Joan Sutherland Discusses "Suor Angelica"

Senza mamma il dottor s'è morto
Ne tua labbia senza i baci miei
Scoloriron fredde, fredde
Chiude strappi in tuoi occhi belli

Non potendo accarezzarle
Le manine commuovesti in croce
E tu, senz' amor, senza sapere
Quanto t'amava questo tuo padre

Ora che sei un angelo del cielo
Or tu vuoi vederla la tua mamma
Tu puoi scendere giù pel firmamento
E passeggiare intorno a me, disseta
Sei qui, sei qui, mi baci e m'addormento
Ma tu puoi trar d'or l'incerto tuo leggerti
Ma tu puoi trovar certe
E dolci belle donne per la carne
Quando in cielo con te potrò salire
Quando potrò morire
Quando potrò morire
Potrò morire

Villo la mamma, crudo rabbello
Da non degg'io discender del cielo
Parlami, parlami, amore, amore, amore

You talk of the miracle, but the miracle that they engineered in
Australia was incredible. The Madonna was hung about - it was gold
And shimmering and hung about with jewels and the little boy in
Marvelous sort of guilted suit and so, and it, it really was
Miraculous. And I hadn't seen it until we did a dress rehearsal, and
It absolutely shocked me, you know, you could hardly sort of sing
Ah, it took your breath away, it was quite wonderful. And then, I saw
It, I saw it before I did it myself, I saw it at the Met, and they
Did the miracle with lights. There was nothing there, nothing. And I
Thought, how can Angelica react to sort of strobe lights or something
. I don't know what they were, but anyway, just a display of lights
And I thought, um, I hope I get something better than that, I thought
, And I did.Dame Joan: The stage director who wants to show what he
Can do. Forget about the composer, forget about the tradition, forget
About the fact that it's an opera. It's not some crummy show that's
Going on in Off-Broadway or something. To me it's dragged opera down
To a level that it shouldn't be. I mean, how can you do "Traviata"
In modern dress, "Rigoletto" in modern dress, "Carmen"? It's just
Crazy! Do the Mozart operas in modern dress? No! Wagner? It's all
Wrong. And I suppose maybe they overspent in the old days. But
The prices that they're charging for tickets in some of the theatres
Now, including Covent Garden of course, who of the people can go?
I mean, again, Richard and I used to sit up in the gods in the
Amphitheatre and paid next to nothing for our tickets. And once
I was a member of the company, we used to go and stand, buy standing
Passes, and the dear old commissionaire, Sergeant Martin, used to
Come up to us. He said, "Oh, you're standing tonight, are you?
Wow, you're beautiful. Come and see me and I'll show you where
The seats are." And it was great. I mean, we might as well sit in
The seats because after all, our life and our future. But that sort
Of thing doesn't seem to happen now. Maybe it does in the odd case
But who wants to see some of these productions? I don't go to
The opera that much because I can't bear to see the beautiful
Productions sort of pooh-poohed and dismissed as being old-fashioned
Richard: Well, one of the problems is, of course, creating or
Recreating the atmosphere that each work originally had. And there is
This fear that people have that it's got to be put into a different
Place and time. And also sometimes the orientation of the
Personalities are changed so that it's
More comprehendible by today's audiences
Dame Joan: Nonsense. Nonsense. Nonsense. There are books on it
There are libretti that they can read. They can get a programme
And read what it's all about. Do you mean to say they understand
It any less if it's in 18th century costume than if it's a
Pair of tights and a T-shirt? Come, come. It's ridiculous
Richard: Well, let's go to our last piece of music, which is
Particularly, in my personal view, important because I share
Dame Joan's views, in fact, although I'm not supposed to say
So, totally 100%, in "La Sonnambula", the charm and the
Rustic simplicity and sweetness of the whole story and the
People. You've got to stage that in the right way, haven't you?
Dame Joan: Most definitely. Definitely. Furutani, any of these operas
They have to be, they are period pieces and they have to be performed
In that way. I mean, even "Daughter of the Regiment", you had
Costumes that were of a period. Might have been a bit of buffoonery
Going on, but I mean, it went on in those days too. It was just a
Great romp. But I don't know, it goes against the grain
I can certainly say I'm old now and I am old-
Fashioned in my desire to see these beautiful works done
In a beautiful way. Otherwise, please don't do them
Richard: Let's look at "La Sonnambula" and as I said before
An immensely touching work, I think, sweetness in it
Dame Joan: Yes, indeed. I mean, it's a certain naivety about it, but
It's, again, a favourite of mine, certainly a favourite of Richard's
It was a bit stretching it a bit for me to be sort of the very naive
Young peasant girl, but I think I maybe have got away with it again
Because I had such lovely costumes. It makes all the difference
Richard: Now, come on, you sang it
Wonderfully and acted it beautifully, Joan
Dame Joan: Oh, well, I tried. I tried and I enjoyed
It. I really enjoyed it, but I think it was
Definitely a piece for me to sing in a large theatre
Richard: Now, it's one of the great, great, great coloratura virtuoso
Pieces and one of the things that is so lovely and comes across so
Well with you and particularly in the famous final aria is that there
Is, despite this fantastic show of virtuosity, such a simple
Humanity. That's how it comes through because at the end with this
Colossal virtuoso aria and these amazing runs and it's everything
That bel canto singing could possibly be, she is relieved
Her soul is at long last okay. She knows she can
Marry Elvino. All the misunderstandings have gone
And there's a wonderful feeling of freedom and relief
Dame Joan: Well, I guess it might be mine too because of the end of
The opera. It has a great final finale. I think that it's a classic
Example of the fact that you have to sing coloratura so that the
Audience can hear every single note, every single descending phrase
Every single turn, every single embellishment. It has to be like
Flowing water, like string of pearls. You can, what can you use to
Name it? But you have to hear every single note. And this, of course
Is something that doesn't always happen and it's something that I
Hear time and time again if I'm adjudicating in competitions. And
They say, "Why do you say that my coloratura is, I sing the notes
But it doesn't flow?" And that's the trouble
They sing, they stick, and they sing one note
After the other instead of it just being a ripple