From Sir Roger’s ancestral pile to yours, please accept, in a box for Boxing Day, in the spirit of the giving season, this perfect jewel, this gift luxuriously wrapped in a tube (a Utube).

Sir Roger for many weeks has been struggling to remember – accusing himself of all manner of degenerative brain disorders and psychological deficiencies – the title of his favourite ever Sutherland performance and today he has found it after randomly sampling ABC Classic FM. It’s the “Jewel Song” (“O Dieu! que de bijoux!”) from Gounod’s Faust.

Here is Sutherland at the very height of her powers, the Diva in her most perfectest perfection with the Ochestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Francesco Molinari-Pradelli in 1960.

Enjoy.

[tags]Sutherland, Joan Sutherland, Dame Joan, Dame Joan Sutherland, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Bijoux, Jewel Song, O Dieu! que de bijoux, Faust, Gounod, coloratura, music, opera, classical music, culture, high culture, cultural values, musical values, Australian values, Australia, Australian, video[/tags]