Product Details

• Actors: Joan Sutherland, Ron Stevens, Anne Maree McDonald, Anson Austin, Gordon Wilcock
• Directors: Virginia Lumsden
• Format: Classical, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Kultur Video
• VHS Release Date: April 29, 1997
• Run Time: 155 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304469586
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #298,684 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This production of Lehar's The Merry Widow is a mixed bag, appropriate, perhaps, for a work of art that is both sublime and ridiculous. Its weakest element is the presence of Joan Sutherland, which will undoubtedly attract the most buyers. Still, viewers will replay it often (perhaps bypassing some of Sutherland's numbers) for the sake of its lavish production, particularly for the abundant, polished, and colorful dance numbers.

The 1988 performance, by the Australian Opera in the elegant Sydney Opera House, dates from the end of Sutherland's career, and it leaves one wondering whether she should have retired a bit sooner, while at the same time treasuring every moment in the presence of one of the unique voices of the 20th century. There are moments of beauty in her singing, but intonation and support are both variable. The supporting cast, including Ronald Stevens, Anne-Maree McDonald, and Anson Austin, is generally adept, though some gags (especially the Pontevedran accents) may seem overworked. --Joe McLellan

From the Back Cover

Turn of the century Paris provides the glittering setting for Franz Lehar's immortal operetta, first performed in Vienna in 1905 and here given by the Australian Opera in the English version by Christopher Hassall, with Joan Sutherland as the widow Anna Glawari. The fate of Pontevedro, her native country, hangs perilously on her marriage plans - if she weds a foreigner, the state will lose her enormous wealth and will be left bankrupt. An embassy plot to marry her off to the debonair Count Damilo Danilovitch is complicated by the secret affair which has developed between the French Attache Camille de Rosillon and the ambassador's wife, Valencienne. This light-hearted tale of political and amorous intrigue unfolds amidst the gaiety of Parisian high society. Ronald Stevens sings Danilo, with Anson Austin as Camille and Anne-Maree McDonald as Valencienne. Joan Sutherland reveals another facet of her genius in her superb command of the Viennese operetta style; she is utterly captivating. Directed with elegance and a glorious sense of fun by Lofti Mansouri and conducted with great aplomb by Richard Bonynge, this is a complete production. 155 minutes color, in English, recorded live from the Sydney Opera House on February 23, 1988.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars simply gorgeous, July 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Lehar - The Merry Widow / Bonynge, Sutherland, Stevens, Opera Australia [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I absolutely love this opera and this video of it. Joan Sutherland and Ronald Stevens are great together. Although Sutherland is a bit older, it is still Sutherland and her voice IS the Countess. Ronald Stevens is gorgeous with a voice to match. It is better than anything that is being put out now and beats the Merry Widow that the Met did. Own it.

28 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sutherland tarrnishes her star; should have quit long ago, January 22, 2002

By 

Irreverent "irreverent" (La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lehar - The Merry Widow / Bonynge, Sutherland, Stevens, Opera Australia (DVD)

The video and sound are scrumptious, Lehar's music is as appealing and lively as ever, and the supporting cast is fine. The costumes, scenery, and choreography are marvelous.

HOWEVER -- Sutherland was almost 62 when she did this, and was no longer physically or musically worthy of this role. Her voice is weak, wavering, off-key. She is too heavy and lacking in energy to be a sprightly merry widow. This might be tolerable in a cameo appearance for old time's sake, but not in the starring role that overshadows all other parts. I want my money back.

Why did Sutherland ever go along with releasing this blemish on her heavenly legacy of masterpieces? Did she long to experience once more the intoxication of the fawning crowds and adulation her name alone might bring? Was it money? Even if Sutherland and hubby Bonynge (the conductor) were contentedly rich from their many deserving efforts of previous decades, others might have pressed for one more big profit. Too bad.

Clearly, it must have been Sutherland's star power and birthplace, not the actual performance, which had the crowd in her hometown (Sydney) cheering and applauding so wildly. I cannot believe that they (or any knowledgeable reviewer with normal hearing) could honestly enjoy Sutherland's embarrassing performance, which someone along the way should have withheld from release.

UPDATE: We no longer have much reason to buy this DVD. Not only is the San Francisco Opera's four-star English performance now on the market, but five-star versions in German (the original language almost always fits the music and rhythm better) are available. My fave is the 2005 centennial performance from the Mörbisch Lake Festival with Margarita de Arellano, Mathias Hausmann, Elisabeth Starzinger, Harald Serafin, and Marwan Shamiyeh, produced by ORF, the Austrian Radio & TV network. It comes with subtitles and a good printed synopsis, although the wonderful music and singing matched with the visual treats are quite sufficient without precise understanding of all the words. Translations of this work must be highly approximate anyway, struggling with rhyme, meter, and Austrian German multilingual wordplay (with at least three other languages). The cast performs with the chemistry and sexy energy that the mess from Sydney lacks. Without some special reason, purchase of Bonynge & Sutherland's DVD from Opera Australia (not to be confused with Austria) would misuse funds better spent elsewhere.

24 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Merry Widow, a flop, March 13, 2000

By 

Harold G. Cutler (Clovis, New Mexico United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lehar - The Merry Widow / Bonynge, Sutherland, Stevens, Opera Australia [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Sorry, The Merry Widow is a delightsome Operetta, but Joan Sutherland is past her prime for such a part. Her singing starts out wavering and slightly off key. She is too old and too big to carry off the dances. Ronald Stevens did a good job, but could not carry Joan Sutherland. (no pun intended) We will just have to wait for a newer singer, better suited for this Operetta. Help, will someone produce a bubbly good Merry Widow.