Sutherland enjoyed playing comedy and her sense of humor and fun is clearly heard in this, her first attempt at Hanna Glawari. Bonynge has altered the score for her to make the maximum effect. Her entrance song goes up a fourth at the end so Dame Joan can end on a high D. Conversely, the Vilja song gets transposed down a half-step into G-flat major (!) because it lay better for her voice by that point in her career. Bonynge also interpolates an aria from Lehar's "Paganini" so his wife will have an aria before the final curtain (she sails up to another high D at the end.) Sutherland delivers the copious dialogue with clarity and charm.The other singers are all good, especially a young Graham Clark as Camille (he knocks out two good top Cs in Act 2). Pieter van der Stolk was probably cast because he was a tall baritone and looked good next to Sutherland. His rapid vibrato takes some getting used to and he's never very memorable in the role. Graeme Ewer shamelessly overacts as Njegus. I like dialogue in opera and operetta, but here it goes on and on, bringing in characters that one hardly gets to know before they're gone. This was recorded from the audience - very well, but it makes catching some of the dialogue difficult. Bonynge paces everything well, adding some extra dance music to Act 3.Sutherland fans will definitely want this!

I am delighted to find this treasure available at last. Maestro Bonynge and Dame Joan loved operetta and in 1976 presented exciting performances of The Merry Widow in Vancouver. The cast has great fun while not all being quite vocally equal. Margareta Elkins is memorable in her brief role. But no one matches Sutherland in the singing department. She is in superb voice and performs the title role with larger-than-life vocal gestures as it were. Bonynge understands this music and leads the performance with authority. Recommended.