UN BALLO IN MASCHERA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/28/1959
Schippers; Stella, Hurley, Madeira, Peerce, Merrill
MOD Audio SID.19220214
I saw Antonietta Stella in this part on November 23, 1963 in Dallas with Di Stefano, Sereni, Berini, and Guglielmi; it was originally scheduled for the 22nd but postponed because of the JFK assassination the day before. I did not see her again until (and last time) in Philadelphia in 1974 in a Puccini gala in Philadelphia celebrating the 50th anniversary of Puccini’s death when she did the 4th Act of Manon Lescaut. The gala also featured Bergonzi and Scotto in Act 1 of Butterfly and with Mastilovic added, Acts 2 & 3 of Turandot– to my knowledge the only stage Turandot appearances for Bergonzi and Scotto. Back to Ballo. Peerce’s association with Ballo goes back to the 1940s and he also is on Toscanini’s broadcast with Merrill and Nelli. This performance is better than OK, but not one of the great ones such as the Milanov Bjorling from 1940 and Price Bergonzi from 1966, both on MOoD. This performance was rotated with more regularity early on the Sirius service. Peerce is not my favorite tone in Riccardo, but the overall cast is in good representative form.
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