LA FORZA DEL DESTINO:Verdi
Levine; Price, Domingo, MacNeil, Talvela, Elias, Capecchi
Original Air Date: 03/12/1977
SID.19450423
This performance is available on Met Opera on Demand (MOoD). Likely because this is one of Domingo’s only two broadcasts as Alvaro (the other is with Sharon Sweet). Price is very solid in her upper middle, but her tone is not that of a dramatic, and that is what Leonora is; the additional coloring is exactly what Milanov and Tebaldi have. Domingo is one category too small and lacks the expansiveness of Tucker or Corelli, and for styling, that goes to Bergonzi. Luckily all three gentlemen broadcast Forza from the Met, with Bergonzi and Corelli both opposite Price. Talvela is not the right sound for Guardiano, which has often been in the steady hands of Siepi and Giaiotti. Levine is the champion Forza conductor with 57 performances; amazingly Fausto Cleva never did the work at the Met. The German wing (Bruno Walter, Fritz Stiedry, George Schick) had a tight rein on it in the 40s and 50s.