Jarmila Novotná is a name that will probably only be known to the very well-introduced opera aficionados. However, this Czech singer enjoyed international fame during her lifetime: from 1940-1956 she was committed to the New York Metropolitan opera and also made a name for herself as a film star in several Hollywood films. Opera fans can get to know her better thanks to this DVD, which features
… two documentaries entitled 'The elusive butterfly' and 'Vox humana'. They have become less attractive products. The former documentary drags along with great difficulty, contains hardly any archive footage and is instead filled with endless banter about the purity of the Czech national character in general and that of Novotná in particular. There are hardly any interesting archive images to be seen; all the more a Czech music connoisseur may attest to his devout admiration for this singer, whose musical and acting talents are barely put into the spotlight in this remarkable 'portrait'. Opera fans will probably find something to their liking here, but this DVD is less attractive to a larger audience. (JvG)more
