L’ASSEDIO DI CORINTO:Rossini
Original Air Date: 04/19/1975
Schippers; Sills, Verrett, Theyard, Díaz
MOD Audio SID.19090102
The following season also with Sills and Verrett under Woitach) are the Met broadcast history of this problematic Rossini work, and both are on MOoD. Verrett is in top form, but I find Sills too late for these assumptions. I find the work as edited for these performances a jumble and they don’t make this reluctant Rossinian any less so. Barbiere remains a miracle and though done to death, still sparkles.
MACBETH:Verdi
Original Air Date: 01/28/1984
Levine; Milnes, Scotto, Plishka, Ciannella
SID.19090103
This is the second season of the infamous Peter Hall Macbeth. The first season broadcast also with Levine, Scotto, Milnes and Plishka is available on (MOoD). Generally with Scotto, earlier is better. This part, despite many insightful line readings, is simply not for her.
SALOME:Strauss
Original Air Date: 01/19/1952
Reiner; Welitsch, Svanholm, Hoengen, Hotter, Sullivan
SID.19090104
The performance was issued on LP as an upper tier Guild fundraiser. Reiner and Welitsch had caused a sensation in 1949, but the magic was not the same 3 years later, primarily because Welitsch’s voice was well into a steep decline that she never recovered from. The sound is ostensibly better here than 1949, but that is the performance which should be heard on Sirius. This afternoon in 1952 also featured Gianni Schicci with Baccaloni (with Erede conducting, NOT Reiner) which is not being rebroadcast. From 1961-62 season on Salome has been performed without a companion work.
NORMA:Bellini
Original Air Date: 04/04/1970
Bonynge; Sutherland, Horne, Bergonzi, Siepi
MOD Audio SID.19090105
This is Sutherland/Horne’s first of two Met broadcasts of Norma (both in 1970 but different seasons). One will not find stronger support than Bergonzi and Siepi, and the ladies stand up very well to the competition. This performance is available in MOoD, and if the fall performances are even half this level we will be very lucky indeed. The only appearances I know for Bergonzi as Pollione. Siepi goes back to Milanov and Callas. This is available also on MOoD (Met Opera on Demand) so you can listen to it anytime you want. The ladies’ duet singing is remarkable.
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG:Wagner
Original Air Date: 04/24/2004
Levine; Eaglen, West, Salminen, Held, Wray, Naef
SID.19090106
This is Eaglen’s final Met appearance, although not so marked yet in the database. Her 2000 broadcast is on MOoD with Stig Anderson and Eric Halvarson and Felicity Palmer’s Met debut as Waltraute. West was always a solid singer for me and I will take a listen to see how sounds vis a vis current competition, and Salminen is the standard for Hagen. But don’t expect too much from Eaglen. The tone had become significantly compromised by the final round of her Met performances.
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG:Wagner
Original Air Date: 04/24/2004
Levine; Eaglen, West, Salminen, Held, Wray, Naef
SID.19090107
This is Eaglen’s final Met appearance, although not so marked yet in the database. Her 2000 broadcast is on MOoD with Stig Anderson and Eric Halvarson and Felicity Palmer’s Met debut as Waltraute. West was always a solid singer for me and I will take a listen to see how sounds vis a vis current competition, and Salminen is the standard for Hagen. But don’t expect too much from Eaglen. The tone had become significantly compromised by the final round of her Met performances.
THE RAKE’S PROGRESS:Stravinsky
Original Air Date: 01/17/1998
Levine; Hadley, Upshaw, Ramey, Blythe
SID.19090208
This is a solid cast, but I find the Stravinsky work rather cold. We are not finished with the first quarter of 2016 and already we are on our second Rake’s Progress rotation for the year (different cast and performance) Is there a Stravinsky anniversary I’ve missed?
LA JUIVE:Halévy
Original Air Date: 12/13/2003
Viotti; Isokoski, Shicoff, Futral, Cutler, Furlanetto
MOD Audio SID.19090209
“Viotti died only a year or so after premiering the Juive. He was a real talent, and Shicoff, Isokoski and Furlanetto all bring their considerable talents in a production transferred from Vienna. This is the Met’s first season since the mid 1930s and its only broadcast to date. Some early 1930s operas were broadcast but don’t exist. La Juive was never broadcast until 2003.”
MADAMA BUTTERFLY:Puccini
Original Air Date: 01/01/1966
Schick; Scotto, Alexander, Grillo, Dunlap, Schmorr
MOD Audio SID.19090210
This is *Scotto*’s first broadcast, after debuting the previous October. This EVENING broadcast had one of the more infamous Singers Roundtables as I remember (Milanov and Gedda come to mind) remember but alas we never get the interrmission features. I don’t much care for *Dunlap* as Sharpless, but *Scotto* is a major *Butterfly*.
LA GIOCONDA:Ponchielli
Original Air Date: 02/12/1983
Patanè; Marton, Domingo, MacNeil, Dunn, Furlanetto
SID.19090211
This performance marks Patane’s final Met performance. You can’t accuse the Met of undercasting Gioconda, and Marton puts out all of her considerable resources. Though he only has 6 more seasons (she left in a tiff over the Brunnhilde casting), her broadcasts of both Elsa and esp. Ortrud, Turandot, Fidelio Leonora with Vickers and Tennstedt, and her powerhouse Salome (the antithesis best roles. The remainder of above) are among the most rewarding broadcasts of the 1980s. Furlanetto who was primarily a Mozartean this early in his Met career cast is still going strong, and arguably the most important bass singing the Italian (and lots of others) repertoire today. If you love Gioconda just as I do, this is always a welcome performance.”
I PURITANI:Bellini
Original Air Date: 01/06/2007
Summers; Netrebko, Cutler, Vassallo, Relyea
Live in HDMOD Video SID.19090212
This Puritani run launched Netrebko into superstardom, but also engendered some controversy from some bel cantists and Callas widows. Netrebko is a controversial singer in bel canto, but she had a huge success following her premiere of the new Don Pasquale the previous season. Netrebko is very fresh of voice, and will impress many. Her supporting cast is no more than OK, and for Callas fanatics she is totally inadequate. Watch and hear for yourself. I did see Sutherland in 1976, which was well up to her standard even though she had just turned 50. Netrebko in the second Live in HD performance (the English Flute had kicked the series off) was uisually electrifying, and that performance is available on DG Blu-Ray. This audio broadcast is also available in MOoD. This performance duplicates the HD transmission and the DVD cast. This performance is best experience in its simultaneous HD video which is on Met Opera on Demand (MOoD) or on DVD or BLu-Ray.
DON GIOVANNI:Mozart
Original Air Date: 03/13/2004
Levine; Hampson, Harteros, Pape, Goerke, Turay, Hong
SID.19090213
This is a relatively recent broadcast from the previous new production (the Met has had mostly bad luck with all productions after Berman in 1957. ) The casting here is very strong with Harteros a fine Anna (she hardly appears in North America anymore), Pape singing Leporello to a fare thee well and one of the early appearances of Abdrazakov. This is also good exposure for Christine Goerke, who returned to the Met last season as the Dyer’s Wife in Frau ohne Schatten.
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 02/27/1937
Papi; Pons, Jagel, Brownlee, Pinza
SID.19090214
Lily Pons seduced a whole generation of New Yorkers with her glamour, her Gallic presence, and staccati in alt., but I saw her last Lucia in Fort Worth, and never much cared for her recordings. Whatever I think, this is one of the oldest Met broadcasts on Sirius, and Pons’ appeal continues. John Brownlee has a voice that can be passable in Fledermaus, but for me not in Lucia. Ezio Pinza is as good as one gets.
CARMEN:Bizet
Original Air Date: 12/13/1975
Lewis; Crespin, Lewis, Ricciarelli, Van Dam
MOD Audio SID.19090315
No, William Lewis did not conduct and sing Jose simultaneously. Conductor is Henry Lewis, and W. Lewis is deputizing for Domingo. I like Crespin even better on her 1978 broadcast which was on Sirius a few weeks ago. This 1975 performance is on MOoD, but I like the 1978 cast with Chauvet, Mitchell, a good deal more. Van Dam is the best Escamillo around, but Devlin (STILL at the Met in small, mostly single line roles) in the 1978 is very capable. A Crespin Carmen is almost always a listen for me, no matter the performance.
IL TROVATORE:Verdi
Original Air Date: 01/16/1954
Cleva; Baum, Milanov, Nikolaidi, Warren, Moscona
SID.19090316
This is a little late for Milanov in one of her trademark roles. Her 49 Leonoras are a Met record (Martina Arroyo is number 2 at 29). Still, she definitely has her moments. I find her commercial RCA the most consistent of her Leonoras. Baum is Baum, and his 60 Manricos are second only to Martinelli’s 69. Tenors generally do not stay long with this role with most of the major singers including Caruso hover only around a dozen. This is Nikolaidi’s only Met broadcast (her only other role is Amneris in which she debuted on opening night two seasons earlier). Leonard Warren really owned Luna, so I was somewhat suprised to realize that his 45 Counts ties him for second; Merrill has 73 (!!!!!) and Milnes is not far behind Warren at 37. The high tessitura suits Warren best of all and always worthy of a listen.
FALSTAFF:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/27/2019
Farnes; Schultz, Pérez, Lemieux, Johnson Cano, Demuro, Maestri, Rodríguez
SID.19090321
Baritone Ambrogio Maestri brings his larger-than-life portrayal of the title role back for the first time since his Met role debut in the 2013–14 season. Robert Carsen’s insightful production—which moves the action to postwar England in the 1950s—features an exceptional cast that includes soprano Ailyn Pérez as Alice Ford and soprano Golda Schultz as Nannetta.
LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 03/02/2019
Mazzola; Yende, Blythe, Camarena, Corbelli, Muraro
Live in HD SID.19090640
Intermission
-Backstage Pass – HD Host Nadine Sierra interviews Pretty Yende
-William Berger interviews Ailyn Pérez, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, and Golda Schultz about Falstaff
-Backstage Pass – HD Host Nadine Sierra interviews Stephanie Blythe and Maurizio Muraro
-Backstage Pass – HD Host Nadine Sierra interviews Javier Camarena
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
TOSCA:Puccini
Original Air Date: 01/04/1997
Badea; Guleghina, Larin, Morris
SID.19100102
Tosca……………….Maria Guleghina
Cavaradossi………….Sergej Larin
Scarpia……………..James Morris
Sacristan……………David Evitts
Spoletta…………….Charles Anthony
Angelotti……………James Courtney
Sciarrone……………Bradley Garvin
Shepherd…………….Andrew Jablon
Jailer………………Vaclovas Daunoras
Conductor……………Christian Badea
Production…………..Franco Zeffirelli
Stage Director……….Max Charruyer
Set designer…………Franco Zeffirelli
Costume designer……..Peter J. Hall
Lighting designer…….Gil Wechsler
The draw here is Larin, who died much too early. He has Grigory (Boris Godunov), Don Jose, Don Alvaro, and Pinkerton in addition and I saw his Prince in Rusalka in San Francisco. His Alvaro was excellent (second run the first season of the production) and I wish Sirius would rebroadcast both the Ramey and Morris Borises, both are with Larin, the first under Gergiev with Borodina, and the Morris under Bychkov with Mishura. I’d love to hear the Solti Boris (April 1963) as well, but because of the translation, I doubt we will ever hear it. Larin was a premature passing, and not sure how he sounded on this. Guleghina is not my favorite Tosca, and Tosca is not my favorite opera.
L’ITALIANA IN ALGERI:Rossini
Original Air Date: 02/28/2004
Levine; Borodina, Flórez, Furlanetto, Patriarco
MOD Audio SID.19100103
Isabella……………….Olga Borodina
Lindoro………………..Juan Diego Flórez
Taddeo…………………Earle Patriarco
Mustafà………………..Ferruccio Furlanetto
Elvira…………………Lyubov Petrova
Zulma………………….Sandra Piques Eddy
Haly…………………..Mariusz Kwiecien
Conductor………………James Levine
Production……………..Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
Stage Director………….David Kneuss
Designer……………….Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
Associate Designer………David Reppa
Levine is always ready to take the podium when a major star or a video is handy, even if Rossini does not figure prominently in his normally outsized totals– 6 Barbieres, 12 Cenerentolas, and 19 Italianas (he does the Horne video revival in 1986 and this sunny revival from 2004. Borodina is a delightful Isabella, and Furlanetto brings more than the normal amount of voice to Mustafa. Having Florez and Kwiecien (one of his first major roles with the company) makes sure that this performance will have plenty to please the ear and the eye.
OTELLO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/04/1978
Levine; Vickers, Ricciarelli, MacNeil, Little
SID.19100104
Otello………………Jon Vickers
Desdemona……………Katia Ricciarelli
Iago………………..Cornell MacNeil
Emilia………………Jean Kraft
Cassio………………Frank Little
Lodovico…………….James Morris
Montàno……………..Robert Goodloe
Roderigo…………….Andrea Velis
Herald………………Arthur Thompson
Conductor……………James Levine
This is the third of Vickers’ 4 Otello Met broadcasts. Ricciarelli is a semi-rare commodity, but she does not have enough profile to efface memories of Steber, Tebaldi, DeLosAngeles, Tucci (the Solti 1963 broadcast should be on Sirius ), Te Kanawa, Scotto, Millo, or Fleming. Missing from the Sirius and MOoD ranks are the Steber and Tebaldi performances of 1955 and 1958 in addition to the Tucci/Solti. Steber finally made it to the Sirius airwaves in June 2014, but Tucci, Steber, and Tebaldi all deserve to have their Desdemonas in MOoD.
FAUST:Gounod
Original Air Date: 02/19/1955
Monteux; Peerce, de los Angeles, Siepi, Merrill, Miller
MOD Audio SID.19100105
Faust……………….Jan Peerce
Marguerite…………..Victoria de los Angeles
Méphistophélès……….Cesare Siepi
Valentin…………….Robert Merrill
Siebel………………Mildred Miller
Marthe………………Thelma Votipka
Wagner………………Lawrence Davidson
Dance……………….Sallie Wilson
Conductor……………Pierre Monteux
This is the second of Monteux’s three Faust broadcasts, the first one also including DeLosAngeles and Merrill. Paul Jackson, in is second volume reviewing Met broadcasts, Sign-off for the Old Met, is very favorable towards all three of them, a bit less so for Peerce and Siepi. I don’t have his reticence about Siepi and am glad this performance isvavailable on MOoD.
IDOMENEO:Mozart
Original Air Date: 01/26/2002
Levine; Domingo, Hong, Deshorties, von Otter, Oswald
SID.19100106
Idomeneo…………….Plácido Domingo
Ilia………………..Hei-Kyung Hong
Idamante…………….Anne Sofie von Otter
Elettra……………..Alexandra Deshorties
Arbace………………Mark Oswald
High Priest………….Antonio Barasorda
Voice of Neptune……..John Relyea
Woman……………….Sandra Lopez
Woman……………….Jossie Pérez
Soldier……………..Tony Stevenson
Soldier……………..Stephen Morscheck
Conductor……………James Levine
Production…………..Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
Designer…………….Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
Lighting designer…….Gil Wechsler
Stage Director……….David Kneuss
This is Levine’s next to last run of Idomeneo at the Met which is 2006 [last]. This 2002 cast whose main feature is Domingo is surpassed by the 1995 version with a stronger supporting cast, and Levine’s 2006 broadcast which features Roschmann and Kozena both excellent as Ilia and Idamante. Deshorties has had not one, but two Elettras, and the part calls for a Vaness (two excellent broadcasts) or Studer (never broadcast from the Met but in a fall series of performances.) Levine’s Mozart is among his very best operatic work. This is Domingo’s and Von Otter’s second Idomeneo broadcast. Domingo made a strong stab at Idomeno, but I think he’s better on the studio version. The 1995 broadcast also has Carol Vaness’s outstanding Elettra, a much more settled affair than Deshorties. Hong is an excellent Ilia in this 2002 outing. Deshorties had a big success at Glimmerglass this summer as Medea, but her Met work doesn’t always succeed.
LUISA MILLER:Verdi
Original Air Date: 01/23/1982
Santi; Ricciarelli, Pavarotti, Nucci, Plishka, Cheek, Berini
MOD Audio SID.19100107
Luisa……………….Katia Ricciarelli
Rodolfo……………..Luciano Pavarotti
Miller………………Leo Nucci
Count Walter…………Paul Plishka
Wurm………………..John Cheek
Federica…………….Bianca Berini
Laura……………….Claudia Catania
Peasant……………..Lou Marcella
Conductor……………Nello Santi
Luisa is probably Ricciarelli’s best role, and is well suited to the lyricism as well as technical skill for this part. This performance is also available in MOoD and one I highly recommend, even if Santi is rather lethargic at some critical points. Act 3 of Luisa Miller is among Verdi’s greatest inspirations.
DON PASQUALE:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 01/20/1979
Rescigno; Bacquier, Sills, Kraus, Hagegård
MOD Audio SID.19100208
Don Pasquale…………Gabriel Bacquier
Norina………………Beverly Sills
Ernesto……………..Alfredo Kraus
Dr. Malatesta………..Håkan Hagegård
Notary………………Nico Castel
Servant……………..Unknown
Conductor……………Nicola Rescigno
This is Beverly Sills’ farewell production and her company farewell comes at the end of the Met spring tour in Detroit. This is the audio broadcast that followed the national telecast by 9 days, and marks her Metropolitan Opera House farewell. Both performances are available in Met Opera on Demand (MOoD). I find Sills’ video a congenial interpretation even if I prefer the Netrebko video. For audio, I prefer the younger Kraus with Grist and Corena.
LES TROYENS:Berlioz
Original Air Date: 02/18/1984
Levine; Norman, Sooter, Monk, Taillon, Plishka, Ahlstedt
MOD Audio SID.19100209
Norman repeated Verrett’s double assumption on this broadcast (Verrett’s was for the opening of the production in 1973 when Ludwig was indisposed–I was there, quite an evening). I rather prefer Norman’s Didon to her Cassandre, but this broadcast now takes its place in MOoD. Enee is close to an impossible part, but Sooter is no worse than Ronald Dowd was in Boston for Caldwell.
I: La prise de Troie
Cassandra……………Jessye Norman
Coroebus…………….Allan Monk
Aeneas………………Edward Sooter
Ascanius…………….Claudia Catania
Priam……………….Ara Berberian
Hecuba………………Lucille Beer
Helenus……………..Robert Nagy
Andromache…………..Jane White
Astyanax…………….Robert Sanchez [Last performance]
Panthus……………..John Cheek
Hector’s Ghost……….Morley Meredith
Trojan Soldier……….Vernon Hartman
II: Les Troyens à Carthage
Dido………………..Jessye Norman
Anna………………..Jocelyne Taillon
Narbal………………Paul Plishka
Iopas……………….Douglas Ahlstedt
Ascanius…………….Claudia Catania
Panthus……………..John Cheek
Aeneas………………Edward Sooter
Mercury……………..Julien Robbins
Hylas……………….Philip Creech
Trojan Soldier……….John Darrenkamp
Trojan Soldier……….James Courtney
Priam’s Ghost………..James Courtney
Coroebus’s Ghost……..Allan Glassman
Cassandra’s Ghost…….Jean Kraft
Hector’s Ghost……….Morley Meredith
Act II: Ballet
Builders: Deanne Lay, Fredrick Wodin, Marcus Bugler
Sailors: Gary Cordial, Christopher Stocker, Linda Gelinas
Farmers: Kimberly Graves, Antoinette Peloso, Leonard Greco
Conductor……………James Levine
LES TROYENS:Berlioz
Original Air Date: 02/18/1984
Levine; Norman, Sooter, Monk, Taillon, Plishka, Ahlstedt
MOD Audio SID.19100210
Norman repeated Verrett’s double assumption on this broadcast (Verrett’s was for the opening of the production in 1973 when Ludwig was indisposed–I was there, quite an evening). I rather prefer Norman’s Didon to her Cassandre, but this broadcast now takes its place in MOoD. Enee is close to an impossible part, but Sooter is no worse than Ronald Dowd was in Boston for Caldwell.
I: La prise de Troie
Cassandra……………Jessye Norman
Coroebus…………….Allan Monk
Aeneas………………Edward Sooter
Ascanius…………….Claudia Catania
Priam……………….Ara Berberian
Hecuba………………Lucille Beer
Helenus……………..Robert Nagy
Andromache…………..Jane White
Astyanax…………….Robert Sanchez [Last performance]
Panthus……………..John Cheek
Hector’s Ghost……….Morley Meredith
Trojan Soldier……….Vernon Hartman
II: Les Troyens à Carthage
Dido………………..Jessye Norman
Anna………………..Jocelyne Taillon
Narbal………………Paul Plishka
Iopas……………….Douglas Ahlstedt
Ascanius…………….Claudia Catania
Panthus……………..John Cheek
Aeneas………………Edward Sooter
Mercury……………..Julien Robbins
Hylas……………….Philip Creech
Trojan Soldier……….John Darrenkamp
Trojan Soldier……….James Courtney
Priam’s Ghost………..James Courtney
Coroebus’s Ghost……..Allan Glassman
Cassandra’s Ghost…….Jean Kraft
Hector’s Ghost……….Morley Meredith
Act II: Ballet
Builders: Deanne Lay, Fredrick Wodin, Marcus Bugler
Sailors: Gary Cordial, Christopher Stocker, Linda Gelinas
Farmers: Kimberly Graves, Antoinette Peloso, Leonard Greco
Conductor……………James Levine
KÁT’A KABANOVÁ:Janácek
Original Air Date: 03/16/1991
Mackerras; Benacková, Rysanek, Ochman, Haugland, Straka, Quittmeyer
SID.19100211
Kát’a Kabanová……….Gabriela Benacková
Kabanicha……………Leonie Rysanek
Varvara……………..Susan Quittmeyer
Boris……………….Wieslaw Ochman
Tichon………………Allan Glassman
Vána Kudrjas…………Peter Straka
Kuligin……………..Vernon Hartman
Dikoj……………….Aage Haugland
Glasa……………….Sondra Kelly
Feklusa……………..Loretta Di Franco
Passerby…………….Meredith Derr
Townswoman…………..Joyce Olson
Conductor……………Charles Mackerras
Production by…………..Jonathan Miller
Set and Costume designer…Robert Israel
Lighting designer……….Gil Wechsler
This was the premiere season for the Janacek work at the Met, and the Met put out the best cast and conductor imaginable . I am more of a Jenufa guy (and there is a great broadcast with Benackova and Rysanek in 1992. Both have been on Sirius, but both richly deserve to be in MOoD. KATA doesn’t feature the power and catharsis of Jenufa, but one cannot do better than this cast under Mackerras. A great bookend to Benackova and Rysanek’s broadcast Jenufa.
LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN:Offenbach
Original Air Date: 12/23/1989
Cambreling; Lima, Van Dam, Mills, Forst, Malfitano, Boozer
SID.19100212
Hoffmann…………….Luis Lima
Olympia……………..Erie Mills
Giulietta……………Judith Forst
Antonia……………..Catherine Malfitano
Stella………………Pauline Andrey
Lindorf……………..José Van Dam
Coppélius……………José Van Dam
Dappertutto………….José Van Dam
Dr. Miracle………….José Van Dam
Nicklausse…………..Brenda Boozer
Muse………………..Brenda Boozer
Andrès………………Anthony Laciura
Cochenille…………..Anthony Laciura
Pitichinaccio………..Anthony Laciura
Frantz………………Anthony Laciura
Luther………………Spiro Malas
Nathanael……………Philip Creech
Hermann……………..John Darrenkamp
Spalanzani…………..Donald Kaasch
Schlemil…………….Morley Meredith
Crespel……………..John Macurdy
Mother’s Voice……….Gweneth Bean
Conductor……………Sylvain Cambreling
Lima is much stretched by Hoffmann, but he was very sympathetic on stage. I like the three lady casting, and Van Dam is excellent as the villains, his only Met season in them.
SAMSON ET DALILA:Saint-Saëns
Original Air Date: 03/05/2005
de Billy; Cura, Graves, Lafont
SID.19100213
This might be OK as a video, but not much aural delight in my view. Contrary to the Met Data base, the Dalis Thomas Bacquier 1964 performance has been on Sirius, but the 1972 with McCracken and Bumbry has not. It is Bumbry’s only Met broadcast of the role, and if Baudo is not as exciting as Pretre in this music (who is?) , it’s one of McCracken’s best parts as well.
Samson…………………José Cura
Dalila…………………Denyce Graves
High Priest…………….Jean-Philippe Lafont
Abimélech………………James Courtney
Old Hebrew……………..Robert Lloyd
Philistine……………..Bernard Fitch
Philistine……………..Richard Hobson
Messenger………………Tony Stevenson
Conductor………………Bertrand de Billy
Production……………..Elijah Moshinsky
Designer……………….Richard Hudson
Lighting designer……….Duane Schuler
Choreographer…………..Graeme Murphy
Stage Director………….Peter McClintock
RIGOLETTO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/24/1990
Panni; Nucci, Anderson, Pavarotti, Furlanetto, Svendén, Held
MOD Audio SID.19100214
Rigoletto……………Leo Nucci
Gilda……………….June Anderson
Duke of Mantua……….Luciano Pavarotti
Maddalena……………Birgitta Svendén
Sparafucile………….Ferruccio Furlanetto
Monterone……………Alan Held
Borsa……………….Michael Forest
Marullo……………..Vernon Hartman
Count Ceprano………..Richard Vernon
Countess Ceprano……..Joyce Guyer
Giovanna…………….Sondra Kelly
Page………………..Maria Donaldi
Guard……………….Paul De Paola
Conductor……………Marcello Panni
This performance was of the new Otto Schenk production, catching both Anderson and Pavarotti in particularly good voice. Held is a solid Monterone (Sirius does not list, but I find it a very important, if short role). This performance is Pavarotti’s 3d Duke broadcast (the first was from 17 years earlier). As I remember this 1990 performance, he was in very good voice ; this performance is also available on Met Player. Nucci was a highly dependable Rigoletto, if not the crowd favorite Warren or MacNeil were at their best. I had forgotten that Furlanetto was the Sparafucile, and Alan Held the Monterone. Monterone is one of the shortest parts in opera, but a good one can really supercharge a Rigoletto. I would think Held would be well cast (I don’t remember his performance), but my two Monterones are Giaiotti and Morris (Giaiotti’s only broadcast is MacNeil’s first broadcast Rigoletto from 1960 and includes for further bass clef plush Tozzi– we need to hear this on Sirius!!!; Morris is available on Met Player with Pavarotti from 1973).