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Donizetti's Tudor Trilogy
- The Opera Quarterly
- Oxford University Press
- Volume 20, Number 1, Winter 2004
- pp. 116-121
- Review
- Additional Information
- Purchase/rental options available:
The Opera Quarterly 20.1 (2004) 116-121
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Donizetti's Tudor Trilogy
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 |
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: 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 [End Page 116] 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...