Almost everything about the performance on this DVD is incredibly dated and, for want of a better word, tacky. Performing Italian operas of the first half of the nineteenth century (especially comedies) in English tends to make the results resemble Gilbert and Sullivan - very different beasts from what the composers originally intended. That really is the case here. As far as I can tell, the 'Filene Center Auditorium in Wolf Trap Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia' was some kind of temporary structure in the middle of a park outside Washington DC and neither the acoustics nor the filming techniques do this record of the performance any favours. Beni Montresor's production is inevitably limited by the venue; though it probably isn't poor by 1974 standards (when the performance was filmed), the flat, gaudily painted backdrops really do look their age (and there are very few props). And the supporting cast, chorus, orchestra and conductor are mostly a little provincial in standard.
Yet the DVD provides a fitting tribute to its star, Beverly Sills, who died earlier this year and who appears in a brief but charming interview feature. The role of Marie was one of her signature roles and although she was perhaps not at her absolute peak when this film was made, it nevertheless provides ample demonstration of her strong projection, powerful coloratura and sense of style. From the very beginning she galvanises the entire cast and sings with tremendous stamina until the very end. Occasionally the highest notes in some of the set pieces are a little out of tune but never to the detriment of the viewer's enjoyment. Indeed, in spite of the amateurishness of some aspects of the staging and singing by today's standards, I actually enjoyed this honest and hearty performance more than another more high profile production that has been making the rounds this year. (It is nothing, however, in comparison to Decca's DVD of the same opera with Patrizia Ciofi and Juan Diego Flórez, or indeed to Opus Arte's new DVD of La pietra del paragone.)
Although not her equal, William McDonald is a credible match for Sills as Tonio, singing lyrically and sweetly and doing a decent job of the big aria with the high Cs. His 1970s sideburns and purposeless acting are a little disappointing but he fits in well with the general jolliness of the performance. Spiro Malas is a very good Sulpice, singing strongly and interacting well with Sills. Muriel Costa-Greenspon is better on the acting than the singing as the Marquise de Berkenfeld and there are few other performances of note, but it's all good fun.
Charles Wendelken-Wilson's conducting is lively, if a little four-square, and the Filene Center Orchestra plays with gusto.
In short, fans of Sills will be happy, and those who want to know more of her work may be pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere of the performance.