Dominique Gless - Esclarmonde High G - Ah Roland! Regarde les ces yeux plus purs 

She certainly does

+Tamara Thompson Sanderson, she never sang the G in performance even though Massenet wrote it for her. By far the most convincing Esclarmonde is Sutherland, of course. Only Sutherland had the trills, staccati, and the HUGE voice to do the role justice, even though she chose to skip the G. But her opulent tone is beyond gorgeous.I think the phrase with the G sounded better when sung with an E as Joan did.

Sanderson did sing the high G in performance. Read the newspapers from 16 May 1889. 'Contre-sol'...Annegret Fauser's book "Esclarmonde:dossier de la presse parisienne" has many periodicals in a compiled format.

+Tamara Thompson Not necessarily true. Critics don't always know what note the singer sang. A critic with major publisher reviewing opera recordings in 1976 said who else but Joan Sutherland could hit the high f's and the G in the score; he was listening to a recording and he was fooled.

+Vette gaddia You guys would do anything to say Sutherland was the only, you need to accept facts. Sutherland was as good as Gless and Alex Penda even though the one had things the other didn't had. You are doing more harm to Sutherland than favor. How pathetic to even deny facts, Sanderson was famous for her high Gs and Massenet wrote it for her to showoff. Only Sutherland had the trills and staccati? Where are Sills, Callas, Gless and Alex Penda?

I really don't get why people argue and argue and argue about Sutherland. Even though she was magnificent in this role, why not just listen to the music and enjoy it and stop complaining about everything??? Dominique Gless is good, I have never heard her live but in this recording, I think most of the parts she can be heard, of course with the exception of the last minute. And yes, it is so hard to sing because it is a lyric-dramatic coloratura however with an almost Wagnerian size orchestra. I do admire Massenet as a composer, but even though this was his favorite role, he messed up! I mean wow, this isn't his best opera even though I like the texture and use of chords, the contrapuntal weirdness like in the middle of Act 1 is cool. However overall the music isn't to catchy and omg, this is so hard to sing! No wonder why it is almost never performed...

Oh yes^^ She was in here thirties when she sang this. She also sang Lakmé, Ophelia, Contanze, Madame Butterfly...

Not the the type of voice Massenet wanted for the the role

Massenet's soprano role are notoriously difficult to sing, this one being the most difficult. It requires a lyrico sprinto voice with incredible agility which is rare to find. Normally sopranos who have the ability to hit the high G don't have the vocal power to overcome the Wagnerian sized orchestra that this opera demands. Needless to say it's rare to find a soprano that meets all the requirements, hence it is so rarely performed.

Jose Hill spot-on.

+Lloyd Arriola Gless hits the high G but did not have the weight of voice to sing Esclarmonde. You can distinctly hear when I mean @ 9:40 She was suppose to sing a high D that soars over the huge orchestra and she can't be heard. In Sutherland's live SF Esclarmonde, Sutherland easily towers over the orchestration with amazing power and timbre.

+Vette gaddia but Surherland has passed on. No doubt she was a great Esclarmonde, but again if you want to constantly praise Sutherland please do so on a Sutherland video. This video is about Dominque Gless.

Jose Hill To sing Esclarmonde, you must have a gigantic voice.

+Folgore Dasangimignano come non darti ragione? ;)

si ma credo che a partire d'una certa nota non si puo fare i sovracuti tutto nel corpo! si certo la Sutherland è bravissima ma non ha mai fatto dei fa acuti o sol acuti tenuti. Dunque a certo punto... Ma se Lei conosce una persona chi puo fare un sol acuto "impresso" sono curioso di sentire...

Folgore Dasangimignano squittii??😂☺😂☺😂☺😂☺😂

+Andy Spell Hi Andy, Dominique Gless enjoyed a fine career particularly in France Germany and Italy. She married the former Director of the Opera house in Angers ( now amalgamated into Angers Nantes Opera.) Great fame has eluded her I guess, but she gave many fine performances even tackling the Bellini Norma and Puccini's Madama Butterfly in smaller theatres to great success . A singers singer - she is well respected by fellow professionals. This performance gives ample proof of why.

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#GeorgePrentice Sorry, I don't mean to argue or wage war on RU-vid comments. I am not a hater. What is this that Sutherland had a sound Soprano Dramatic? To begin with, Joan Sutherland's (R.I.P.) voice was completely absent from drama in her singing, she was colder than an iceberg. Esclarmonde was written for the voice of Sibyl Sanderson (she sang Esclarmonde, Thaïs and Manon). #JoanSutherland was never able to sing a High F, for that reason the only time the Queen of the Night sang, the score was lowered a semitone, having to reach only High E, in the two arias of the Queen. She recorded in a Recital, only the first aria of the Queen, but just as she sang it on the stage, that is, not in the original Key. How that famous range that is talked about in the History of Music: Soprano Sfogato I don't know heard any in the last century. The One and Only Soprano Sfogato (Coloratura Dramatic Soprano) was María Callas, that is why some did not like her voice, some even said that she was born in the wrong century, she is the only testimony of the true Soprano Sfogato (or Dramatic Coloratura Soprano or Soprano Assolutta). The term soprano sfogato appeared in the bel canto era of the 19th century, the time when its greatest exponents were performing. They included: Isabella Colbran, Giuditta Pasta, Maria Malibran, Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis, Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, Mary Ann Paton (Mrs. Wood), Giuseppina Strepponi, Emma Calvé, Marianne Brandt, Félia Litvinne among others. Another example was Pauline Viardot, who alternated roles of soprano and contralto. In the 20th century, the main exponent of this voice category was Maria Callas who had a range of F♯ below middle C to in alt E6. (are prove of live recording, probably she can reach a higher notes). She sang excerpts of roles for mezzo-soprano, including Cenerentola and Dalila in the original keys and also many of the roles associated with the soprano sfogato, such as Médée, Armida, Norma, Anna Bolena, Amina, Abigaille and Lady Macbeth. #DominiqueGless sang with another cast, ESCLARMONDE at its premiere in Italy, in 1992, the other cast was with #AlexandrinaPendatshanska, which as always tires your ears with that unbearable vibrato.

@@edgardomazoni8573 Not quite correct that Sutherland ‘never’ had a high F … 1957 in Der Schauspieldirektor (trio). It’s on RU-vid for the world and you to hear. :)

@@edgardomazoni8573 I think it was Glyndebourne…

@@edgardomazoni8573oh dear,,,”not a hater”.??? “Cold as an iceberg”??? Moving on. Sutherland and Callas would be laughing. I am.

This was good. But better than La Stupenda?

For this role, definitely. Sutherland didn't have the monstrous extand of voice that the score demands (the high G's and F's were written by Massenet)... and even thoug I love her, Sutherland couldn't pronouce french clearly even if her life depended on it.

@@GianniDiLorena it's not about the high notes. The voice needs to be Wagnerian to sing this role and not be drowned out by the orchestra

@@feeniix6 Yes..better than La Stupenda!

We all have our favorites, but her voice has none of the elegance or explosiveness of Sutherland's interpretation. Plus, her vibrato is way too fast for my ear.