TURANDOT:Puccini
Original Air Date: 12/03/1966
Mehta; Nilsson, Freni, Corelli, Giaiotti
MOD Audio SID.19070102
This performance is Included in the Met’s 50th Anniversary collection. “Turandot”: The Best To Date at New Met [Unsigned review in the Journal-American of opening night September 26, 1966] The celebrating the opening of the new opera house over, the Metropolitan Opera settled for repertory last night and put on its best show to date. Puccini’s “Turandot” began the regular subscription season as a five-year old production that readily adjusted itself to new surroundings. It looked handsome, and it moved handsomely. Sighs. Birgit Nilsson and Franco Corelli took the leading roles as usual, the singing was magnificent. What else is there to say! This was a beautifully knit performance. Cecil Beaton’s sets and costumes rate among the best creations. Nathaniel Merrill has achieved some of the most imaginative staging. The cast is excellent. A new element entered with Zubin Mehta taking the conductor’s assignment. He imparts vitality and usually comprehends everything he does. The live acoustics of the pit led to overloud playing, but most interestingly he restrained himself in giving full rein to Puccini’s romanticism.
TANNHÄUSER:Wagner
Original Air Date: 12/18/2004
Elder; Seiffert, Voigt, DeYoung, Hampson, Moll
MOD Audio SID.19070103
Seiffert was a more effective Tannhauser than I expected, but my memories of this broadcast from all participants is more solid than memorable.
ELEKTRA:Strauss
Original Air Date: 12/21/2002
Levine; Schnaut, Voigt, Schwarz, Pape, Jerusalem
SID.19070104
The same 3 ladies also have a 1999 broadcast with Levine which is regularly alternated on Sirius. For my taste, this is far too much Schnaut. Schwarz whom I remember fondly for her work on the Chereau Ring at Bayreuth (an outstanding Fricka) makes her last Met appearance with this broadcast, but though gone 12 years, the database does not yet mark it as a final Met appearance [still true in 2015]. I prefer Varnay, Borkh, and Nilsson. Eva Marton did not do her Elektra at the Met, a great loss, and Gwyneth Jones did not broadcast any of her 4 Met Elektras– one of her best roles. Marton does have a fantastic Chrysothemis with Mastilovic under Leinsdorf which has been on Sirius and well worth a listen.
LA FORZA DEL DESTINO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/12/1960
Schippers; Tebaldi, Tucker, Sereni, Hines, Dunn, Baccaloni
MOD Audio SID.19070105
Tebaldi and Tucker are famous for their roles in Forza, but except for 2 performances in 1956, and the Forza preceding this broadcast which was halted because of the onstage death of Leonard Warren, these are their only appearances together in it. Tebaldi is not at the vocal peak of her 1958 Naples video (with Corelli and Bastianini) or her Florence performances with Mitropoulos and Del Monaco, but there is still much to enjoy. Leonora is one of Verdi’s greatest challenges, and most performers just don’t have the stuff.
THE MAGIC FLUTE:Mozart
Original Air Date: 12/30/2006
Levine; Huang, Polenzani, Gunn, Miklósa, Pape
MOD Video SID.19070106
This is the inaugural Met Live in HD performance and is an abridgement with new English translation by J.D. McClatchy. Miklosa has both her arias and she delivers them very well indeed. The video is available as a commercial DVD also.
DIE FLEDERMAUS:Strauss Jr.
Original Air Date: 01/20/1951
Ormandy; Piazza, Kullman, Munsel, Tucker, Stevens, Brownlee
MOD Audio SID.19070107
This is the broadcast of arguably the biggest hit of Bing’s opening season. Welitsch, who had done the premiere gives way to Piazza, for whom this is her sole broadcast and her only role at the Met, though she has a good long run after the broadcast and a Met tour for a total of 14 performances. Piazza would turn up on early 1950s TV show where an attractive (not so much to me) but generic soprano was called for. Tucker is a sonorous Alfred he almost turns the part into a plum. There are some enjoyable moments, and others that leave me cold. Sirius leaves Gilford off the listing, but he has some of the funniest bits.
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE:Gounod
Original Air Date: 02/01/1947
Cooper; Sayão, Bjorling,, Brownlee, Moscona
MOD Audio SID.19070208
One of the greatest performances to ever emanate from the Met stage. Available on Met Player, SonyCD, and despite the AM sound, Bjorling sings his second and last Met Romeo for the broadcast airwaves. Sayao with somewhat more limited vocal artillery is still every bit his equal artistically, and this performance comes pretty close to universal. If you haven’t heard it in some time, take a listen.
LA TRAVIATA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/11/2006
Armiliato; Gheorghiu, Kaufmann, Michaels-Moore
MOD Audio SID.19070209
This is Kaufmann’s debut year, and Michaels-Moore is below the standard of Gheorghiu. Kaufmann is still a bit green, but I plan to listen again to see how close he was vocally to his current very high performance standard. My memory in the theatre was AG was still the star; it’s one of her best roles.
L’ELISIR D’AMORE:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 12/14/1996
Rizzi; Leech, Rost, Nucci, Quilico
SID.19070210
L’elisir d’amore is almost as over-repeated as the Puccini works. This is a newish cast, but it takes more than that to attract my interest.
LA BOHÈME:Puccini
Original Air Date: 03/26/1994
Rizzi; Gheorghiu, Leech, Litherland, Robertson, Short
MOD Audio SID.19070211
This is from Gheorghiu’s first season and is also available in MOoD. Leech is a good partner, although I never got Rizzi’s conductorial message.
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA:Barber
Original Air Date: 09/16/1966
Schippers; Díaz, Price, Thomas, Flagello, Elias
MOD Audio SID.19070212
From MOD: Expectations were high when the Metropolitan Opera announced that the world premiere of Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra would christen its new house at Lincoln Center in the fall of 1966—a suitably grand work based on Shakespeare’s tragedy and written specifically for Leontyne Price as Cleopatra. A singer himself, the composer knew Price’s voice and what it could do, shaping his conception of the opera’s heroine around this iconic American diva. The 26-year-old Puerto Rican–born bass Justino Díaz starred alongside Price as Antony while Ezio Flagello portrayed Antony’s friend Enobarbus. Tenor Jess Thomas brought his heroic presence to the role of Octavius Caesar, and the beloved mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias, already a Met veteran in her 30s, sang the role of Cleopatra’s attendant Charmian. Thanks to a Texaco–Metropolitan Opera Radio Network broadcast from the opera’s world premiere, this indelible piece of Met history has been preserved for generations. This is the opening of the new Met at Lincoln Center and the world premiere of the opera. Leontyne never sang better than this night, and luckily it is well preserved for all to hear. Lady Bird Johnson and Imelda Marcos were among the dignitaries that night
RIGOLETTO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/12/2019
Luisotti; Sierra, Zaharia, Grigolo, Frontali, Kocán
SID.19070214
Verdi’s tragic jester returns in Michael Mayer’s neon-bedecked, Las Vegas–themed production. Baritones Roberto Frontali and George Gagnidze share the title role, and soprano Nadine Sierra reprises her portrayal of Gilda, the role that helped launch her now-blossoming Met career. Tenors Vittorio Grigolo and Bryan Hymel share the role of the lascivious Duke, and Nicola Luisotti conducts.
EUGENE ONEGIN:Tchaikovsky
Original Air Date: 12/08/1979
Tchakarov; Mazurok, Kabaivanska, Gedda, Jones, Plishka
SID.19070315
I saw this cast and this performance is Kabaivanska’s Met farewell. Well cast and well conducted, there are two broadcasts of Onegin in 1979 (but different seasons),both with Mazurok and Plishka the only repeats from one to another. To me, this is slightly better. For those who have never encountered Mazurok, I find his voice as velvety as Hvorostovsky, and an upper register that definitely has squillo. Wish the Met would transfer one of these Mazurok Onegins to MOoD. Glad that it at least gets a regular Sirius re-hearing.
COSÌ FAN TUTTE:Mozart
Original Air Date: 12/22/1984
Tate; Vaness, Rendall, Murray, Holloay, Hamari, MacNeil
SID.19070316
This is Vaness’ first of four Cosi broadcasts, and amazingly, the only one with Levine in the pit is 1996 when the opera gets a new production and features the debut of Cecilia Bartoli as Despina. This 1984 on the Sirius airwaves features Cornell MacNeil in his only Mozartean appearance (a run of 14 including a tour) all with Vaness who has the house record for Fiordiligi at 44 (Steber is not a close 2nd at 29, but Te Kanawa a very distant 3d at 16) in a line of very distinguished Fiordiligis. It’s a shame that none of the 4 Steber broadcsts (1952-1955, 3 with Tucker,one with Valletti) have made it to the Sirius airwaves. The Columbia studio recording made during the opening season is a fine memento, but a LIVE performance record of one of the great Met productions should be heard. Translation rights again appears to be the stumbling block.
DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN:Strauss
Original Air Date: 12/09/1989
Perick; Meier, Schunk, Martin, Courtney, Dernesch
MOD Audio SID.19070317
The big gap is Courtney being a late fill-in for Weikl as Barak. Dernesch finds some tough sledding in a lot of the Nurse’s part. I love the work, and Perick works hard. Though Johanna Meier is no Rysanek or Marton, she still has her moments. Listening to the COMPLETE performance under Jurowski from last season finds the Met and Frau particularly congenial partners. Maybe this is a minor hommage to Janis Martin who recently passed away, and so far as I can tell got no paid obituary from the Met in the NYTimes
DON GIOVANNI:Mozart
Original Air Date: 02/16/2019
Meister; Willis-Sørensen, Lombardi, Garifullina, de Barbeyrac, Pisaroni, Taylor, Cedel, Kocán
SID.19070640
DON GIOVANNI{570}
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart–Lorenzo Da Ponte
Don Giovanni…………Luca Pisaroni
Donna Anna…………..Rachel Willis-Sorensen
Don Ottavio………….Stanislas de Barbeyrac
Donna Elvira…………Federica Lombardi
Leporello……………Ildar Abdrazakov
Zerlina……………..Aida Garifullina
Masetto……………..Brandon Cedel
Commendatore…………Stefan Kocán
Cello Continuo……….David Heiss
Harpsichord Continuo….Howard Watkins
Mandolin Solo………..Joyce Rasmussen Balint
Conductor……………Cornelius Meister
Production…………..Michael Grandage
Designer…………….Christopher Oram
Lighting Designer…….Paule Constable
Choreographer………..Ben Wright
Stage Director……….Louisa Muller
Intermission
-Backstage Pass – Loren Toolajian interviews Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Federica Lombardi, and Aida Garifullina
-Backstage Pass – Loren Toolajian interviews Luca Pisaroni, Ildar Abdrazakov, and Stanislas de Barbeyrac
-Mary Jo Heath interviews Pretty Yende and Javier Camarena about La Fille du Régiment
Baritone Peter Mattei and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni star as opera’s most notorious seducer in Mozart’s masterpiece of dark comedy. Cornelius Meister makes his Met debut conducting performances that also include sopranos Rachel Willis-Sørensen and Guanqun Yu as Donna Anna, sopranos Federica Lombardi and Susanna Phillips as Donna Elvira, and basses Ildar Abdrazakov and Adam Plachetka as Leporello. Production a gift of the Richard and Susan Braddock Family Foundation, and Sarah and Howard Solomon Additional funding from Jane and Jerry del Missier, and Mr. and Mrs. Ezra K. Zilkha Revival a gift of the Metropolitan Opera Club
LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS / LE ROSSIGNOL / OEDIPUS REX:Stravinsky
Original Air Date: 02/21/2004
Gergiev; Trifonova, Banks, Zifchak / Forbis, Blythe, Nikitin
SID.19080102
The Stravinsky evening as originally done by Levine with Hockney designs and Dexter direction was not as big a hit as the French evening, Parade, from Dexter and Hockney, but I prefer this to Rake’s Progress. Gergiev has a distinctive take on Stravinsky and always worth a listen in the Russian repertoire.
DAS RHEINGOLD:Wagner
Original Air Date: 03/27/1993
Levine; Morris, Schwarz, Langridge, Wlaschiha, Hölle, Koptchak
MOD Audio SID.19080103
This is close to the end of Schwarz’s Met career. Not quite. She is back for the 2016 season for Buryja in Jenufa after an absence of 14 years. She has an earlier Rheingold Fricka in 1993, and I saw her in the Chereau Ring in 1978 and she closes her Met career with a 2002 Klytemnestra with Schnaut. I also saw her do an excellent Erda in Madrid in 2007. One also encounters Phillip Langridge’s fine Loge.
FIDELIO:Beethoven
Original Air Date: 12/07/2002
Schneider; Meier, Botha, Fink, Salminen, Hong, Clarke
MOD Audio SID.19080104
Botha sings well enough, as does Fink. Maybe I will be more impressed by Meier and Schneider this time around. Salminen does not appear often outside the Wagner repertory at the Met and this is a particularly congenial role for him. Schneider is not famous as an inspiring conductor. It’s not a weak cast. Available in MOoD
MESSA DA REQUIEM:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/28/1964
Solti; Price, Elias, Bergonzi, Siepi
MOD Audio SID.19080105
This broadcast was In Memory of John F. Kennedy. Although the sound is definitely AM (not what one wants for the Manzoni Requiem), this performance documents three of the most notable Verdi singers of the 20th century: Price, Bergonzi, Siepi. Elias is remarkable for her blend with Price (on many commercial recordings as well) and this is Solti’s final Met appearance (his final full Met staged performance is Aida from December 1963 still awaits rebroadcast on Sirius). The two performances including the day before the broadcast also included Act 3, Scene 1 of Parsifal with Jerome Hines, Jess Thomas, and Marcia Baldwin. I’m sorry that is not included but grateful that the Verdi is in MOoD.
LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 02/11/2019
Mazzola; Yende, Blythe, Turner, Camarena, Corbelli
SID.19080107
Tenor Javier Camarena and soprano Pretty Yende team up for a feast of bel canto vocal fireworks—including the show-stopping tenor aria “Ah! Mes amis … Pour mon âme,” with its nine high Cs. Alessandro Corbelli and Maurizio Muraro trade off as the comic Sergeant Sulpice, with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe as the outlandish Marquise of Berkenfield. And in an exciting piece of casting, stage and screen icon Kathleen Turner makes her Met debut in the speaking role of the Duchess of Krakenthorp. Enrique Mazzola conducts. A co-production of the Metropolitan Opera; the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London; and the Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO:Mozart
Original Air Date: 04/07/1956
Rudolf, Siepi, Conner, de los Angeles, Guarrera, Miller
MOD Audio SID.19080208
I don’t remember this performance specifcally, but Siepi and de los Angeles are among my favorite Figaro and Countess. What is so critical in a FIgaro is the conductor and Max Rudolf was starting to fill in some of the assignments Stiedry had regularly commanded. I’ll be checking this performance out to see if it merits the many positive comments from Jackson. I’m not as taken with Conner and Guarrera as Jackson is, but the overall performance is worthwhile.
JENUFA:Janácek
Original Air Date: 12/21/1974
Nelson; Kubiak, Varnay, Vickers, Lewis, Kraft
SID.19080209
This was my second encounter with Jenufa, the first had been 7 years earlier when Hamburg brought a German language version to the 1967 Lincoln Center Festival. This performance is in English, which is a rarity on Sirius since almost no translations are ever heard. The standout performance for me is Jon Vickers as Laca. The giant disappointment was Varnay’s Kostelnicka. I had been much impressed by Kniplova (native Czech, but singing in German with Hamburg) in this pivotal role, but Varnay was a dud dramatically and vocally. Later on I saw Rysanek (San Francisco and New York) and Eva Marton (Barcelona) and each time the effect was powerful. I view Varnay’s Elektra as one of the great assumptions by any dramatic soprano, but I find her late appearances in New York not so much to my taste. Kubiak’s English is surprisingly adequate, and overall I enjoy listening to this performance.
UN BALLO IN MASCHERA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/19/1983
Guadagno; Bergonzi, Neblett, Nucci, Peters, Berini
SID.19080210
This is Bergonzi’s signature role and his final Met broadcast of a complete opera, but he is better enjoyed on either the the 1962 or 1966 Ballos. His 1981 is also with Berini and Peters, but Milnes for Nucci. More importantly Cruz-Romo is a stronger Amelia than Neblett, but she is heard to even better advantage in 1973 with Tucker, a younger Milnes, and Dalis. Guadagno was a familar figure in Philadelphia and Miami as well as the Verona arena. This is his only Met season. Not sure of the circumstances but guess he just didn’t fit in. He’s on a number of airchecks from opera houses around the world with the top echelon of singers, Corelli, Tebaldi, etc.
MANON LESCAUT:Puccini
Original Air Date: 12/10/1949
Antonicelli; Kirsten, Björling, Valdengo, Baccaloni
MOD Audio SID.19080211
One of the all-time great Met broadcasts. Sound is not perfect, but it is a thrilling performance. Bjorling is also great in 1956 with Albanese, and luckily both are in MOoD. No better way to pass the time. This is one of the earliest broadcasts regularly in Sirius rotation and also in MOoD. The 1956 (also in MOoD) with Albenese under Mitropoulos is a more dramatic performance, but BJorling is fantastic on both. Valdengo is a fine Lescaut. This would be THE Manon Lescaut if Bjorling’s 1956 Met broadcast with Albanese had not been broadcast. If ever there were a candidate for the Sony reissue list, the 1956 performance is it. Still, Kirsten and Bjorling are plenty fine, and nothing like it to be heard today.
LULU:Berg
Original Air Date: 01/03/1981
Levine; Stratas, Mazura, Lear, Riegel, Foldi
SID.19080212
This is Stratas’ only Lulu broadcast from the Met, and by everyone’s reckoning it is a strong cast. The telecast was done a few weeks earlier with Julia Migenes in the title role replacing Stratas. That is available on DVD issued by the Met
DIE WALKÜRE:Wagner
Original Air Date: 02/17/1940
Leinsdorf; Flagstad, Lawrence, Branzell, Melchior, Huehn, List
MOD Audio SID.19080213
This performance was issued on Sony CD as part of the Wagner at the Met box in honor of the composer’s bicentenary in 2013. Sirius postings didn’t see the need for adding Branzell or List to the listing, but Fricka and Hunding are both important roles. Flagstad moves up to Brunnhilde with Lawrence as Sieglinde. There is a 1937 broadcast with Lawrence as Brunnhilde and Flagstad as Sieglinde; Schorr is the Wotan and Olszewska as Fricka, and Althouse as Siegmund. That performance has not been on Sirius either, but also has the distinction of being conducted by Bodanzky. Several things are unusual about this 1940 broadcast. It is uncut, primarily championed by Leinsdorf, and is Flagstad’s only Walkure Brunnhilde broadcast until her return 11 years later in 1951 under Stiedry. Melchior is in particularly resplendent voice and his long-held Walse cries in the first act are as much a taunt to Leinsdorf as anything. Julius Huehn’s Wotan ( he was 30 at the time of this broadcast (!!!!) wins high praise from Paul Jackson in his Met broadcast review.
MOSES UND ARON:Schoenberg
Original Air Date: 02/20/1999
Levine; Tomlinson, Langridge
MOD Audio SID.19080315
There are only two broadcasts this Met broadcast premiere in 1999 and the 2003 with the same principals, The 1993 has been issued as a Met CD and is available in MOoD and has also been in Sirius rotation. The 1993 performance is only available in the Sirius rotation, but both come around rather frequently.There are only two broadcasts – this Met broadcast premiere in 1999 and the 2003 with the same principals, The 1993 has been issued as a Met CD and is available in MOoD and has also been in Sirius rotation. The 1993 performance is only available in the Sirius rotation, but both come around rather frequently. These same forces broadcast the opera again four years later, and to date these are the only broadcasts of the Schoenberg work from the Met. It’s not on my regular listening schedule, but an important 20th century work for those who determine importance.
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA / PAGLIACCI:Mascagni / Leoncavallo
Original Air Date: 03/26/2005
Davies; Urmana, Villa, Burchinal / Racette, Mac Master, Pons
SID.19080316
I repeat my annotation in the hope that someone at Sirius is listening. The Met can and has done better for the ham and eggs of opera. For the life of me I can’t figure out why Sirius singles THIS performance out for rebroadcast. Not an Italian in the bunch, and no singers I want to hear in this music.
WERTHER:Massenet
Original Air Date: 02/03/1979
Bonynge; Kraus, Crespin, Battle, Carlson
MOD Audio SID.19080317
This performance is one I always enjoy. Kraus and Crespin are solid exponents of the style, and Battle is a delight as Sophie. This is Crespin’s final Charlotte, and finds Kraus on very congenial ground. This is also on Met Player. Nice to have a mini-Crespin festival this week. One of the most enjoyable of Met Werther broadcasts.