Bellini Sutherland Pavarotti - Beatrice Di Tenda (29 tracks) +Album Reviews

Neglected masterpiece

Michel | Montreal, Quebec | 04/26/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Beatrice di Tenda is a beautiful and unjustly neglected opera.
It contains gorgeous melodies, great arias and exciting finales.
Joan Sutherland made the role very much her own in the early
1960's. This first studio recording made in 1966 still stands
well. Sutherland captures the character's sadness and dignity
well with beautiful and poised singing and naturally shines in
cabalettas. The unkown Cornelius Opthof holds himself very well
next to Sutherland with a secure top and incisive phrasing as
the wicked Fillipo. As the second couple we have a fiery Jose-
phine Veasey as Agnese and a very young Luciano Pavarotti as
Orombello. Excellent sound and briskly conducted by Richard Bo-
nynge. Highly recommended to Sutherland/Bellini lovers."

The highest notes in this opera

Steven Muni | 06/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sutherland soars over a huge chorus, ensemble, and orchestra in this tour de force. The sound is great. There are more high
E naturals, E flats, D's, and C's and even a high F in this opera.
That's why Sutherland never sang the role live again after 1962. Because the high notes are so abundant. But this is a studio recording, so the super high notes are nothing for the diva.
A great find. You must have it."

Not Sutherland's best Bellini recording

Larry D. Rodriguez | Houston, TX | 12/15/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have to disagree with every other reviewer here- I find this studio recording to be one of Sutherland's weakest. True, this opera is not as glorious as Norma, I Puritani, or La Sonnambula. However, when compared with Sutherland's other Bellini studio recordings, one must accept that this particular outing has more minuses than plusses. A large part of the problem is the fact that, in 1966, she was in her droopy/spoony period, something that would not improve until later on. True, she does produce some lovely high notes, and the axiom of "Sutherland's less-than-best beats everyone else's" still applies. Unfortunately, one only has to listen to the bonus tracks at the end of the third CD, taken from her first recordings of Puritani, Sonnambula, and Norma, to understand that Sutherland was capable of much better. It's not just a question of her dramatic capability- it's a matter of not wanting to hear at her mushy, droopy worst.This being SUTHERLAND and not any other run-of-the-mill soprano, it probably is still worth it to own this studio recording. However, if you want to hear Sutherland in top form as a Bellini heroine, try her first recording of Norma (with Marilyn Horne), either recording of I Puritani, or her first recording of La Sonnambula."

Generic Bellini

Steven Muni | Sutter Creek, CA USA | 05/07/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When measured against his operas such as Norma, I Puritani, or La Somnambula, or even his operas such as I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Il Pirata, it is easy to see why this is a lesser-known work. Beatrice is a hand-wringing victim, not a blazing heroine like Norma or even unhinged by love like Elvira (I Puritani). True, she's married to a human fiend, (excellently sung by the unknown Cornelius Opthof), and her true love (sung somewhat less ardently than usual by Luciano Pavarotti) turns out to be a [...], but still, most of her music is merely sad and full of self-pity or self-sacrifice at the end.

This kind of music is hard to put any real fire to, and Sutherland doesn't. She makes a gorgeous sound, and she does droopy and pathetic real well, but the whole production sounds a little detached, as if everybody (including the orchestra) wishes they were doing something else. The two exceptions are the aforementioned Opthof, and mezzo Josephine Veasey, who puts some life into the role of the wicked husband's evil mistress.

Maybe it's the material--even the great composers can't be expected to hit a home run every time. This 1966 Decca recording has acceptable sound and there is a libretto, although it doesn't have any essay about the opera itself. It's not bad, it's just generic bel canto."

Bellini in default mode

Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 07/26/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Musically, this opera is probably on a par with "Zaira", which I recently reviewed. His penultimate opera, it was written relatively late in Bellini's short career but does not really mark any kind of advance in style or accomplishment and remains somewhat generic, without many of the arresting moments that make his greatest operas so popular. Of course there are some lovely things and it is at the least a well-crafted work. I would give it three stars were it not for the outstanding quality of the singing. Sutherland is as you would expect in 1966; phenomenally free and agile in her coloratura, liberal with the top C's, D's, E's and even an F, a bit bland of expression, diction largely unintelligible especially when considered alongside the forward clarity of Pavarotti's singing. Her fans will know what to expect and any devotee of bel canto will admire her command. Pavarotti is...well, Pavarotti, even in this his first recording with Joanie: clean, clear, beautiful, easy singing with tons of "ping". Unknown baritone Cornelius Opthof treats us to his neat, expressive, light baritone (the only other recording of his I have seen is a disc of Verdi highlights with fellow Dutch singer Christina Deutekom). Mezzo Josephine Veasey is stunning as Agnese and makes me wonder if she is not still under-valued. I love her fast vibrato and attack; she despatches her set pieces with ease and élan. Bonynge is a bit perfunctory and the LSO rather disengaged - but I suspect that it a function of the rather anonymous music which seems to aspire to greater drama than it actually generates. There is a fair bit of conventional posturing, but with singers this good I'm sure it would be very exciting live. I will play it as a canary fancier but not to experience real emotional engagement; even comparatively early works like "Il Pirata" (1827) and "La Straniera" (1829) do that much better.

Lastly, there is a wonderful bonus in the form of Sutherland singing excerpts from Bellini's three greatest operas, "Norma", "I Puritani" and "La sonnambula", all recorded in the early 60's and all finding her in best voice."

Search - Bellini, Sutherland, Pavarotti :: Beatrice Di Tenda

CD Details

Similarly Requested CDs

CD Reviews