“IDOMENEO : Mozart
Original Air Date: 02/25/1989
Cast: Stivender; Jerusalem, Martin, Griffel, Quittmeyer, Lewis
Media: SID.18380423 Tags: Archive; 2018, Mozart
This broadcast finds Siegfried Jerusalem in unfamiliar repertoire, and less stellar than usual casting surrounding him.
Of greater interest in my view is the 1991 broadcast with Heppner partnered by Upshaw, Mentzer, and especially Vaness as Elettra in one of Levine’s signature operas. This 1991 performance is on MOoD.
Generally I enjoy Idomeneo more than Clemenza di Tito.
My memory of this performance is not nearly as strong as the original production under Levine. Stivender is a lamented former chorus master. Generally I prefer Idomeneo to Clemenza, but I also like a more Italianate cast. There are better Met broadcasts than this one.
Marvis Martin now sings in the Met Chorus after spending a decade or more as a lyric soprano soloist at the Met. Stivender was a much beloved chorus master and sometime conductor., who died in 1990. Jerusalem, a marquee name in Wagner roles, is tested by the Idomeneo, and has hefty competition from Pavarotti, Domingo, and Heppner among others.”