Joan Sutherland celebrations

A contemporary of Callas, Joan Sutherland is preferred to the Greek-American by many hardcore opera buffs. The Aussie soprano, who’s celebrating her 80th birthday, had a voice with few equals, with consistency that her more celebrated contemporary could only dream about.

The BBC has been paying its respects to the great singer with a fine three and a half hour sequence on Radio 3 last week (you can still catch it via Radio 3’s Listen Again button), to be followed by a one-hour TV documentary on BBC Four this Friday.

The TV doc promises to rescue a new Legends series that has until now been a music for grown-ups-free zone. The first three nostalgiafests have featured '40s/'50s Britbabes Alma Coogan, Petula Clark and Vera Lynn. No kidding. Music for Very Very Olde Fartes.

BBC Four used to be a favourite channel of this column, with a succession of inspired, ground-breaking musical broadcasts. But it’s going down the pan, opting instead for lightweight, mainstream show biz. Someone needs to patiently explain to the Four Controller that, in music, “grown-up”, which used to be its undeclared target, isn’t the same as “ageing popster”, which looks like its new focus.


Gerry Smith