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Donizetti – La Fille du Régiment / Sutherland, Pavarotti, Malas, Sinclair, ROH Covent Garden, Bonynge


Amazon.com essential recording
This opera, about an orphan girl who is adopted by a whole regiment of Napoleon’s army (meaning that anyone who wants to marry her must get the regiment’s consent) combines sparkling comedy with spectacular vocal writing–not only for the soprano but for the tenor who, in one legendary passage, must produce nine high Cs in quick succession. Pavarotti’s performance in this production, fairly early in his career, ranks with his Nemorino in L’Elisir d… More >>

Donizetti – La Fille du Régiment / Sutherland, Pavarotti, Malas, Sinclair, ROH Covent Garden, Bonynge

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  1. #1 by Anonymous on May 26, 2010 - 12:07 am

    Once again I’ve made a mistake: listening to Sutherland fans praise her recordings to such heights, I thought “they really gotta be good!” Alas, this recording of Fille is absolute junk. The opera’s supposed to be funny and hence vocal acting is very, very, very important. And Sutherland never, ever sang with emotions. She sounds the same no matter what she sings, and it’s no different with this recording. Sutherland is so dull, it’s not funny. She ruined this opera. You can sing the stuff, but what good is it if you can’t act (vocally)? I recommend other recordings, such as Beverly Sills’ unbeatable live recording on the Opera D’Oro label. Once you get past the “live sound”, it’s 10-star material. Incredible coloratura, with extra flourishes and ornamentation, and it’s funny! Unlike this dull, expensive set. I would even recommend June Anderson’s recording of Fille over this. Er, so what’s the big deal with Sutherland’s fille, again????
    Rating: 1 / 5

  2. #2 by Senza Rancor on May 26, 2010 - 1:25 am

    Sutherland is a great Marie. Pavarotti can really hit those high C’s. Alfredo Kraus could also hit those nine high C’s in Tonio’s aria in his sixties, something that Pavarotti cannot do!

    Sutherland and Sills have the same level of coloratura, which is to say that their trills and coloratura are light years ahead of Callas’ trills and coloratura.
    Rating: 5 / 5

  3. #3 by Anonymous on May 26, 2010 - 3:42 am

    Opera stars who recognized the importance of “singing off the text” included di Stefano, Pavarotti and most definitely, Maria Callas. That’s one of the reasons I have so many of their recordings. Joan Sutherland, on the other hand, thought vocalism and beautiful tonality superceded everything. I wrote a review once in which I compared her singing to “vocalizing around a hot potato in her mouth.” And yet, the best rendition of “The Daughter of the Regiment” remains this London recording featuring Miss. Sutherland and Pavarotti as the principals, and the diva’s husband, Richard Boninge, as the conductor. She is only medium lousy in this recording. And while the London microphone is as usual for them, distant, (causing the singers to compete with massed trombones), the effect is not too bad.

    But what distinguishes the recording is the fresh voiced, very young Pavarotti. The baritone, chorus and spoken dialog are good, too. (Remember, Donizetti wrote this for the Paris Opera, so the language was French and there was spoken dialog.) But Pavarotti’s rendition of “Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fête!” is its standout aria-cum-recitative and ultimately, the most amazing feat of tenor agility I have ever heard. Pavarotti takes the five high c’s in a row (called for at the end) with absolute aplomb. In the many recordings extent, his is by a long way, the very best. Indeed, it was worth purchasing the complete album to hear it whenever I wished. It’s now available for 99 cents on Amazon’s “Download MP3,” (a somewhat foreshortened version, though.) Gee, I could have saved myself a lot of money. All I had to do was wait forty-five years or so.

    Rating: 5 / 5

  4. #4 by Antonio on May 26, 2010 - 4:34 am

    The following is a rating of the greatest coloraturas who can trill. Remember a lot of coloraturas can’t trill, so some of the greats of the past may not be included such as Galli-Curci, Pons, Anna Moffo, Renata Scotto, and Sumi-jo.
    Base on a scale of one to ten possible points.

    1) Joan Sutherland 1955-1961……………..10.0
    2) Joan Sutherland 1962-1968………………9.5
    3) Sills………………………………..9.5
    4) Tetrazzini……………………………9.0
    5) Joan Sutherland 1969-1976………………8.5
    6) Melba………………………………..8.5
    7) Joan Sutherland 1977-1985………………8.0
    8) Roberta Peters………………………..7.5
    9) Leontyne Price………………………..7.0
    10)Maria Callas………………………….7.0
    11)Joan Sutherland 1986-1990………………7.0
    12)Renee Fleming…………………………6.5
    13)Cheryl Studer…………………………6.0
    14)Marilyne Horne………………………..5.5
    15)Monserrat Caballe……………………..4.0

    Note Sutherland’s trill was perfect between her earliest years of 1955-1961, then it started to decline.
    But within that time limit, her trill is invinsible. Especially look for a Sutherland 1956,1958,1960 concert in one cheap cd on Amazon for her Alcina. The trills are so tight and the two notes are so awesome that even Sills will have to take second place. And Sills consistently had a super trill all through her career. Her problems are the trills above a G. Sutherland’s trill is fantastic go to high B.
    Rating: 5 / 5

  5. #5 by Bjorn Viberg on May 26, 2010 - 6:47 am

    Donizetti – La Fille du Régiment / Sutherland, Pavarotti, Malas, Sinclair, ROH Covent Garden, Bonynge is a recording under the direction of Richard Bonynge who leads the Orchestra and Chorus of The Royal Opera House. On this recording from 1968 we get to hear Pavarotti early on his career and the result is nothing short of magnificent. We also get to hear the equally amazing Joan Sutherland. The booklet is close to 180 pages and contains liner notes, one photograph, a painting of Donizetti and an etching on the back. The liner notes are written by Jeremy Commons and Kennth Chalmers. Highly recommended. 5/5.
    Rating: 5 / 5