# Odd pairing: Leider vs. Sutherland



## JanacekTheGreat (Feb 26, 2021)

*Which one do you prefer and why?*


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

It's a toss up between the more beautiful and pure sound and the more involved sound with tremolo.
Call me crazy but I have always gone for that tremolo sound of the past so my vote goes to Leider.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Good pairing. It is hard to beat Sutherland as Donna Anna as she is so ideal for singing this material, but Leider is simply wonderful. I love her vibrato so much! Thanks.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

On the basis of these recordings, one of them old and having a rather muted and recessive orchestral presence and the other with well-balanced modern sound, I favor Sutherland. I might prefer her in any case, since her voice is centered higher than Leider's and can hammer away effortlessly at an aria that aggressively insists on keeping her near the top of her range and doesn't dip into the less compelling middle and lower parts of her voice. Leider, whose voice was more even throughout its range but more limited at the top, handles the tessitura well, but we don't have the feeling, as we do with Sutherland, that she could go on up from there into the stratosphere. That said, Leider's voice has an exciting "rip" to it that suits the aria well, and if she were presented in a modern recording I might prefer her. 

The match is not really so odd, given that both ladies had brilliant, powerful and flexible voices. But Leider was a more versatile singer than Sutherland, effective in much of the German and Italian repertoire ranging from Mozart through Verdi, Puccini and Wagner.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> On the basis of these recordings, one of them old and having a rather muted and recessive orchestral presence and the other with well-balanced modern sound, I favor Sutherland. I might prefer her in any case, since her voice is centered higher than Leider's and can hammer away effortlessly at an aria that aggressively insists on keeping her near the top of her range and doesn't dip into the less compelling middle and lower parts of her voice. Leider, whose voice was more even throughout its range but more limited at the top, handles the tessitura well, but we don't have the feeling, as we do with Sutherland, that she could go on up from there into the stratosphere. That said, Leider's voice has an exciting "rip" to it that suits the aria well, and if she were presented in a modern recording I might prefer her.
> 
> The match is not really so odd, given that both ladies had brilliant, powerful and flexible voices. But Leider was a more versatile singer than Sutherland, effective in much of the German and Italian repertoire ranging from Mozart through Verdi, Puccini and Wagner.


I can't remember who said it, but a famous singer said this was one of the hardest arias in her repertoire because it stays up high for so long. No relief. Woodduck, I love what you said!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I can't remember who said it, but a famous singer said this was one of the hardest arias in her repertoire because it stays up high for so long. No relief. Woodduck, I love what you said!


Actually, I find the aria annoyingly relentless - hectoring and irritating - because of that, and I didn't enjoy having to sit through it twice. I can't help picturing Donna Anna and Don Ottavio as engaged in some sort of BDSM ritual where he gets off on being punched and slapped by loud high notes.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I agree with Woodduck that the aria can be irritatingly relentless in its high tessitura hammering notes. In the theater, it doesn't sound so relentless as it does in recordings.

The Sutherland is BR (before Ricky) in style and it actually has diction. I even heard the double-T in _vendetta_. Brava, Sutherland! Would that you had always sung like this.

This is an extremely close contest for me. I had not heard much of Leider before this - I liked what she did with the aria in that she softened the constant high note hammering somehow. The singing style is not so aggressive as in modern times. The voice is beautiful but doesn't have the ease of her co-eval.

Somehow Sutherland has a little more dramatic thrust in her voice in this recording (my favorite *Don Giovanni*). The palm goes to Sutherland.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

MAS said:


> The Sutherland is BR (before Ricky) in style and it actually has diction. I even heard the double-T in _vendetta_. Brava, Sutherland! Would that you had always sung like this.


I do always welcome an opportunity to praise the young pre-dame Joan for the respect she paid to vowels and consonants. I'm sorry they later had a falling out.


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## JTS (Sep 26, 2021)

Sutherland is probably the finest Donna Anna on disc and this classic recording shows her at her best. Incredible performance as she effortlessly sings her way through what sounds fiendishly difficult to me. Leider is very expressive but just doesn’t have Sutherland’s vocal equipment, so no contest as far as I’m concerned. La Stupenda all the way!


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Woodduck sums it up nicely (as usual). Sutherland handles the high tessitura much better (aria indeed sounds more ear-friendly) although Leider offers more dramatic punch. I don't quite like the beginning of the aria in Leider's recording, as if she tries hard to nail each note but still sounds unstable. Dame Joan wins the battle.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I can't remember who said it, but a famous singer said this was one of the hardest arias in her repertoire because it stays up high for so long. No relief. Woodduck, I love what you said!


That's a lot of Mozart for you. No relief indeed! Those who think that young singers should start with Mozart are deluded in my opinion.

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

As others have pointed out, Sutherland is more secure vocally. I also don't like Leider's swoops. However, Leider sings with more thrust and swagger than Joany and in some ways is more dramatic a Donna Anna. Is that what the aria calls for, though?

I don't find the constant returning to and hitting the high notes annoying in Sutherland's version, although it is in the Leider recording. In the end I go with Sutherland for giving the more technically pleasing rendition, whilst not ignoring what the aria is about either.

N.


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## JTS (Sep 26, 2021)

The Conte said:


> That's a lot of Mozart for you. No relief indeed! Those who think that young singers should start with Mozart are deluded in my opinion.
> 
> N.


I don't know about starting with Mozart but I do remember an experienced singer saying in interview she always went back to singing Mozart to sharpen up her technique. As she said,"In Mozart there is nowhere to hide!"


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I was brought up on this Sutherland performance and I don't think I've ever heard a version of the aria I prefer, not even by Sutherland herself in later performances. As others have pointed out, the ease of her top notes certainly makes the aria less relentless. I also like Giulini's more propulsive tempo. Interesting that this was recorded at a time when Sutherland was working wth Italians; Serafin for *Lucia di Lammermoor* at Covent Garden, Giulini for this recording, and then Nello Santi and Francsico Molinari-Pradelli for her two Decca recitals from the same year. In addition, this recording was produced by Walter Legge, who put great value on communicating the text, and her diction here is pretty good, as is her dramatic delivery of the recitative. The mushy diction, droopy portamenti and mushy diction followed on from her work with Bonynge.

Leider's voice is much warmer and very beautiful, but she can't quite disguise the strain the upper regions of the aria put on her. The top notes start to become a bit waring. However I do love the way she softens her tone, introducing a new colour in her voice at _Rammenta la piaga del misero seno_. This is the more thoughtful performance.

Sutherland gets my vote, but only just.


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## JanacekTheGreat (Feb 26, 2021)

Thank you all for participating. I didn't expect the result would be so close! I was expecting that Leider would emerge as a clear winner. I meant, I love early Sutherland in Mozart and Handel, but Leider's voice is firmer, warmer, and packs more of a punch. And consider that she had already established her career as a _hochdramatische _soprano by the time of the recording, to sing Mozart in Italian this well is double impressive.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

JanacekTheGreat said:


> Thank you all for participating. I didn't expect the result would be so close! I was expecting that Leider would emerge as a clear winner. I meant, I love early Sutherland in Mozart and Handel, but Leider's voice is firmer, warmer, and packs more of a punch. And consider that she had already established her career as a _hochdramatische _soprano by the time of the recording, to sing Mozart in Italian this well is double impressive.


It was fun and not expected. I was amazed that Sutherland did so well against Leider, as I think this crowd is more predisposed to like Leider than Sutherland. It was close with me.


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