Die Lustige Witwe: Sutherland, Stevens, Bonynge / Sydney Opera House

The Merry Widow - DVD
Joan Sutherland sparkles in the lead role of Lehar's delightful operetta in this Opera Australia production from the Sydney Opera House. Turn of the century Paris provides the glittering setting for this operetta, first performed in Vienna in 1905 and here given by the Australian Opera in the English version by Christopher Hassall, with Sutherland as widow Anna Glawari. The face of Pontevedro, her native country, hangs perilously on her marriage plans - if she weds a foreigner, the state will lose the benefit of her enormous wealth and will be left bankrupt. An Embassy plot to marry her off to the debonair Count Danilo 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. The Elizabethan Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Richard Bonynge.