Strauss
Original Air Date: 03/18/2018
Nezet-Seguin; Goerke, van den heever, Schuster, Morris, Petrenlo
Live Broadcast SID.18490208
Verdi
Original Air Date: 10/17/2015
Nézet-Séguin; Yoncheva, Cano, Antonenko, Pittas, Lucic
Live in HD SID.18490209
Mozart
Original Air Date: 01/21/2006
Daniel; Dunleavy, Cutler, Gunn, Miklósa, Robinson
SID.18490210
Bizet
Original Air Date: 01/16/2010
Nezet-Seguin; Frittoli, Garanca, Alagna, Tahu Rhodes
Live in HDMOD Video SID.18490211
Dvorak
Original Air Date: 02/08/2014
Nézet-Séguin; Fleming, Beczala, Magee, Zajick, Relyea
Live in HD SID.18490212
LA TRAVIATA : Verdi
Original Air Date: 12/04/2018
Cast: Nézet-Séguin; Damrau, Flórez, Kelsey
Live Broadcast Program
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in his debut as Met Opera Music Director, conducts Michael Mayer’s richly textured new production, featuring a dazzling 18th-century setting that changes with the seasons. Soprano Diana Damrau plays the tragic heroine, Violetta, and tenor Juan Diego Flórez returns to the Met for the first time in five seasons to sing the role of Alfredo, Violetta’s hapless lover. Baritone Quinn Kelsey is Alfredo’s father, Germont, who destroys their love. Later performances feature Anita Hartig, Stephen Costello, Artur Ruciński, and Plácido Domingo.
Production a gift of Eva-Marie and Ray Berry / The Paiko Foundation
Major additional funding from Mercedes T. Bass, Mr. and Mrs. Paul M. Montrone, and Rolex
Wagner
Original Air Date: 04/29/2017
Nézet-Séguin; Volle, Wagner, Glueckert, Selig
SID.18490315
Meyerbeer
Original Air Date: 01/29/1977
Lewis; McCracken, Scotto, Horne, Hines
SID.18490316
Gounod
Original Air Date: 12/10/2011
Nézet-Séguin; Kaufmann, Poplavskaya, Pape, Braun, Losier
Live in HDMOD Video SID.18490317
Bizet
Original Air Date: 01/16/2010
Nezet-Seguin; Frittoli, Garanca, Alagna, Tahu Rhodes
Live in HDMOD Video SID.18490422
Bizet
Original Air Date: 01/16/2010
Nezet-Seguin; Frittoli, Garanca, Alagna, Tahu Rhodes
Live in HDMOD Video SID.18490427
Gounod
Original Air Date: 12/10/2011
Nézet-Séguin; Kaufmann, Poplavskaya, Pape, Braun, Losier
Live in HDMOD Video SID.18490533
IL TRITTICO : Puccini
de Billy; Wagner, Blythe, Álvarez, Gagnidze, Muraro, Opolais, McKay, Blythe, Mkhitaryan, Blythe, Ayan, Domingo, Muraro
Live Saturday Matinee Broadcast – Program 120818-Trittico
First Intermission
Backstage Pass: Loren Toolajian interviews Amber Wagner
TOLL BROTHERS – METROPOLITAN OPERA QUIZ
Guest Artist: Morris Robinson
Host: Gerald Martin Moore
Panelists: Suzanne Martinucci, Rob Marx, and Jonathan Tolins
Feature: Puccini/Il Trittico Musical Language w/host Mary Jo Heath
Second Intermission
Backstage Pass: Loren Toolajian interviews Kristine Opolais about Suor Angellica; Host Mary Jo Heath interviews Stephanie Blythe Suor Angellica and Gianni Schicchi; Host Mary Jo Heath interviews Diana Damrau about La Traviata; Feature: Domingo – 50th Anniversary at the Met; Backstage Pass: Loren Toolajian interviews Plácido Domingo
Jack O’Brien’s epic production of Puccini’s triple bill features first-class casting: tenor Marcelo Álvarez and soprano Amber Wagner are the illicit lovers of Il Tabarro, with baritone George Gagnidze as the spurned husband; soprano Kristine Opolais sings the shattering title role of Suor Angelica, alongside mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe as the Principessa; and the ageless Plácido Domingo takes an unusual comedic turn in the baritone title role of Gianni Schicchi. The performances mark the centennial of the work’s world premiere at the Met. Bertrand de Billy conducts.
Production a gift of Karen and Kevin Kennedy
Additional funding from the Gramma Fisher Foundation, Marshalltown, Iowa, The Annenberg Foundation, Hermione Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. William R. Miller, and M. Beverly and Robert G. Bartner
Bizet
Original Air Date: 01/16/2010
Nezet-Seguin; Frittoli, Garanca, Alagna, Tahu Rhodes
Live in HDMOD Video SID.18490743
Strauss
Original Air Date: 03/18/2018
Nezet-Seguin; Goerke, van den heever, Schuster, Morris, Petrenlo
Live Broadcast SID.18490748
Gounod
Original Air Date: 12/10/2011
Nézet-Séguin; Kaufmann, Poplavskaya, Pape, Braun, Losier
Live in HDMOD Video SID.18500101
KÁT’A KABANOVÁ :Janácek
Original Air Date: 12/25/2004
Belohlávek; Mattila, Forst, Silvasti, Ognovenko, Very, Kozená
SID.18500102
“An excellent cast, but I just don’t warm as much to this work as to Jenufa. For these infrequent works, it is important they make their way to MOoD.”
NABUCCO Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/26/2005
Levine; Putilin, Guleghina, Buchuladze, Hughes Jones
SID.18500 103
NYTIMES ” Most of all, the production turns its singers loose. Verdi has written them big-bore, high-explosive parts, and conducted from the pit by James Levine, Monday’s cast went out and took its chances.
Maria Guleghina’s Abigaille is the big moment among many big moments, and she threw her powerful soprano ardently, sometimes recklessly into the opera. Her first extended sequence (Part II, Scene 1) was impressively done. If there were bumps in Part I’s opening, they may be due to Verdi’s habit of writing first acts with dangerously sudden soprano parts. Like Violetta in “La Traviata,” Abigaille has no settling-in period; the part pounces on her from nowhere.
There was not much vocal subtlety asked for on Monday, and not much given. Nikolai Putilin in the title role was all straightforwardness and muscle. Paata Burchuladze’s Zaccaria managed more vocal shine in an equally punishing part. Gwyn Hughes Jones as Ismaele offered a step up in refinement, but he, too, seemed to be enjoying the communal loudness. Wendy White’s Fenena, singing on the scaffold near the final curtain, offered the evening’s moment of tender, cultured musicianship.
“Nabucco” is also a chorus opera, and the Met singers were strong and touching. “Va, pensiero” made its usual impact. Others in the cast were Julien Robbins, Claudia Waite and Eduardo Valdes.
PETER GRIMES:Britten
Original Air Date: 03/24/1973
Ehrling; Vickers, Amara, Gramm, Kraft, Chookasian
SID.18500104
This is the third of Vickers’ 4 Met Grimes broadcasts. Luckily all have been on Sirius. I find the Colin Davis outings (the first two) sharper in profile, but Vickers’ portrayal is one of the great assumptions. Britten purists are not always so taken, but JV really pushed this opera into the general repertoire in the U.S.
NORMA:Bellini
Original Air Date: 12/19/1970
Bonynge; Sutherland, Horne, Tagliavini, Plishka
SID.18500105
This is Sutherland/Horne in their second season of Norma (but same calendar year) with the men instead of Bergonzi and Siepi. I prefer the excitement of the first season, but the ladies remain the gold standard in both.
LA BOHÈME : Puccini
Original Air Date: 12/10/2018
Cast: Gaffigan; Car, Phillips, Grigolo, Dupuis, Arrey, Rose, Maxwell
LIVE Broadcast PROGRAM
“A thrilling La Bohème … radiating warmth … luxury cast” (New York Times). Puccini’s timeless masterpiece of love and loss features two casts of young stars. Sopranos Nicole Car (in her highly anticipated Met debut) and Ailyn Pérez share the role of the ill-fated Mimì, opposite tenors Vittorio Grigolo and Michael Fabiano as the ardent poet Rodolfo. After a celebrated Met debut as Mimì in 2017, Angel Blue returns as the spitfire Musetta, and Etienne Dupuis (in his Met debut) and Lucas Meachem share the role of Marcello. James Gaffigan conducts.
Production a gift of Mrs. Donald D. Harrington
MANON:Massenet
Original Air Date: 03/03/2001
Rudel; Swenson, Sabbatini, de Candia
MOD Audio SID.18500208
I’m not sure if anyone has conducted Manon more than Julius Rudel, the opera having been a mainstay during his NYCO stewardship. This is an OK performance, but wish we could hear the 1959 DeLosAngeles Gedda Manon under Jean Morel as well., I’m not sure if anyone has conducted Manon more than Julius Rudel, the opera having been a mainstay during his NYCO stewardship. This is an OK performance, but wish we could hear the 1959 De Los Angeles/Gedda Manon under Jean Morel as well. This opera is available on MOoD to listen to anytime. 1/29/11 – This is uncommon casting, but maybe one way to start preparing for the new production of Manon. I would be happier if someone would dig deeper into the archives for the single De Los Angeles/Gedda broadcast under Jean Morel from 1959.
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA:Rossini
Original Air Date: 02/29/1992
Weikert; Hampson, von Stade, Olsen, Quilico, Ramey
MOD Audio SID.18500209
Louis Quilico is not my ideal Bartolo. Von Stade’s first Rosina broadcast from 1976 with Stilwell, Corena, and Morris has been on Sirius, but not 1983 which features Pablo Elvira, Sesto Bruscantini (as Bartolo) and Paolo Montarsolo as Basilio. This 1992 performance is her last Met performance as Rosina. I love the opera, but they overwork it almost as much as Boheme.
Review of Desmond Shawe-Taylor in the New Yorker: Except for the Almaviva (Luigi Alva) and the Dr. Bartolo (Fernando Corena), all the principals of the Metropolitan Opera’s Christmas Day revival of Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” were new to their roles in the house; and, considering the minimal rehearsal time that is available when standard works are added to a large repertory, the performance went pretty well. The orchestra was in good form but for a little trouble in the horn department; and John Pritchard’s direction had a lilt and grace that were just right for the delightful score.
The most important of the newcomers onstage was Frederica von Stade as Rosina. Already well known for her Cherubino and numerous smaller roles, this musical and intelligent mezzo charmed the audience with her modest, engaging demeanor and clear, agile singing. She looks markedly un-Spanish, and might be one of the more lively heroines of Victorian fiction; but soon after she had started on “Una voce” a sudden, and loving piano inflection on the first “Lindoro” (her suitor’s assumed name) showed her to be thoroughly inside the part. I also greatly enjoyed the Figaro of Dominic Cossa, a tall and supple fellow who might well prove (to cite Beaumarchais, quoted in the program) “the terror of husbands, the darling of wives,” and who had no need to resort to falsetto when he had to imitate the tenor’s sentimental high A in the last-act trio. Mr. Alva is not quite Beaumarchais’s “young Spanish lord … vital and passionate,” and a sweeter, fuller tone is certainly wanted for the love songs; but he is a master of absurd disguise and comic routine, and therefore able to carry off the later scenes with telling glee. Mr. Corena, who felt vocally out of sorts and omitted his aria, made nonetheless a very funny and resourceful Dr. Bartolo, in contrast to Ezio Flagello who sounded fuzzy as Don Basilio, and whose notions of comedy did not get far beyond red football stockings and bare knees under a greasy soutane. Cynthia Munzer made a good deal of the aria di sorbetto that is Berta’s solo opportunity, with a wild and somewhat distraught look that suggested an incipient Azucena.
Photograph of Frederica von Stade as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia by James Heffernan/Metropolitan Opera.
SIMON BOCCANEGRA Verdi
Original Air Date: 12/29/1984
Levine; Milnes, Tomowa-Sintow, Moldoveanu, Plishka, Clark
SID.18500210
The main attraction here is Tomowa-Sintow who has only 7 Met broadcasts. This performance is also available on DVD. This performance lacks a certain spark, but the singing is very solid.
TOSCA Puccini
Original Air Date: 04/11/1959
Adler; Steber, Bergonzi, London
SID.18500211
This is Steber’s last Tosca in the house (the next 3 are on tour), and only her third with the Met. She is not Tebaldi (whose Tosca I consider the absolute standard, and lucky for the Met to have captured it in full flight). Steber, however, is no shrinking violet, and she was on quite a roll during this period opening 1959 with the second season of Vanessa, a distinguished Donna Anna broadcast (on Met Player with London and Bohm in the pit), the Met premiere of Wozzeck, and wrapping up with a pair of Toscas, this one strongly cast with Bergonzi and London. Luckily in addition to Sirius this week, it’s on Met Player.
COSI FAN TUTTE Mozart
Original Air Date: 12/20/1975
Kord; Carson, Di Giuseppe, Tourangeau, Carlson, Boky, Corena
SID.18500212
LOHENGRIN:Wagner
Original Air Date: 02/16/1985
Levine; Domingo, Tomowa-Sintow, Marton, McIntyre, Macurdy
SID.18500213
This performance is also available in MOoD. Domingo sings very well, but for me the special excitement of this performance comes from the two ladies. Marton had not yet started her heavy round of Elektra performances, and her singing is commanding without ever being less than very feminine. Lohengrin is one of Levine’s best efforts, and here’s the cast for it. The ladies are simply splendid, among the best exponents of their roles in the last 3 decades. Lohengrin is one of Levine’s best Wagner efforts.
LA GIOCONDA Ponchielli
Original Air Date: 04/02/1955
Cleva; Milanov, Baum, Warren, Rankin, Tozzi
SID.18500315
ADRIANA LECOUVREUR:Cilea
Original Air Date: 04/19/1969
Cleva; Tebaldi, Corelli, Dalis, Colzani
SID.18500316
Tebaldi loved the part of Adriana, but this broadcast finds her in rather frayed voice (after more than 30 Giocondas the previous two seasons). Corelli, Dalis, and Colzani are strong support.
DER FREISCHUTZ:Weber
Original Air Date: 04/15/1972
Ludwig; Kónya, Lorengar, Feldhoff, Mathis
MOD Audio SID.18500318
This is the only Met broadcast of Freischutz, and despite some good work from the treble/tenor clef, Ludwig’s conducting does not give it the sparkle it needs. Feldhoff is more adequate than commanding. One cannot blame the Met entirely, this work simply is not as much a part of the “standard” opera house repertoire as it was 50 years ago.