AIDA : Verdi
OAD: 10/06/2018 Rebroadcast 5/04/2019
Luisotti; Netrebko, Rachvelishvili, Antonenko, Kelsey, Belosselskiy, Speedo Green
Program: 100618-aida
NYT Review (Tommassini) Last spring at the Metropolitan Opera, the soprano Anna Netrebko took on the title role of Puccini’s “Tosca” for the first time. She claimed that touchstone part for her own, and put her mark on the whole season. On Wednesday at the Met, Ms. Netrebko did it again, this time in the title role of Verdi’s “Aida.” She is still fairly new to this challenging part, which she introduced at the Salzburg Festival a year ago. There was something fresh and exploratory about her performance on Wednesday. Yet it also felt fully formed, dramatically deep. And she sang magnificently.
Observer (Jorden) “Ritorna vincitor!” cries the Egyptian throng in the first scene of Aida as they send their hero off to war: “Return in triumph!” And that’s what the Met’s undisputed prima donna Anna Netrebko did last night in her first local performance of the protean title role of this opera: she came, she sang and she conquered.
RIGOLETTO:Verdi
OAD: 01/15/2000
Jurowski; Nucci, Jo, Álvarez, Hawlata, Livengood
SID.19190102
Jurowski, a talented conductor returned to the Met recently conducting Die Frau ohne Schatten in a most successful revival. This is Jurowski’s debut season and the cast is reasonably strong. Nucci is a solid Rigoletto, and more to my taste more than most post 2000 baritones. Jo is helped a lot by the microphones, and Alvarez early in his Met career does an OK Duke.
TANNHÄUSER:Wagner
OAD: 01/09/1954
Szell; Vinay, Harshaw, Varnay, London, Hines
MOD Audio SID.19190103
You either love Vinay or you hate him (even as a tenor). As a tenor I like him very much. Wolfram is a particularly congenial part for London, and this was the third performance of a four performance run (at least with Szell who did the next performance after this one and left the Met forever). Szell is one of the prime attractions and this performance is available on Met Player. This performance is on MOoD and notable as Szell’s last Met broadcast and his penultimate appearance at the Met. Cast are well up to their roles, though Vinay is not to every taste– he is to mine. This performance is available also in MOoD as well as the Sony Box and has been on Sirius before. I’m sorry that they did not seek out the 1941 Flagstad Melchior broadcast which was at one time available from the Met in their historic LP series so a decent tape does exist. The Dresden version is used. I take nothing away from the distinction of Szell, but in Tannhauser, the title role is what makes or breaks the performance. Vinay is acceptable, but he is not prime Melchior either.
DER ROSENKAVALIER:Strauss
OAD: 02/23/1974
Böhm; Fassbaender, Lear, Jungwirth, Mathis, Dooley
SID.19190104
Evelyn Lear is a solid Marschallin, even if she is somewhat eclipsed by Fassbaender and Mathis, among the two best performers to ever do these roles. Bohm is in the pit, and Jungwirth is an excellent Ochs (as he is on the Solti Crespin commercial.)
DIE FLEDERMAUS:Strauss Jr.
OAD: 01/23/1954
Kozma; Steber, Kullman, Munsel, Hayward, Novotná, Brownlee
SID.19190105
Steber lets the end of the Czardas get away from her, and John Brownlee is never a voice I want to hear, but Munsel is quite a trouper in this role; Novotna is a stylish Orlofsky. Why is the Fledermaus translation not a problem for the Met, but their Arabella is? This is Steber’s only broadcast Rosalinde, and she makes a meal of it. This is getting toward the end of Munsel’s reign at the Met with mostly Perichole and some Depinas ahead of her. My problem is with Brownlee, one of the driest voices ever .
LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN:Offenbach
OAD: 02/13/1993
Levine; Domingo, Vaness, Held, Mentzer
MOD Audio SID.19190106
One of the best performances I ever saw from Domingo was a NYCO in Philadelphia 1965 Hoffmann with Sills and Treigle. He premieres not one but two Met productions (1973 with Sutherland and Bacquier, and 1982 under Chailly with Morris). This 1993 broadcast follows opening the season in Hoffmann which had Ramey as the villains. The 1982 (which has been on Sirius but not on MOoD, is much better on all counts.
FEDORA:Giordano
OAD: 04/26/1997
Abbado; Freni, Domingo, Croft, Arteta
MOD Video SID.19190107
This is the Met’s only broadcast of this verismo work, and is available on DVD also. This is a solid performance even if it catches Freni in the extreme twilight of a very long career. This is Freni’s penultimate opera performance at the Met, with another Fedora 5 days later. She appears 5 years later in an opening night gala doing Act 2 of Fedora, and she returns 3 years later for an end of season concert that marks her last vocal appearance on any stage.
LA FORZA DEL DESTINO:Verdi
OAD: 11/29/1952
Stiedry; Milanov, Tucker, Warren, Hines, Miller, Pechner
MOD Audio SID.19190208
Here’s Milanov, Tucker, and Warren again and very well cast. This performance is available on Met Player and despite the odd (Bruno Walter) arrangement and cuts brings you a Forza you simply can’t hear today. two Leontyne Price Forzas (one from 1968 with Corelli, and the other from 1972 with Bergonzi whould be rebroadcast. She is very well represented in Sirius but the 1977 with Domingo and the 1984 video do not show her as well as the earlier broadcasts. This performance is available in MOoD, and with good reason. At pretty much close to their best, one of the strongest Forza casts in the postwar period. All four of Milanov’s Forza broadcasts (all with Sitedry conducting) have been on Sirius, and this, the earliest has also appeared in MOoD. Despite the cuts and re-arrangement, when this performance concludes you know you’ve heard Forza. Tucker and Warren make very challenging parts sound almost easy. Hines is not as impressive as Siepi, but he toweres over what passes for most bass singing today.
VANESSA:Barber
OAD: 04/03/1965
Steinberg; Costa, Alexander, Elias, Thebom, Tozzi
MOD Audio SID.19190209
The Met does well by Samuel Barber, and regularly programs on Sirius the Steber world premiere season broadcast from 1958. Elias and Tozzi remain from the original cast under William Steinberg. The skating aria for Vanessa is gone by this revival, another reason to check out the Steber broadcast in MOoD.
L’ITALIANA IN ALGERI:Rossini
OAD: 02/17/2001
Campanella; Larmore, Polenzani, Ramey, Corbelli
MOD Audio SID.19190210
This is Ramey’s only Mustafa broadcast, and early appearances by Polenzani and Kwiecien who are Met regulars in star parts these days. My own favorite Isabella is Borodina whose performance with Florez and Furlanetto is also on MOoD.
FALSTAFF:Verdi
OAD: 12/16/1967
Amaducci; Flagello, Curtin, Guarrera, Barbieri, Raskin, Alva
MOD Audio SID.19190211
Barbieri, Guarrera, and Alva are veterans of many Falstaffs, and Flagello features a lot of voice for a bass Falstaff. Amaducci, by memory, didn’t have much sparkle. High praise for Alva and Barbieri; she is a characterful Quickly, and he a perfect Fenton, but Amaducci is possibly the weakest Falstaff conductor in Met history(certainly on broadcasts). The 1964 Bernstein has never been on Sirius, and though the Met Database records the 1972 as having been on Sirius with Gobbi, Tebaldi, and Paskalis under von Dohnanyi, it has not been on more than once, and should be heard again. Both of these performances belong in MOoD not this performance. Flagello who had one of the great voices in a time when the Met’s bass cabinet was chock full sings the part very well, but for this work, you must have a conductor to work with you, and that he doesn’t have. Alas, Falstaff is about ensemble, not individual efforts.
L’ELISIR D’AMORE:Donizetti
OAD: 01/21/1995
Müller; Hadley, Swenson, Plishka, Oswald
SID.19190212
I did not write a review of this performance, and I’m not sure why. I have no memory of this performance, so I’d better take a listen. While this performance has not been played to death, I think L’elisir is getting played with the frequency of Puccini which I don’t think it can support.
MADAMA BUTTERFLY:Puccini
OAD: 03/18/1967
Molinari-Pradelli; Scotto, Shirley, Casei, Bottcher, Velis
SID.19190213
Scotto’s 38 Met Butterflys are exceeded only by Farrar (139!!!!), Albanese (72), and Kirsten (68). This performance features the very solid conducting of Molinari-Pradelli. She also has two studio recordings, the first with Bergonzi under Barbirolli being particularly notable. The Met’s continuing omissions of Antonietta Stella (1958) and Gabriella Tucci (1962 with Bergonzi) from their Sirius rebroadcasts are regrettable.
DIE WALKÜRE:Wagner
OAD: 12/06/1941 SID.19190214
Leinsdorf; Traubel, Schorr, Varnay, Melchior, Thorborg, Kipnis
This really is a broadcast of giants, and marks Varnay’s debut on an an operatic stage. Traubel has been recently discussed on Opera-L, and count me very much in the Traubel camp. Hearing the Todesverkundigung with her and Melchior is one of the absolute best, and the Walkure Brunnhilde is one of her best roles. The remainder of the cast is just as exceptional– esp. since i much prefer Kipnis’ voice to List. Paul Jackson notes with sadness this is Schorr’s final Wagner broadcast, and it finds him far from his two decade mastery of Wagner.
MANON:Massenet
OAD: 12/15/1951
Cleva; Albanese, Di Stefano, Singher
MOD Audio SID.19190321
If Singher is the only one to really be a master of the French style, Albanese and Di Stefano are not without interest.
SIEGFRIED : Wagner
OAD: 05/09/2019 SID.19190427
Jordan; Goerke, Morley, Cargill, Vinke, Siegel, Volle, Konieczny, Belosselskiy
PROGRAM 050919-siegfried
Article: Love is a Battlefield
DIALOGUES DES CARMÉLITES : Poulenc
OAD: 05/11/2019 SID.19190638
Nézet-Séguin; Leonard, Pieczonka, Morley, Cargill, Mattila, Portillo, LaPointe
THE RAKES PROGRESS:Stravinsky
Original Air Date: 02/14/1953
Reiner; Conley, Güden, Harrell, Thebom
SID.19200102
This is the American premiere with the composer in attendance. Worth noting is the director for this production is George Balanchine. It’s still a chilly work for me Not my cup of tea, but a distinguished afternoon, and the U.S. premiere occurs with this broadcast. Reiner is major in every way.
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO:Mozart
Original Air Date: 12/09/1967
Rosenstock; Siepi, Freni, Della Casa, Krause, Stratas
SID.19200103
This broadcast has estimable servants of Siepi and Freni with Stratas a fine Cherubino, but it is burdened with Rosenstock’s conducting and Della Casa makes her final Met appearance. Earlier in the season the Countess was taken by Lorengar and Berganza was the Cherubino, alas still with Rosenstock. You can hear Della Casa coughing audibly on this broadcast. Miraculously, Mme Della Casa was still with us until Dec. 2012, living into her 90s.
WOZZECK:Berg
Original Air Date: 01/06/1990
Levine; Hornik, Behrens, Clark, McIntyre, King
SID.19200104
Behrens had done Marie in 1985 with Christian Boesch also under Levine. King is luxury casting as the Drum Major, but I think Cassilly’s rougher voice in 1985 is more appropriate. Still well worth a listen.
HÄNSEL UND GRETEL:Humperdinck
Original Air Date: 12/29/2001
Mackerras; Larmore, Upshaw, Forst, Blythe, Josephson
MOD Audio SID.19200105
This performance is indeed in German and yet is performed by a 100% Anglophone cast. Irony indeed. Mackerras is the most distinctive contributor to a work whose orchestral passages are among its most interesting. Also worth noting is there is a separate listing in MOoD for the English language versions and the German version. But though the language was German it was the same production as premiered in English in 1967-1968 by O’Hearn and Merrill and concluded with these performances in 2001-2. Hansel returned in a new also English language production by Richard Jones in 2007-2008.
LA BOHÈME:Puccini
Original Air Date: 03/30/1957
Kozma; Kirsten, Tucker, Hurley, Bastianini, Siepi
SID.19200106
Last on Sirius: Before 2011 (I searched my archives 3 ways, and though the Met says it has been rebroadcast on Sirius, my answer is not recently; the Tucker Columbia recording with Sayao was on in December 2012, and his Sirius rebroadcast Boheme with Tebaldi was in November 2012) The special pleasure are Bastianini and Siepi who only did one other Met performance together in Boheme (not broadcast) a year earlier.
LOHENGRIN:Wagner
Original Air Date: 12/24/1955
Stiedry; Sullivan, Steber, Harshaw, Uhde, Edelmann
SID.19200107
This performance is also available on MOoD, and is the second of Steber’s two Elsa broadcasts from the Met. The only singer not much to my taste on this broadcast is Edelmann, Pape and Giaoitti have spoiled us for how good this part can sound. Steber after her season in Bayreuth is in her element especially the second and third acts . The AM sound cannot disguise the fact that the orchestra is on much stronger footing in Wagner now than in the 1950s. It’s always grand to experience Steber in one of her best roles. I generally prefer Steber in the Bayreuth performance, but this is a solid cast and Uhde is a strong Telramund as well.
THAÏS:Massenet
Original Air Date: 12/20/2008
López-Cobos; Fleming, Hampson, Schade
Live in HDMOD Video SID.19200208
Although the video has been available almost continuously on MOoD, I find this performance preferable to the Sills Milnes, which was massively overplayed in the first years of Sirius Radio. I rather like Thais as a break from other titles in the repertory.Although the video has been available almost continuously on MOoD, I find this performance preferable to the Sills Milnes, which was massively overplayed in the first years of Sirius Radio. I rather like Thais as a break from other titles in the repertory.
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG:Wagner
Original Air Date: 01/11/1936
Bodanzky; Lawrence, Melchior, Hofmann, Schorr, Manski, Meisle
MOD Audio SID.19200209
This is one of the earliest Met broadcasts to appear on Sirius, and it’s great to have Lawrence and Melchior in respectably decent sound for the period. It’s regrettable that Flagstad never broadcast Gotterdammerung (Prologue only during World’s Fair Year) from the Met, but Melchior is top tier and we simply have not heard a singer like him since. This also appears in the Met Wagner bicentennial CD box.
OTELLO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/15/1964
Santi; McCracken, Rysanek, Colzani, Alexander
SID.19200211
I would much prefer us hearing several other McCracken Otellos which have not been broadcast, especially the 1963 with Tucci at her considerable best under Solti or McCracken’s last in 1972 under Bohm which is marked as having been on Sirius, but not very often. McCracken holds the Met record at 59 followed by Domingo at 40, and Vickers and Leo Slezak at 31. Rysanek bids farewell to Verdi at the Met with a whimper. (she has a Don Carlo broadcast a month later that at least has a few high points, but some poor sections there as well). In more than 20 years after these performances, she is not heard in Italian opera except for an occasional Tosca (the last in 1979).
EUGENE ONEGIN:Tchaikovsky
Original Air Date: 02/23/1985
Järvi; Nucci, Griffel, Raitzin, Jones, Plishka
SID.19200212
Jarvi has a better cast 6 years earlier– the magnificent Mazurok as Onegin, and Shicoff in one of his best parts. I also prefer Kashrashvili. The 1979 performance is regularly on Sirius . That’s worth your time. The 1979 Onegin really deserves to be in MOoD. With so many Russian singers and audience members, Onegin seems almost as regular as Rigoletto. I am more impressed by Mazurok’s two broadcast outings, one with Jarvi conducting as well.
AIDA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/03/1962
Schick; Tucci, Corelli, Dalis, MacNeil, Tozzi
MOD Audio SID.19200213
I much enjoy the energy and passion of all the singers. Tucci is definitely a lyric Aida, but she knows the idiom well and is very solid. George Schick who was a staff conductor at the Met for some years, knows how to keep the forces under control without stifling any of the artists’ expressive impulses. The men definitely ate their Wheaties before the performance. Enjoy.
BILLY BUDD:Britten
Original Air Date: 03/31/1979
Leppard; Stilwell, Pears, Morris, Glossop, Ward
MOD Audio SID.19200214
Pears created the role of Captain Vere three decades earlier, and James Morris’ Claggart is one of the great post-war assumptions. Luckily the Met has recently added the video of the 1997 telecast with the late Phillip Langridge as Vere, Dwayne Croft, and Morris once again being the evil anchor as Claggart. This 1979 performance is the first broadcast of the Met’s Budd production, and is Pears’ final Met appearance Much of this attention is surely coming because of the Britten centenary. One of the Met’s most distinguished productions.
FIDELIO:Beethoven
Original Air Date: 02/13/1960
Böhm; Nilsson, Vickers, Uhde, Czerwenka, Hurley, Anthony
MOD Audio SID.19200315
This performance was issued also on Sony’s Met Historic CD series, as well as being in MOoD. Bohm, Nilsson, and Vickers bring all the exaltation and passion one could want to this opera. Vickers still continues to leave most other Florestans in the dust. What a privilege to have seen him from beginning (1958 in Dallas) to end great performances well into the 1980s. He’s not for everyone, but in his core roles– Grimes, Otello, Siegmund, Florestan, Samson, Parsifal, Tristan, Enee he never left audiences wanting. One of the very greatest singers ever to appear on ANY stage, and it was my privilege to have shared so many evenings with him. Czerwenka is not my idea of Rocco, but Bohm, Nilsson and Vickers are pretty unbeatable, and no one plays the Leonore No. 3 like Bohm.