我最喜欢的歌剧是Bellini ‘Norma,最喜欢的版本第一是callas1954版,乐队指挥是Serafin,第二是Joan Sutherland 1965版,乐队指挥是Bonynge。以下是后者再版时的cd封面及美亚上一则评论:
If you don't like Sutherland then stop listening to her recordings and reviewing them. Callas fans hate Sutherland's Norma so much because it was facutal evidence that Sutherland could do things that Callas couldn't even attempt to do. I admire both but fans of Maria Callas give her a bad name. Callas invests so much emotion into the text that it is a thrill to listen to although her high notes are among the ugliest sounds ever recorded by a human. Without her acting ability nobody would have paid any attention to her at all. On the other hand Sutherland's voice is beautiful, big and agile from top to bottom. She could sing the phone book and people would listen. Paying more attention to her acting would have taken away from what she did have to offer (although she was not a terrible actress, just not very imaginative). As far as THIS recording is concerned Sutherland gives us the most perfectly sung Norma in history and Horne the greatest Adalgisa. Together, they are otherworldly. The male roles are done well if not spectacularly. But this opera is all about Norma and Adalgisa, and bel canto is about great singing. You can't go wrong with this recording.