LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 12/08/1956
Cleva; Callas, Votipka, McCracken, Sordello, Campora, Franke, Moscona
MOD Audio SID.19050529
The matinée of Lucia di Lammermoor on December 8, 1956, represents the sole Met broadcast of Maria Callas (1923-77). Callas’s Met career was frustratingly meager: in three seasons, she sang just twenty-one performances. Her company debut, in Norma, on October 29, 1956, was preceded by artistic triumphs in Europe and Chicago and an avalanche of pre-opening publicity; in his memoirs, Met general manager Rudolf Bing called Callas’s debut “undoubtedly the most exciting of all such in my time at the Metropolitan.” The soprano’s first two Met seasons were colored by her dissatisfaction with some of the aging stagings in which the company presented her: the Lucia, for example, dated from 1942, although the soprano wore costumes designed by Ebe Colciaghi for a 1954 La Scala production. A disagreement with Bing over proposed repertory for 1958-59 ended with the diva’s well-publicized “firing”; Callas did not return to the Met until 1965, when she sang two Toscas, her final opera performances in the U.S.
Callas’s Lucia conductor was Fausto Cleva (1902-71), the Trieste-born maestro who led seventeen of her Met appearances. The afternoon’s Edgardo was Italian lyric tenor Giuseppe Campora (1923-2004), who had joined the Met roster in 1955, as Rodolfo. Enzo Sordello (b. 1927), Callas’s Enrico, was the focus of the soprano’s wrath when she claimed that the Italian baritone held the final note of the “Se tradirmi” duet too long; heard today, Sordello’s action seems the result of confusion rather than malice. Nevertheless, in his memoirs, Bing claims that he canceled the balance of the baritone’s contract after the Lucia matinée contretemps. Greek bass Nicola Moscona (1907-75) sang fifty-seven Lucia Raimondos during his twenty-five seasons with the company; the first of his more than 700 Met performances was as Ramfis in 1937. An even more impressive Lucia record-holder was Ohio-born soprano Thelma Votipka (1906-72), whose more than 1,400 Met performances during her twenty-nine seasons with the company included 116 Alisas. Another American, tenor James McCracken (1926-88), shone as the afternoon’s Normanno; then in his fourth season of singing comprimario parts at the Met, McCracken would leave the company to build his resumé in Europe in the late 1950s. McCracken returned to the Met in triumph in 1963 as the Moor in a new production of Otello and remained one of the company’s best-loved stars until his death.
Lucia Broadcast 12/8/1956
THE QUEEN OF SPADES:Tchaikovsky
Original Air Date: 02/14/2004
Jurowski; Domingo, Dalayman, Palmer, Chernov, Zaremba, Putilin
SID.19060101
This is Domingo’s last round out as Gherman, which seemed like yesterday but is now over a decade gone. Jurowski is an interesting conductor and I like Dalayman’s Lisa. Chernov does not have the finish of Hvorostovsky, but it all depends on one’s reaction to Domingo’s Gherman. This is Domingo’s second Gherman, and I much prefer Palmer to Soderstrom and Dalayman to Gorchakova. This is late Chernov, and I must take a listen to see how he is. Jurowski is a top drawer conductor in my view. Not a short work, but a lot of thrilling music. I like Jurowski very much as a conductor, and the cast is not without interest. It’s a shame the first year of the production with Mattila and Heppner at their peak and the final role at the Met for Rysanek, that no broadcast exists– one of the many reasons I love the live Sirius 3 times a week.
ADRIANA LECOUVREUR:Cilea
Original Air Date: 03/19/1994
Abbado; Freni, Lima, Toczyska, Milnes
SID.19060315
I enjoyed seeing Freni in the role, but Fedora turned out to be a much more congenial role for her late period. Tocyzyska is always an alert performer.
AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY:Picker
Original Air Date: 12/24/2005
Conlon; Gunn, Racette, Graham, Zajick, Larmore
MOD Audio SID.19060316
An American Tragedy was premiered at the Met and should have been HDd during a scheduled revival in 2008 which was taken by Last Emperor (in hopes of a China tour which did not materialize). Zambello directed, and she remains faithful to the work which was revived at Glimmerglass in 2014 in a revised edition. On the radio the real standout is Zajick who makes conventional lines sound momentous, but the overall cast was well chosen.
ARIADNE AUF NAXOS:Strauss
Original Air Date: 04/23/1994
Levine; Voigt, Schmidt, Dahl, Stratas, Prey, Oswald
SID.19060317
Voigt is in very fresh voice here, but Schmidt and Dahl are not to my taste, and I think Stratas over sings the part of Composer. Better to hear the 1979 performance with one of Gruberova’s only 2 Met broadcasts with Kollo, Troyanos, and Johanna Meier in the title role.
Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/11/1989
Levine; Shicoff, Price, Weikl, Troyanos, Raimondi, Rootering
SID.19060318
The Price here is Margaret Price and her only other Met broadcast is Otello with Domingo and Milnes from her debut year in 1985 which has so far eluded the airwaves. Shicoff is also under-represented so this performance is especially welcomed — this is only the third rotation since its first Sirius rebroadcast in 2014. The rest of the male cast are not my favorites in this very favorite opera of mine.
FAUST:Gounod
Original Air Date: 04/05/1997
Rudel; Leech, Fleming, Ramey, Croft, Bunnell
MOD Audio SID.19060319
This is a fine performance with all performers at full throttle. Rudel has conducted his share of Fausts (many more at the NYCO than the Met), and I reacted most positively to the last time it was on. Fleming is in especially fine form. It’s one of her best roles –her best predecessor as Marguerite was Freni, who only did the part with the Met in the fall of 1966 and thus never broadcast it. Mention should be made of two other fine Marguerites Diania Soviero whose 1991 broacast has been picked up by Sirius and Pilar Lorengar’s 1969 broadcast with Gedda, Siepi, and Merrill under Silvio Varviso which has not been on Sirius and certainly deserves coverage.
AIDA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 01/27/2001
Levine; Voigt, Pavarotti, Borodina, Delavan, Bezzubenkov
MOD Audio SID.19060320
This performance commemorates the centenary of Verdi’s death, and except for the plush offered by Borodina, there is not much here. This is where I first started to hear real stylistic limitations in Voigt’s performances (well before the surgery), but as I am preparing this, it is really quite remarkable that Pavarotti is out there at the age of 66 (!!!) as Radames. The visual was supposedly very compromised, but my memory from the radio was OK, not more, but Giovanni Martinelli (KING of Radames with 123 Met performances from 1915-1943!!!!!! was only 58 at his last Met effort) I’ll give Pavarotti another listen.
I VESPRI SICILIANI:Verdi
Original Air Date: 12/11/2004
Chaslin; Radvanovsky, Casanova, Nucci, Ramey
MOD Audio SID.19060422
Elena was a major breakout role for Radvanovsky, and she was the deserved star of this revival. Nucci, who has appeared irregularly but continuously since his debut in 1980 last appeared at the Met in this 2004 broadcast where he is in fine voice as he was on the Nabucco broadcast six months earlier (prior season). His current engagements show him as busy as any Verdi baritone before the public with an appearance in January 2016 at La Scala as Rigoletto with Nadine Sierra, where they encored the Si, vendetta duet (!!!!). Casanova has good style in arguably Verdi’s most challenging tenor part. This revival catches Ramey after the wobble had started to set in (I date at around 2002). He’s still very commanding, but it’s just a bit too late to be top quality. Procida is one of the greatest of Verdi bass roles right up there with Fiesco, if not quite at the level of Filippo II. Chaslin conducts a well prepared performance, and so nice to have this performance in the Sirius rotation. With Radvanovsky’s new status, this performance should be added to MOoD. This is true two years ago, and is still the case. 6/26/2012 – Ramey is a bit too late for Procida here, but Chaslin’s conducting and the other three principals are very good . Vespri is hard to sing, and never overwhelms me like Don Carlo, Ballo, Simon, or Forza, but there are still some Verdian moments to enjoy. The only competitive Met broadcast. 9/28/11 – Vespri has some great music but I find it the weakest of any of Verdi’s post Rigoletto operas. This revival was the big showcase for Radvanovsky who regularly featured some of the biggest E naturals ever heard at the Met (at the end of the Bolero). Nucci still had surprising sap left, but 2 or 3 years too late for Ramey, and Casanova will be ok on the radio, but he did not have an ideal stage appearance. 2/8/11 – It’s not Don Carlo or Simon Boccanegra, but one of the first exposures of major league Radvanovsky. Not quite enough panache for the dramatic sections, but some stirring singing. Casanova better heard than seen, and Nucci in fine shape, esp. for his age.Just a little too late for Ramey. Much better at Scala under Muti.
ADRIANA LECOUVREUR:Cilea
Original Air Date: 03/19/1994
Abbado; Freni, Lima, Toczyska, Milnes
SID.19060423
I enjoyed seeing Freni in the role, but Fedora turned out to be a much more congenial role for her late period. Tocyzyska is always an alert performer.
PETER GRIMES:Britten
Original Air Date: 04/05/1969
Davis; Vickers, Amara, Evans, Madeira, Chookasian
SID.19060424
This is the same cast and conductor as the production premiere the previous season in the new house’s inaugural season when the third performance was broadcast. Colin Davis, Jon Vickers, and Geraint Evans are the gold standard in this work
PARSIFAL:Wagner
Original Air Date: 03/24/1956
Stiedry; Svanholm, Harshaw, Schöffler, Edelmann, Pechner
SID.19060425
“I only heard parts of this performance, so I checked Jackson to see where he was. Except for a glancing mention of Svanholm, this performance is ignored in favor of the 1954 Stiedry performance which he doesn’t much care for which features Hotter’s farewell to the Met (very few appearances). Only Hotter comes in for considerable praise. A few pages later he takes great pleasure in the Pretre 1966 Parsifal with Konya , Crespin and Hines. This is one of Crespin’s very best broadcast efforts, and belongs both on Sirius and in MOoD.”
PARSIFAL:Wagner
Original Air Date: 03/24/1956
Stiedry; Svanholm, Harshaw, Schöffler, Edelmann, Pechner
SID.19060426
“I only heard parts of this performance, so I checked Jackson to see where he was. Except for a glancing mention of Svanholm, this performance is ignored in favor of the 1954 Stiedry performance which he doesn’t much care for which features Hotter’s farewell to the Met (very few appearances). Only Hotter comes in for considerable praise. A few pages later he takes great pleasure in the Pretre 1966 Parsifal with Konya , Crespin and Hines. This is one of Crespin’s very best broadcast efforts, and belongs both on Sirius and in MOoD.”
LA FILLE DU REGIMENT:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 02/07/2019
Mazzola; Yende, Blythe, Turner, Camarena, Corbelli
SID.19060428
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; Production a gift of The Annenberg Foundation; Revival a gift of Mrs. Jayne Wrightsman
Wagner
Original Air Date: 04/16/1938
Bodanzky; Melchior, Flagstad, Branzell, List, Huehn
SID.19060529
This performance was first on Sirius last May when the Met’s bicentennial box of Wagner broadcasts was issued on Sony Classical and subsequently in MOoD. It’s not surround sound, but adding a major Flagstad Melchior Tristan is an important event. A not miss performance in any week.
TOSCA:Puccini
Original Air Date: 01/01/1977
Santi; Bumbry, Giacomini, Milnes
SID.19060530
A little of Tosca goes a long way with me, but Giacomini is under-represented on the Sirius broadcasts and I find Bumbry an enjoyable Tosca.
SAMSON:Handel
Original Air Date: 03/01/1986
Rudel; Vickers, Mitchell, Te Kanawa
SID.19060531
The Met did a “big house” Handel for Vickers, no HIP around here; it’s a particular treat to have Te Kanawa as the Israelite Woman. Vickers’ final two Met broadcasts are this Samson and the Saint-Saens Samson et Dalila with Horne. Neither are represented on MOoD and he never broadcast his Don Jose (one was scheduled in 1971 replaced by Domingo) Major lacunae for one of the all time Met legends.
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA:Rossini
Original Air Date: 12/16/1950
Erede; Valdengo, Pons, Di Stefano, Baccaloni, Hines
MOD Audio SID.19060532
This performance is also available on Sony Historic CD. I always enjoy Valdengo, and Di Stefano is interesting, but Pons is almost NEVER to my taste. She has a long Met career and was a big star. It is not a faceless Barber, but I prefer Corena and gang from later years.
ARIADNE AUF NAXOS:Strauss
Original Air Date: 04/23/1994
Levine; Voigt, Schmidt, Dahl, Stratas, Prey, Oswald
SID.19060533
Voigt is in very fresh voice here, but Schmidt and Dahl are not to my taste, and I think Stratas over sings the part of Composer. Better to hear the 1979 performance with one of Gruberova’s only 2 Met broadcasts with Kollo, Troyanos, and Johanna Meier in the title role.
Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/11/1989
Levine; Shicoff, Price, Weikl, Troyanos, Raimondi, Rootering
SID.19060534
The Price here is Margaret Price and her only other Met broadcast is Otello with Domingo and Milnes from her debut year in 1985 which has so far eluded the airwaves. Shicoff is also under-represented so this performance is especially welcomed — this is only the third rotation since its first Sirius rebroadcast in 2014. The rest of the male cast are not my favorites in this very favorite opera of mine.
FAUST:Gounod
Original Air Date: 04/05/1997
Rudel; Leech, Fleming, Ramey, Croft, Bunnell
MOD Audio SID.19060535
This is a fine performance with all performers at full throttle. Rudel has conducted his share of Fausts (many more at the NYCO than the Met), and I reacted most positively to the last time it was on. Fleming is in especially fine form. It’s one of her best roles –her best predecessor as Marguerite was Freni, who only did the part with the Met in the fall of 1966 and thus never broadcast it. Mention should be made of two other fine Marguerites Diania Soviero whose 1991 broacast has been picked up by Sirius and Pilar Lorengar’s 1969 broadcast with Gedda, Siepi, and Merrill under Silvio Varviso which has not been on Sirius and certainly deserves coverage.
AIDA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 01/27/2001
Levine; Voigt, Pavarotti, Borodina, Delavan, Bezzubenkov
MOD Audio SID.19060636
This performance commemorates the centenary of Verdi’s death, and except for the plush offered by Borodina, there is not much here. This is where I first started to hear real stylistic limitations in Voigt’s performances (well before the surgery), but as I am preparing this, it is really quite remarkable that Pavarotti is out there at the age of 66 (!!!) as Radames. The visual was supposedly very compromised, but my memory from the radio was OK, not more, but Giovanni Martinelli (KING of Radames with 123 Met performances from 1915-1943!!!!!! was only 58 at his last Met effort) I’ll give Pavarotti another listen.
I VESPRI SICILIANI:Verdi
Original Air Date: 12/11/2004
Chaslin; Radvanovsky, Casanova, Nucci, Ramey
MOD Audio SID.19060637
Elena was a major breakout role for Radvanovsky, and she was the deserved star of this revival. Nucci, who has appeared irregularly but continuously since his debut in 1980 last appeared at the Met in this 2004 broadcast where he is in fine voice as he was on the Nabucco broadcast six months earlier (prior season). His current engagements show him as busy as any Verdi baritone before the public with an appearance in January 2016 at La Scala as Rigoletto with Nadine Sierra, where they encored the Si, vendetta duet (!!!!). Casanova has good style in arguably Verdi’s most challenging tenor part. This revival catches Ramey after the wobble had started to set in (I date at around 2002). He’s still very commanding, but it’s just a bit too late to be top quality. Procida is one of the greatest of Verdi bass roles right up there with Fiesco, if not quite at the level of Filippo II. Chaslin conducts a well prepared performance, and so nice to have this performance in the Sirius rotation. With Radvanovsky’s new status, this performance should be added to MOoD. This is true two years ago, and is still the case.6/26/2012 – Ramey is a bit too late for Procida here, but Chaslin’s conducting and the other three principals are very good . Vespri is hard to sing, and never overwhelms me like Don Carlo, Ballo, Simon, or Forza, but there are still some Verdian moments to enjoy. The only competitive Met broadcast. 9/28/11 – Vespri has some great music but I find it the weakest of any of Verdi’s post Rigoletto operas. This revival was the big showcase for Radvanovsky who regularly featured some of the biggest E naturals ever heard at the Met (at the end of th e Bolero). Nucci still had surprising sap left, but 2 or 3 years too late for Ramey, and Casanova will be ok on the radio, but he did not have an ideal stage appearance. 2/8/11 – It’s not Don Carlo or Simon Boccanegra, but one of the first exposures of major league Radvanovsky. Not quite enough panache for the dramatic sections, but some stirring singing. Casanova better heard than seen, and Nucci in fine shape, esp. for his age.Just a little too late for Ramey. Much better at Scala under Muti.
Wagner
Original Air Date: 04/16/1938
Bodanzky; Melchior, Flagstad, Branzell, List, Huehn
SID.19060638
This performance was first on Sirius last May when the Met’s bicentennial box of Wagner broadcasts was issued on Sony Classical and subsequently in MOoD. It’s not surround sound, but adding a major Flagstad Melchior Tristan is an important event. A not miss performance in any week.
IOLANTA / BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE:Tchaikovsky/Bartók
Original Air Date: 02/09/2019
Nanasi; Yoncheva, Polenzani, Markov, Azizov, Kowaljow, Denoke, Finley
SID.19060639
Program 020919-iolanta-bluebeard
Intermission Features
Backstage Pass: Loren Toolajian interviews Sonya Yoncheva and Matthew Polenzani
Backstage Pass: Loren Toolajian interviews Angela Denoke and Gerald Finley
Mary Jo Heath interviews Nadine Sierra about Rigoletto
Mariusz Treliński’s haunting production of the pairing of Tchaikovsky’s and Bartók’s one-act operas makes its first return to the stage since its Met premiere in the 2014–15 season. Soprano Sonya Yoncheva—following her triumphant 2017–18 performances as Tosca—is the blind princess, Iolanta, who discovers love for the first time, opposite tenor Matthew Polenzani as the dashing knight Vaudémont. In Bartók’s chilling Bluebeard’s Castle, baritone Gerald Finley is the menacing Bluebeard, and soprano Angela Denoke is his initially unsuspecting new wife. Henrik Nánási conducts. Co-production of the Metropolitan Opera and Teatr Wielki-Polish National Opera Production a gift of Ambassador and Mrs. Nicholas F. Taubman; Additional funding from Mrs. Veronica Atkins; Dr. Magdalena Berenyi, in memory of Dr. Kalman Berenyi; and the National Endowment for the Arts
PETER GRIMES:Britten
Original Air Date: 04/05/1969
Davis; Vickers, Amara, Evans, Madeira, Chookasian
SID.19060641
This is the same cast and conductor as the production premiere the previous season in the new house’s inaugural season when the third performance was broadcast. Colin Davis, Jon Vickers, and Geraint Evans are the gold standard in this work
PARSIFAL:Wagner
Original Air Date: 03/24/1956
Stiedry; Svanholm, Harshaw, Schöffler, Edelmann, Pechner
SID.19060642
“I only heard parts of this performance, so I checked Jackson to see where he was. Except for a glancing mention of Svanholm, this performance is ignored in favor of the 1954 Stiedry performance which he doesn’t much care for which features Hotter’s farewell to the Met (very few appearances). Only Hotter comes in for considerable praise. A few pages later he takes great pleasure in the Pretre 1966 Parsifal with Konya , Crespin and Hines. This is one of Crespin’s very best broadcast efforts, and belongs both on Sirius and in MOoD.”
PARSIFAL:Wagner
Original Air Date: 03/24/1956
Stiedry; Svanholm, Harshaw, Schöffler, Edelmann, Pechner
SID.19060743
“I only heard parts of this performance, so I checked Jackson to see where he was. Except for a glancing mention of Svanholm, this performance is ignored in favor of the 1954 Stiedry performance which he doesn’t much care for which features Hotter’s farewell to the Met (very few appearances). Only Hotter comes in for considerable praise. A few pages later he takes great pleasure in the Pretre 1966 Parsifal with Konya , Crespin and Hines. This is one of Crespin’s very best broadcast efforts, and belongs both on Sirius and in MOoD.”
AIDA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 01/27/2001
Levine; Voigt, Pavarotti, Borodina, Delavan, Bezzubenkov
MOD Audio SID.19060744
This performance commemorates the centenary of Verdi’s death, and except for the plush offered by Borodina, there is not much here. This is where I first started to hear real stylistic limitations in Voigt’s performances (well before the surgery), but as I am preparing this, it is really quite remarkable that Pavarotti is out there at the age of 66 (!!!) as Radames. The visual was supposedly very compromised, but my memory from the radio was OK, not more, but Giovanni Martinelli (KING of Radames with 123 Met performances from 1915-1943!!!!!! was only 58 at his last Met effort) I’ll give Pavarotti another listen.