The best Joan Sutherland’s movies

Joan Sutherland

Joan Sutherland

07/11/1926- 10/10/2010
Today we present the best Joan Sutherland’s movies. If you are a great movie fan, you will surely know most of them, but we hope to discover a movie that you have not yet seen … and that you love! Let’s go there with the best Joan Sutherland’s movies.

Die Fledermaus

Die Fledermaus
8.4/10
  • Genre: Music
  • Release: 31/12/1990
After the Viennese premiere, the Fledermaus (the bat) conquered the world. It is one of the few operettas that are regularly performed at the major opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, the Scala Milan, the Vienna State Opera and the Royal Opera House Convent Garden in London. John Cox directed this lavishly equipped production by Julia Trevelyan Oman initially in London in 1977. On New Year's Eve 1990, this staging offered the luxurious ambiance for the farewell to Joan Sutherland from her London audience. The singer had admired them since her first great success at this prestigious opera house in the fifties. The rushing feast in the second act reached its climax with its stormy cheered performance and the commitment of her friends and colleagues Luciano Pavarotti and Marilyn Horne, with whom she often stood together on the stage.

La Fille du Régiment

La Fille du Régiment
7.4/10
  • Genre: Music
  • Release: 09/08/1986
Australian Opera Chorus and Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra production of Donizetti's opera

The Metropolitan Opera: Don Giovanni

The Metropolitan Opera: Don Giovanni
8.5/10
  • Genre: Music
  • Release: 16/03/1978
  • Character: Donna Anna
Imbuing the familiar Don Juan myth with a captivating combination of comedy, seductiveness, danger, and damnation, Mozart created an enduring masterpiece that has been a cornerstone of the repertory since its 1787 premiere. An early entry in the Met’s series of PBS telecasts, this 1978 performance captures a young James Morris in a smooth portrayal of the title role, with the legendary Joan Sutherland showing off her unsurpassed technique as Donna Anna and Gabriel Bacquier as a masterful Leporello.

Franco Zeffirelli - Directing from Life

Franco Zeffirelli - Directing from Life
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 15/11/2018
  • Character: Herself
Franco Zeffirelli passed away on 15th June 2019. Chris Hunt's biography explores how Zeffirelli's sense of drama was born out of his own experience and how his life inspired his productions. Chris Hunt interviewed him and other famous actors, friends and associates, had a camera at Zeffirelli's 94th birthday and during the opening of his foundation in Florence. This documentary, including clips from operas, films and plays aims to be the definitive portrait of a Renaissance man larger than life.

Dad and Dave: On Our Selection

Dad and Dave: On Our Selection
6.1/10
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Release: 20/07/1995
  • Character: Mother Rudd
Tired of local corruption and the harshness of his life a bushman demonstrates the true Aussie spirit and decides to run for parliament

Lucia di Lammermoor

Lucia di Lammermoor
8.5/10
  • Genre: DramaMusic
  • Release: 28/09/1983
  • Character: Lucia
This telecast offers a rare opportunity to see the legendary Joan Sutherland in the role that first catapulted her to international stardom. She drove audiences wild by the way her opulent voice caressed the music’s long phrases and sprinted effortlessly through the fiendish runs, trills, embellishments and stratospheric high notes. One of the glories of the operatic world, her portrayal of Donizetti’s hapless heroine is a multifaceted and moving characterization. The incomparable tenor Alfredo Kraus is Edgardo, the man Lucia loves but cannot have. (Performance taped November 13, 1982. Broadcasted September 28, 1983.)

Lehár: The Merry Widow

Lehár: The Merry Widow
7.8/10
  • Genre: Music
  • Release: 23/02/1988
  • Character: Anna Glawari
Turn of the century Paris provides the glittering setting for this light hearted tale of political and amorous intrigue amidst the gaiety of Parisian high society.. First performed in Vienna in 1905 and here performed in the English version by Christopher Hassal.

Meyerbeer Les Huguenots

Meyerbeer Les Huguenots
  • Genre: Music
  • Release: 01/10/1990
  • Character: Marguerite di Valois
Joan Sutherland's farewell performance to the operatic stage offsets this story of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and the magnificence of 16th century France.

Il trovatore

Il trovatore
7.5/10
  • Genre: Music
  • Release: 01/01/1983
  • Character: Leonora
Elijah Moshinsky's production of Verdi's "Il trovatore", filmed live at the Australian Opera in 1983. Joan Sutherland stars as Leonora, with Kenneth Collins as Manrico, Jonathan Summers as Count di Luna, and Lauris Elms as Azucena. Richard Bonynge conducts the Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra.

An Evening with Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti

An Evening with Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti
  • Genre: Music
  • Release: 15/12/1988
  • Character: Herself
Opera greats Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland -- one of the most acclaimed tenors and one of the most beloved sopranos of the 20th century -- take the stage at the Met for a gala evening of opera scenes with special guest Leo Nucci. Filmed in 1987, the memorable program includes scenes from the first and third acts of Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor," the third act of Verdi's "La Traviata" and the third act of Verdi's "Rigoletto."

A Toast to Melbourne

A Toast to Melbourne
  • Release: 01/01/1981
Using archival film, aerial photography, stills, prints and contemporary footage, this documentary presents the city of Melbourne and its lifestyle. Looks at the unique Victorian architecture that transformed Melbourne from a tent city during the Gold Rush to a modern and prosperous city. Captures the vibrant streetscapes, the trams, the elaborate arcades and some of the institutions that cater to Melbourne's elite such as the Georges store and the Melbourne Club.

La Stupenda

La Stupenda
  • Release: 11/06/1991
  • Character: Self
Dubbed ‘La Stupenda’ thirty years ago by an Italian critic, Dame Joan Sutherland and her husband Richard Bonynge talk at length about her distinguished singing career and their life together in opera. The film combines documentary, archival material and performance to present a unique retrospective of those years. Affectionate contributions from some of their close friends and colleagues, including Luciano Pavarotti, Marilyn Horne, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and fellow Australian Sir Sidney Nolan, add to a celebration of Dame Joan’s singular talent.

Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia

Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia
  • Release: 01/01/1977
The Australian Opera Chorus & The Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra, Richard Bonynge Lucrezia Borgia, infamous noblewoman of the Renaissance, has outlived three husbands and is now married to Don Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara. After the Borgia’s palace is defaced by vandals, Lucrezia demands the desecrator’s death to avenge the insult. When the noble young soldier Gennaro is arrested for the crime, Lucrezia’s thirst for vengeance and murder sets in motion a tragic chain of events that eventually destroys her enemies and herself.

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