La Fille du Régiment

After causing a sensation singing Marie in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment in London in 1967, Joan Sutherland brought her stunning portrayal to the Met in 1972. Of that extraordinary star turn, The New York Times declared, “Miss Sutherland spun out arch after arch of pure tone. … There has not been more beautiful or expressive singing in any opera house … This was bel canto at its best—secure in technique, melting in tone, delicately shaded, long breathed.” Recorded a month later, this Saturday Matinee Radio Broadcast captures Sutherland at the height of her vocal powers, alongside tenor Enrico Di Giuseppe as Tonio, contralto Monica Sinclair as the Marquise of Berkenfield, and bass Fernando Corena as Sgt. Sulpice. Sutherland’s husband and longtime collaborator, Richard Bonynge, conducts this spirted performance, which also features a cameo appearance from soprano Ljuba Welitsch—who had wowed Met audiences in the 1950s with her performances in much more dramatic repertoire—as the Duchess of Krakenthorp.