Bellini: Norma San Francisco 1972 Sutherland Tourangeau Alexander Grant Bonynge BETTER SOUND

Date is October 6th, 1972. This is the last run of 5 performances and was broadcast. This here is my favorite of Joan's Normas. Why not the other ones? Why not the praised Met Normas from 2 years prior? Joan's voice was starting to darken slightly in 1972... which is why this Norma is so special. A more richer sounding Sutherland. She is joined by Huguette Tourangeau as Adalgisa. The SF performances are by far her best Adalgisas, surpassing her performances in Philadelphia 2 years prior. Also, here is John Alexander, whose voice has matured quite a bit since 1964, a bit darker. A year prior to this, he was Beverly Sills' Pollione. Clifford Grant is Oroveso. I wanted to thank the archives manager from the SFO who was kind enough to share these wonderful photos. It really shows how wonderful and surely colorful this production was.... Imagine what it was like to be there! We don't get glorious sets like this anymore, unfortunately.... Norma is quite 'boring looking' nowadays. I've repitched this recording and greatly improved the sound. The whole recording is clearer, and the voices sound closer. Enjoy! Cast: Norma: Joan Sutherland Adalgisa: Huguette Tourangeau Pollione: John Alexander Oroveso: Clifford Grant Flavio: Eric Townsend Clotilde: Gwendolyn Jones Conductor: Richard Bonynge Chorus and Orchestra of the San Francisco Opera