Add a Plot »
Director: Kirk Browning
Conductor: Julius Rudel
Stars: Beverly Sills, John Alexander, Richard Fredricks, John Lankston, Susanne Marsee, David Rae Smith.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0260326/
First performed 1837
Time: 1601, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
Place: London, England
Video/audio quality as expected for '75, which detracts from my enjoyment. (To be fair, they're running a tree mulcher outside, so my enjoyment is diminished a LOT by that too.) If I get another performance, I should stick with 21st century video (although if they put the Caballe/Carreras version on dvd, that would be tempting.)
Well at least I own a Beverly Sills (b. '29) opera now. Don Pasquale might have been a better choice, but that has a tiresome comedy plot.DNFSC, but the performances seemed good, costumes suitable for the court of Elizabeth I. Although produced in cooperation with NYCO, this was filmed at a Wolftrap Festival.
Although opera may not be flourishing everywhere, we certainly have American sopranos since then who could give Sills a run for her money (comparing each in their prime). But back in her day, it seems she was touted as "the" American soprano (perhaps coloratura? or did she predate Leontyne Price? I need a timeline.) But for the past 20+ years, Renée Fleming might qualify, or Joyce DiDonato. The Time cover to the right is dated 22 Nov 1971, well before she took the helm of NYC Opera.
Maybe my assessment will improve on another occasion.
NYCO prod, cond. Rudel; 7
Update 14Sep2019
Watched it more carefully. Still frustrated by not finding the nature of the treason, but impressed esp. by B.Sills acting while singing. Her part seems esp. challenging vocally. The 4 principals have nearly equal parts, and all 4 have vocal gymnastics of some sort, plus emoting. The tree mulcher of my June viewing really skewed the results, and today I'm impressed with the video/audio quality given its '75 vintage.
Upgrading to 8.
