reprinted here: u2018Even the Handel revival had barely begun. The young singers were at the beginning of their careers and their enthusiasm shines through these performances.u2019rr

Not all the critics at the time were convinced u2013 one of them remarked that the u2018long, extremely silly scene from La Straniera can go right back on the shelf whence it cameu2019 u2013 but Sutherlandu2019s public assuredly was, and the set proved a commercial success in inverse proportion to the familiarity of the repertoire. Now that singers in the early-music world and farther afield have absorbed these pioneering lessons in the importance of stylish ornamentation and shapely legato, Sutherland and her colleagues appear as figures ahead of their time. rr

u201cConrad is probably more adept than any other contemporary tenor in execution of vocal ornamentation. He has a real trill, excellent stylistic sense and an admirable legato u2026 Sutherland is for the most part in very good form. The Piccinni and Shield selections could not be bettered.u201d High Fidelity, January 1965rr

u201cThere are many truly novel items ... Miss Sutherland is right in her element.u201d High Fidelity, April 1965rr

u201cNo one could fail to respond to the virtuoso work. The other two singers are equally brilliant.u201d Stereo Review, May 1965rr

u201cSutherland is in fantastic voice throughout u2026 [this set] would demonstrate to anyone who wanted to find out exactly why Sutherland was such a sensation u2026 A great classic of the gramophone.u201d Gramophone, November 1996

Piccinni: Furia Di Donna Irata (La Buona Figliuola)

Rossini: Serbami Ognor Sxec Fido (Semiramide)

Handel: Care Selve (Atalanta)

Auber: Ferme Tes Yeux (La Muette De Portici)

Lampugnani: Superbo Di Me Stesso (Meraspe)

Weber: Und Ob Die Wolke Sie Verhulle (Der Freischxfctz)

Handel: With Plaintive Note (Samson)

Bellini: Angiol Di Pace (Beatrice Di Tenda)

Hence, Iris, Hence Away (Semele)

Donizetti: Tornami A Dir Che Mu2019ami (Don Pasquale)

Bononcini: Mio Caro Ben (Astarto)

Il Segreto Per Esser Felici (Lucrezia Borgia)

Arne: Oh! Too Lovely (Artaxerxes)

Verdi: Santo Di Patria u2026 Allor Che I Forti Corrono u2026 Da Te Questo Or Mu2019e Concesso (Attila)

Shield: Light As Thistledown (Rosina)

Bellini: Un Ritratto? u2026 Sventurato Il Cor Che Fida (La Straniera)

When William At Eve (Rosina)

Rossini: Cavatina: Ecco, Ridente In Cielo (Il Barbiere Di Siviglia)

Mozart: Voi Che Fausti Ognor Donate (Il Re Pastore)

Arditi: Bolero

O Zittre Nicht, Mein Lieber Sohn! u2026 Zum Leiden Bin Ich Auserkoren (Die Zauberflote)

Ich Baue Ganz Auf Deine Starke (Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail)

Boieldieu: Ma Fanchette Est Charmante (Angela)

• Product Type: AUDIO CD
• Barcode: 28948443284

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