Product Details

• Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Kultur Video
• DVD Release Date: March 27, 2007
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000MGBTNE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,010 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The life of opera diva Dame Joan Sutherland is told through her own words and those of her contemporaries. An undistinguished opera singer for seven years at Covent Garden, the roles of Lucia di Lammermoor and Alcina then launched an international career that earned her the reputation of La Stupenda. Franco Zeffirelli, and Luciano Pavarotti are among those paying tribute to Dame Joan’s extraordinary talents.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Too Much Assertion, Too Little Demonstration", March 30, 2007

By 

Stanley H. Nemeth (Garden Grove, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joan Sutherland - The Reluctant Prima Donna (DVD)

This hour-long television program was intended to commemorate the achievements of one of the indisputably great artists of the 20th century. It consists mostly of justly laudatory blurbs from such distinguished colleagues as Pavarotti, Domingo, Horne, Zefferelli, and Bonynge. Reduced to mere background music is Dame Joan's warbling of some snatches from "Lucia" and "Alcina." The principal drawback of this approach is that the singing of Sutherland that's included is constantly being trampled on by the words of the featured interviewees. Again and again, just as she's about to hit one of her fabled high notes, the volume diminishes and some talking head tells you how rare it is to have a big-voiced singer whose sound doesn't thin out in the vocal stratosphere. What we get, then, is mostly assertion, when a desirable and certainly more pleasurable demonstration would easily have been possible to include. The end result is the annoying feeling of having been in the company of people who speak noisily during a brilliant opera performance. Dame Joan deserves a better tribute than this.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Special Tribute to the Great Lady, May 14, 2007

By 

Elisa Zitano (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joan Sutherland - The Reluctant Prima Donna (DVD)

I have been a devoted Sutherland fan since the early '60's, and I know a lot about her and her career. I understand that this DVD was done as an 80th birthday tribute, and it does her justice. The interviews with Franco Zefirelli and Norman Ayrton offer some delightful insider memories of the exciting early years of hard work at Covent Garden and early international stardom. Other interviews with admiring collegues, her husband and mentor Richard Bonynge, and Lotfi Mansouri, also give some very nice insight into the woman and her career. The photos of the 1959 "Lucia" and the Venice "Alcina" are wonderful, as are some of the rare film clips. As noted above, this is meant to be a "tribute," not a "critique" of her career, and it focuses on her early career, when she deservedly earned the title "La Stupenda" -- so don't expect any of the usual criticism of her later singing. This DVD is highly recommended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Prima Donna, April 8, 2008

By 

Peter J. Eiswirth (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joan Sutherland - The Reluctant Prima Donna (DVD)

"The Reluctant Prima Donna" is a must for fans of Sutherland, but anyone who enjoys great singing should buy this. No soprano has ever produced such a glorious sound, and there is an overabundance of vocal treasures to be found on this disc. It clearly defines the reasoning behind all the accolades she's earned over her lengthy career, with a wealth of her peers chiming in as to why they admire this great singer. I've viewed it many times and never fail to be thrilled by the beauty, technique, size and quality of the voice, and in my opinion the greatest singer of the 20th century. Highly recommended! pje