Search - Victor Herbert - Naughty Marietta on DVD

Different but deeelicious!

John D. Shepard | Fairfax, VA | 04/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I thought that the version with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy could not possibly be improved. Eddy was a magnificent baritone, and Jeanette, THE Perfect Ingenue and a dang great coloratura soprano. The Academy didn't give Oscars to musicals in those days and Jeanette & Eddy in "New Moon" in the garden scene made one of the greatest love scenes ever filmed, and Jeanette should have gotten an Oscar for her inimitable acting. But Patrice Munsel is a sexy, saucy coloratura soprano who can also dance, and very well. So the '55 telecast version (warning: some grainy video) had great dancing, a somewhat modified story, a superb chorus and -- I have to admit it -- better orchestral arrangements. The young Munsel, the reigning Met coloratura [high] soprano for many years is different, deelicious, with legs like Eleanor Powell -- HEY! Nothing to complain about! Worth the higher price. DEElightful. The rest of the cast was great including, especially Alfred Drake, John Conte and Gale Sherwood. Not the video quality of new DVDs, but watch for a few moments, and you'll be groveling for more. Lotta great gams here. Remember that this video was made of a staged opera. You can tell everybody you saw it at the Met and they'll say, "Geez! I didn't think he had allathat culture!""