Donizetti's Tudor Trilogy

Anna Bolena

Anna: Joan Sutherland	Chorus master: Derek Bate
Enrico VIII: James Morris	Stage director: Lotfi Mansouri
Giovanna: Judith Forst	Set designer: John Pascoe
Percy: Michael Myers	Costume designer: Michael Stennett
Smeton: Janet Stubbs	TV director/producer: Norman Campbell
Rochefort: Gidon Saks	In Italian, with English subtitles
Hervey: Ben Heppner	CBC Home Video (distributed by VAI) DVD
Orchestra and Chorus of the Canadian Opera	4203 (1 disc)
Company	Mono, color, 157 minutes
Conductor: Richard Bonynge

Roberto Devereux

Elisabetta: Alexandrina Pendatchanska	Conductor: Alain Guingal
Devereux: Giuseppe Sabbatini	Chorus master: Andrea Giorgi
Nottingham: Roberto Servile	Stage director: Alberto Fassini
Sara: Ildiko Komlosi	Set and costume designer: David Walker
Cecil: Pierre Lefebvre	TV director: Walter Licastro
Gualtiero: Carlo del Bosco	In Italian, with English subtitles
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro San Carlo,	Image Entertainment ID6943ER DVD (1 disc)
Naples	Stereo, color, 136 minutes

Maria Stuarda

Maria: Carmela Remigio	Chorus master: Valentino Metti
Elisabetta: Sonia Ganassi	Stage director: Francesco Esposito
Leicester: Joseph Calleja	Set designer: Italo Grassi
Talbot: Riccardo Zanellato	Costume designer: Francesco Esposito
Cecil: Marzio Giossi	Video director: Marco Scalfi
Anna: Cinzia Rizzone	In Italian, with subtitles in German, French,
Fondazione Orchestra Stabile di Bergamo	Italian, English, Spanish, Japanese
"Gaetano Donizetti"	Dynamic (distributed by Qualiton) DVD 33407n
Coro del Circuito Lirico Regionale Lombardo	(1 disc)
Conductor: Fabrizio Maria Carminati	Stereo, color, 153 minutes

It is a real sign of the times when one can find Donizetti's complete Tudor trilogy commercially on separate DVD releases; Roberto Devereux and Maria Stuarda even exist in more than one version (the latter in both the Sills-Wolf Trap performance of 1975 and the utterly weird Petr Weigl film, which uses the spoken German text of the Schiller drama interspersed with Donizetti's score!).

The first item under review documents Dame Joan Sutherland's first Anna Bolena, in Canada in 1984. At nearly sixty, La Stupenda impresses with her customary coloratura zip and ease of technique. Scale work is a snap, trills are deftly incorporated, the tone is full and large, and, most important, the voice is still flexible. Age has inevitably diminished her resources to some extent, but when those resources were better than those of most singers half her age to begin with, one could hardly complain. She moves regally, wears her costumes well, and immerses herself in the dramatic situation with a high degree of involvement; a full awareness of the text is reflected in her acting and facial expressions.

That said, and for all of the sterling qualities the Australian vocal legend embodies, one yearns to hear a more developed musical imagination. Unlike Callas, Sills, and Gruberova in this role, Sutherland channels little individuality, "vocal face," or personality into her characterization. She may have had the most prodigious inborn vocal means of any singer in her repertoire, but her often utilitarian use of them could leave one wishing for more. Noticeably absent are dynamics beyond mezzo forte, half tones, a well-drawn legato, subtle tapering or "lifting" of phrase endings, and sustained diminished tone that floats. A certain tonal monotony (exacerbated by mushy vowels and less-than-crisp enunciation) narrows the range of expression. The downward transposition of much of Anna's music in order to allow the soprano to cap her big scenes with brilliant high notes (never higher than D here) doesn't always help, either: the glory of Sutherland's voice was always its upper third; even in her prime, the relatively inexpressive, hollow lower register was a part of her voice that by 1984 had turned plum-in-the-mouth opaque. Nevertheless, Sutherland remains a formidable presence, and it is a bracing experience to witness her still-considerable means as projected here.

Judith Forst (Giovanna) is a dedicated, wholly committed performer with a warm, vibrant tone (which sometimes grows pressed in its upper regions). She is particularly effective in displaying her growing agitation at being Enrico's replacement wife while betraying her closest friend. Forst and Sutherland play off each other superbly in their big duet, with...