Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor

  • Documentary
12/22/1953
9

Storyline

Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor [also known as The Merry Wives of Windsor Overture] is a 1953 American short musical film produced by Johnny Green. The film consists of the MGM Symphony Orchestra playing the Overture to Otto Nicolai's opera The Merry Wives of Windsor, also conducted by Johnny Green. It won an Oscar in 1954 for Best Short Subject, One-Reel.

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      Reviews

      • Geronimo1967

        Its not so much a film this as an early music video depicting the mastery of their instruments by the members of MGMs in-house orchestra. As it says on the can, these musicians are playing the overture from Otto Nicolais operatic adaptation of Shakespeares comedy. It uses fairly standard filming techniques and is actually something you could just as easily close your eyes and listen to as watch, but this is clearly a classy operation at work and it is good to hear the woodwind section get more prominence during the eight minutes. The one thing I did find curious was that there only appeared to be two women in this orchestra, both violinists, but otherwise its an unremarkable piece of film-making.

        July 10, 2025

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