Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor / Joan Sutherland, Alfredo Kraus, Pablo Elvira, Paul Plishka, Richard Bonynge, Metropolitan Opera
from Deutsche Grammophon
An Evening With Joan Sutherland & Luciano Pavarotti
from Decca
For the first time on DVD, enjoy the unforgettable Metropolitan Opera gala from 1987 with Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland! Two of the greatest opera stars of their time and long-time singing partners, Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland come together to perform four famous scenes from Acts I and III of Lucia di Lammermoor, Act III of La Traviata and Act III of Rigoletto. They are joined by the great Italian baritone Leo Nucci and conducted by Richard Bonynge. The scenes are complete and fully staged, making this unique from other DVDs of individual arias and ensembles.
Lehar - The Merry Widow / Bonynge, Sutherland, Stevens, Opera Australia
by Virginia Lumsden
from Kultur Video
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
Voices of Firestone: The Great Sopranos / Steber, Price, Tebaldi, Sayao, Nilsson, Moffo, Albanese, Peters, Munsel, Traubel, Sutherland
from Kultur Video
For more than thirty years, The Voice of Firestone brought the world's greatest artists into the homes of music lovers. Now, through a special arrangement with New England Conservatory in Boston, Kultur is proud to make these rare telecasts available to today's audience. CLASSICAL PERFORMANCES 1950-1963 ELEANOR STEBER: Dove sono (Mozart), My Hero (Strauss) • JOAN SUTHERLAND: The Soldier Tir'd (Arne)• LEONTYNE PRICE: O patria mia (Verdi) • BIRGIT NILSSON: Suicidio (Ponchielli), Wien, du Stadt meiner Traume (Sieczynski) • ANNA MOFFO: Jewel Song (Gounod) • BIDU SAYÃ0 O mio babbino caro (Puccini)• RENATA TEBALDI: Un bel di vedremo (Puccini) • LICIA ALBANESE Ballatella (Leoncavallo) • HELEN TRAUBEL: Du bist der Lenz (Wagner) • ROBERTA PETERS: Der holle Rache, Batti batti (Mozart) • PATRICE MUNSEL: Adele's Laughing Song (J. Strauss) • JEANETTE MACDONALD: Italian Street Song (Herbert)
Donizetti - Lucrezia Borgia / Bonynge, Sutherland, Kraus, Royal Opera
by Brian Large
from Kultur Video
This 1980 Covent Garden production of Donizetti's opera based on the infamous dramatic heroine was undertaken so that one of the few sopranos who would dare tackle the fearsome range of Lucrezia Borgia--Dame Joan Sutherland--could do so in a setting amenable to her talent. And tackle it she does. This might not be the definite Lucrezia (a slight nod would go to Montserrat Caballe's 1965 RCA audio recording), but Sutherland shows she has the sheer chops to overcome Donizetti's piling on of difficulty after vocal difficulty. From the prologue's "Com e Bello," Sutherland never lets up through her gripping final scene of intense anguish and melodrama. Richard Bonynge conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House with aplomb, and the supporting cast--Alfredo Kraus, Anne Howells, and Stafford Dean--performs ably in Sutherland's wake. --Kevin Filipski
Dame Joan Sutherland and tenor Alfredo Kraus star in Donizetti's tale of sixteenth century opulence and decadence. Joan Sutherland is unquestionably the unsurpassed Lucrezia of all-time, and this production at Covent Garden showcases her incomparable coloratura technique. Bel canto specialist Richard Bonynge conducts The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in this historic performance.
Cast - Lucrezia Borgia - Joan Sutherland
Gennaro - Alfredo Kraus
Maffio Orsini - Anne Howells
Alfonso d'Este - Stafford Dean
The Royal Opera Chorus
Chorus Master - John Barker
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Opera Highlights, Vol. 1 - Norma, La Gioconda, Il Trovatore, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Forza del Destino, La Cenerentola, L'Elisir d'Amore, Orlando Furioso
from Arthaus Musik
Poulenc - Dialogues of the Carmelites / Bonynge, Sutherland, Buchanan, Begg, Opera Australia
by Henry Prokop
from Kultur Video
Poulenc's only full-length opera is firmly rooted in the post World War II era. Based on the historical events of the time of the French Revolution, this story of a community of Carmelite nuns who go to the guillotine rather than renounce their calling can be received in many ways. Poulenc's warmly melodic and lyrical score is wholly dramatic and gripping, and Joan Sutherland, recreating the role she sang at the opera's British premiere in 1958, sings the second prioress with commanding moderation. This production serves the inspiration of Poulenc in every important particular of style, economy and theatrical force. Richard Bonynge conducts the Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra. Sung in English.
Sutherland, Horne & Bonynge Gala Concert / Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Richard Bonynge
by John Widdicombe
from KULTUR VIDEO
"... a performance to savour and remember... a night of unfailing beauty" THE AGE
" The two phenomenal voices went on flooding the hall with golden tone." THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
Featuring arias and duets from operas which have been landmarks in the careers of Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne including:
The Tales Of Hoffman, Semiramide, Lakme, Norma
Joan Sutherland
Marilyn Horne
Richard Bonynge
The Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge
Director: John Widdicombe
Sound Producer: David Harvey
Recorded at the Sydney Opera House, 12 June 1985
Joan Sutherland - The Complete Bell Telephone Hour Performances, 1961-1968
from Video Artists Int'l
Any collector seriously interested in the art of song should have at least one Joan Sutherland recording, and for many fans this may be the one. Between March 17, 1961 and March 22, 1968, she appeared on nine Bell Telephone Hour telecasts and performed in a total of 14 numbers, beginning with the mad scene from Thomas's Hamlet and ending with an all-star interpretation of the Sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor.
The performances date from Sutherland's prime years; the material was selected to show her at her best, carefully staged and sensitively filmed. For the ensemble numbers (the Quartet from Rigoletto, the Sextet from Lucia, and the climax of Act II of Tosca), she was given ideal performing partners (notably Tito Gobbi and Nicolai Gedda), but the most spectacular number is a solo, a mad scene from Lucia, telecast in 1962 and lasting nearly a quarter-hour. All except the first two numbers are filmed in color. --Joe McLellan
Joan Sutherland's appearances on the Bell Telephone Hour captured the soprano in the prime of her career, performing excerpts from her greatest roles. Scenes from Norma, Lucia, I Puritani, Ernani, Rigoletto, Crispino e la Comare, Lakmé, La Traviata, La Sonnambula, Tosca, Hamlet, and Otello. With Nicolai Gedda, Tito Gobbi, and others; the Bell Telephone Hour Orchestra conducted by Donald Voorhees. 102 minutes, color.
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