IL TROVATORE:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/04/1961
Cleva; Corelli, Price, Dalis, Sereni, Wilderman
MOD Audio SID.19170210
This is now on Sony Historic CD as well as MOoD. Only a few weeks after Corelli and Price’s joint debut, the electricity is still firmly in place. Merrill was the scheduled Luna, but a snowstorm kept him stranded in New Rochelle. Dalis is not Simionato or Barbieri, but very musical and she is not a potted plant. This performance comes from the debut season of both Corelli and Price, and why they were such a sensation is clear from this broadcast. It’s also available in Sony Classical’s Historic Met CD series. Sereni and Dalis hold up their end (Sereni was a replacement for Merrill who was trapped in a snowstorm in New Rochelle) and Verdi is well served.
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE:Mozart
Original Air Date: 02/07/1981
Foster; Popp, Kuebler, Duesing, Donat, Macurdy
MOD Audio SID.19170424
Lucia Popp made her debut with the Chagall Flute as Queen of the Night, the first season in the new house. She didn’t broadcast the role until 3 years later, and then 11 years later moves down to Pamina in this broadcast She’s a very fine Pamina, but overall I am not impressed by the remainder of the cast. The main distinction here is Popp’s Pamina, and she is one of the best. The rest of the cast is OK, but there are other broadcasts of more distinction in the other roles.
IL TROVATORE:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/04/1961
Cleva; Corelli, Price, Dalis, Sereni, Wilderman
MOD Audio SID.19170426
This is now on Sony Historic CD as well as MOoD. Only a few weeks after Corelli and Price’s joint debut, the electricity is still firmly in place. Merrill was the scheduled Luna, but a snowstorm kept him stranded in New Rochelle. Dalis is not Simionato or Barbieri, but very musical and she is not a potted plant. This performance comes from the debut season of both Corelli and Price, and why they were such a sensation is clear from this broadcast. It’s also available in Sony Classical’s Historic Met CD series. Sereni and Dalis hold up their end (Sereni was a replacement for Merrill who was trapped in a snowstorm in New Rochelle) and Verdi is well served.
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE:Mozart
Original Air Date: 02/07/1981
Foster; Popp, Kuebler, Duesing, Donat, Macurdy
MOD Audio SID.19170639
Lucia Popp made her debut with the Chagall Flute as Queen of the Night, the first season in the new house. She didn’t broadcast the role until 3 years later, and then 11 years later moves down to Pamina in this broadcast She’s a very fine Pamina, but overall I am not impressed by the remainder of the cast. The main distinction here is Popp’s Pamina, and she is one of the best. The rest of the cast is OK, but there are other broadcasts of more distinction in the other roles.
IL TROVATORE:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/04/1961
Cleva; Corelli, Price, Dalis, Sereni, Wilderman
MOD Audio SID.19170741
This is now on Sony Historic CD as well as MOoD. Only a few weeks after Corelli and Price’s joint debut, the electricity is still firmly in place. Merrill was the scheduled Luna, but a snowstorm kept him stranded in New Rochelle. Dalis is not Simionato or Barbieri, but very musical and she is not a potted plant. This performance comes from the debut season of both Corelli and Price, and why they were such a sensation is clear from this broadcast. It’s also available in Sony Classical’s Historic Met CD series. Sereni and Dalis hold up their end (Sereni was a replacement for Merrill who was trapped in a snowstorm in New Rochelle) and Verdi is well served.
THE GREAT GATSBY:Harbison
Original Air Date: 01/01/2000
Levine; Hadley, Upshaw, Croft, Graham, Baker, Lieberson
MOD Audio SID.19180104
Levine is a great promoter of Harbison’s work, but I miss the appeal. First appearance of Hunt Lieberson whose only other role was Didon in the new Troyens production whose broadcast marks Hunt Lieberson’s Met farewell in February 2003 before her untimely death in July 2006.
LA TRAVIATA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 04/06/1957
Cleva; Tebaldi, Campora, Warren
MOD Audio SID.19180105
This performance divides some people. To use the old 4 act nomenclature, Tebaldi’s best act is not Act 1, but for me Acts 2-4 make for stiff competition for any Violetta. The Act 2 duet with Germont and the final act are one of the great performances in Met broadcast history. Tebaldi only did this at the Met one season, but Bing took her everywhere for 21 performances, This is about halfway through the run. Warren is a most sympathetic Germont.
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE:Wagner
Original Air Date: 03/01/1958
Stiedry; Vinay, Harshaw, Thebom, Edelmann, Cassel
MOD Audio SID.19180106
This is Stiedry’s broadcast farewell, and comes only a month before his final Met appearance in Don Giovanni. I prefer Harshaw in her other assignments like Ortrud or Brunnhilde a bit more. Thebom and Cassel are very high quality support.
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE:Wagner
Original Air Date: 03/01/1958
Stiedry; Vinay, Harshaw, Thebom, Edelmann, Cassel
MOD Audio SID.19180107
This is Stiedry’s broadcast farewell, and comes only a month before his final Met appearance in Don Giovanni. I prefer Harshaw in her other assignments like Ortrud or Brunnhilde a bit more. Thebom and Cassel are very high quality support.
DON PASQUALE:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 01/09/1965
Varviso; Corena, Peters, Alva, Guarrera
MOD Audio SID.19180208
For me the stars of this broadcast are the matchless Corena and Peruvian tenor Luigi Alva. Alva is still with us and remains much beloved in his home country as well. In terms of style and stage presence, Alva yielded nothing to his more famous successors as Ernesto Alfredo Kraus and fellow Peruvian Juan Diego Florez. Corena shows up again five years later with Reri Grist and Kraus under Carlo Franci. Luckily both performances are in MOoD.
SAMSON ET DALILA:Saint-Saëns
Original Air Date: 04/18/1987
Fournet; Vickers, Horne, Quilico
MOD Audio SID.19180209
This is Vickers’ farewell to the Met (not announced in advance). For many of us, he is a legendary singer who spans the beginning of our operatic journey, and 26 years later still shines very brightly indeed. In almost every assumption he not only gave his individual commitment (he was Giasone to Callas in my first opera in 1958 in Dallas) but simply encompassed roles as few ever do and was always in the top rank and usually best ever seen in the roles. Samson is certainly one of those roles, and if the opera has been a bit overdone on Sirius, I am never finished with my enjoyment of Vickers. Horne is a singer I admire on many fronts– her support of young artists, the advocacy for vocal recitals, and certainly outstanding Rossinian efforts. But I’m not much of Rossini guy, and I find many of her ventures beyond not to my taste, Verdi (even as Quickly) really doesn’t work and Dalila doesn’t compare with my first (Rita Gorr in the premiere of the O’Hearn Merrill production in 1964) or some of my best more recent ones– Borodina’s voice was made for those languorous lines. This is Vickers’ only broadcast of Samson et Dalila, and sometime min the last 3 years has been added to MOoD as a testament to his work and whom we lost July 13, 2015 after a long illness.
RODELINDA:Handel
Original Air Date: 01/01/2005
Bicket; Fleming, Daniels, van Rensburg, Blythe, Mehta, Relyea
MOD Audio SID.19180210
Fleming is the star in all three seasons of Rodelinda at the Met, and the first two broadcasts from 2005 (this one) and 2006 have a major shift with Bicket handing over to Patrick Summers, and the lead countertenor role from David Daniels to Andreas Scholl. The telecast/moviecast is on Decca DVD and in MOoD comes five years later in 2011 and returns Bicket to the podium, but for my money finds Scholl in considerably diminished form compared to his excellent effort in 2006. I’m not a big fan of Handel, and while several of the individual arias are notable, the absence of ensembles (except for the glorious duet for Blythe with the lead countertenor) and the ABA aria style make for a long afternoon or evening of listening or watching. The comings and goings of Rodelinda at the Met are well documented in MOoD, and this first broadcast is a good place to start.
CARMEN:Bizet
Original Air Date: 04/20/1968
Lombard; Bumbry, Tucker, Freni, Díaz
MOD Audio SID.19180213
Arguably three of the major voices of the 20th century, and whether you like their way with Carmen or not, they are not inexperienced. Bumbry, in particular, is the most notable LIVE Carmen I ever heard vocally. Though I wasn’t much of a fan of the Barrault production, she was splendid, and so she is here. Tucker premiered the previous production 18 years earlier with Stevens under Fritz Reiner with direction by Tyrone Guthrie. It’s not my favorite Tucker role, but he is exceeded in frequency only by Martinelli at the Met. Freni is caught in her youthful splendor. The French may not make for Academie Francaise, but Paris thought her their choice for Marguerite. I think her Micaela in this period is the one I always hear in my brain. Diaz looked fine as the Toreador (and even he ranks 4th in all-time at the Met) but he’s not in the same league as the others. I’m going to to take a 21st century listen.
FAUST:Gounod
Original Air Date: 03/17/2007
Benini; Vargas, Swenson, Abdrazakov, Yun, Deshayes
MOD Audio SID.19180214
The singers are OK, but there are some major Fausts still in the vault– including Bjorling from 1950 one month after his opening night Don Carlo for Bing and 1959, both with Siepi. Why Swenson ends up with 6 broadcasts in MOoD and major artists have half is inexplicable to me. Not one of the glory nights of the Gelb decade.
ERNANI:Verdi
Original Air Date: 04/10/1965
Schippers; Corelli, Price, Sereni, Siepi
MOD Audio SID.19180315
The Met has two outstanding Ernani broadcasts from the mid 1960s, both with Schippers and Leontyne Price. The first is with Bergonzi and MacNeil, and the second features the special contributions of Corelli and Siepi. Luckily both are on MOoD, with the first also issued on Sony Historical CD. I love Ernani, and both these performances belong in every Verdi lover’s playlist. Ernani is back this season with Domingo in the baritone role; his only Met appearance in the title role was in 1971 (not broadcast).
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE:Wagner
Original Air Date: 03/01/1958
Stiedry; Vinay, Harshaw, Thebom, Edelmann, Cassel
MOD Audio SID.19180316
This is Stiedry’s broadcast farewell, and comes only a month before his final Met appearance in Don Giovanni. I prefer Harshaw in her other assignments like Ortrud or Brunnhilde a bit more. Thebom and Cassel are very high quality support.
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE:Wagner
Original Air Date: 03/01/1958
Stiedry; Vinay, Harshaw, Thebom, Edelmann, Cassel
MOD Audio SID.19180317
This is Stiedry’s broadcast farewell, and comes only a month before his final Met appearance in Don Giovanni. I prefer Harshaw in her other assignments like Ortrud or Brunnhilde a bit more. Thebom and Cassel are very high quality support.
THE GREAT GATSBY:Harbison
Original Air Date: 01/01/2000
Levine; Hadley, Upshaw, Croft, Graham, Baker, Lieberson
MOD Audio SID.19180422
Levine is a great promoter of Harbison’s work, but I miss the appeal. First appearance of Hunt Lieberson whose only other role was Didon in the new Troyens production whose broadcast marks Hunt Lieberson’s Met farewell in February 2003 before her untimely death in July 2006.
LA TRAVIATA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 04/06/1957
Cleva; Tebaldi, Campora, Warren
MOD Audio SID.19180423
This performance divides some people. To use the old 4 act nomenclature, Tebaldi’s best act is not Act 1, but for me Acts 2-4 make for stiff competition for any Violetta. The Act 2 duet with Germont and the final act are one of the great performances in Met broadcast history. Tebaldi only did this at the Met one season, but Bing took her everywhere for 21 performances, This is about halfway through the run. Warren is a most sympathetic Germont.
CARMEN:Bizet
Original Air Date: 04/20/1968
Lombard; Bumbry, Tucker, Freni, Díaz
MOD Audio SID.19180424
Arguably three of the major voices of the 20th century, and whether you like their way with Carmen or not, they are not inexperienced. Bumbry, in particular, is the most notable LIVE Carmen I ever heard vocally. Though I wasn’t much of a fan of the Barrault production, she was splendid, and so she is here. Tucker premiered the previous production 18 years earlier with Stevens under Fritz Reiner with direction by Tyrone Guthrie. It’s not my favorite Tucker role, but he is exceeded in frequency only by Martinelli at the Met. Freni is caught in her youthful splendor. The French may not make for Academie Francaise, but Paris thought her their choice for Marguerite. I think her Micaela in this period is the one I always hear in my brain. Diaz looked fine as the Toreador (and even he ranks 4th in all-time at the Met) but he’s not in the same league as the others. I’m going to to take a 21st century listen.
FAUST:Gounod
Original Air Date: 03/17/2007
Benini; Vargas, Swenson, Abdrazakov, Yun, Deshayes
MOD Audio SID.19180425
The singers are OK, but there are some major Fausts still in the vault– including Bjorling from 1950 one month after his opening night Don Carlo for Bing and 1959, both with Siepi. Why Swenson ends up with 6 broadcasts in MOoD and major artists have half is inexplicable to me. Not one of the glory nights of the Gelb decade.
DON PASQUALE:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 01/09/1965
Varviso; Corena, Peters, Alva, Guarrera
MOD Audio SID.19180426
For me the stars of this broadcast are the matchless Corena and Peruvian tenor Luigi Alva. Alva is still with us and remains much beloved in his home country as well. In terms of style and stage presence, Alva yielded nothing to his more famous successors as Ernesto Alfredo Kraus and fellow Peruvian Juan Diego Florez. Corena shows up again five years later with Reri Grist and Kraus under Carlo Franci. Luckily both performances are in MOoD.
RODELINDA:Handel
Original Air Date: 01/01/2005
Bicket; Fleming, Daniels, van Rensburg, Blythe, Mehta, Relyea
MOD Audio SID.19180529
Fleming is the star in all three seasons of Rodelinda at the Met, and the first two broadcasts from 2005 (this one) and 2006 have a major shift with Bicket handing over to Patrick Summers, and the lead countertenor role from David Daniels to Andreas Scholl. The telecast/moviecast is on Decca DVD and in MOoD comes five years later in 2011 and returns Bicket to the podium, but for my money finds Scholl in considerably diminished form compared to his excellent effort in 2006. I’m not a big fan of Handel, and while several of the individual arias are notable, the absence of ensembles (except for the glorious duet for Blythe with the lead countertenor) and the ABA aria style make for a long afternoon or evening of listening or watching. The comings and goings of Rodelinda at the Met are well documented in MOoD, and this first broadcast is a good place to start.
SAMSON ET DALILA:Saint-Saëns
Original Air Date: 04/18/1987
Fournet; Vickers, Horne, Quilico
MOD Audio SID.19180532
This is Vickers’ farewell to the Met (not announced in advance). For many of us, he is a legendary singer who spans the beginning of our operatic journey, and 26 years later still shines very brightly indeed. In almost every assumption he not only gave his individual commitment (he was Giasone to Callas in my first opera in 1958 in Dallas) but simply encompassed roles as few ever do and was always in the top rank and usually best ever seen in the roles. Samson is certainly one of those roles, and if the opera has been a bit overdone on Sirius, I am never finished with my enjoyment of Vickers. Horne is a singer I admire on many fronts– her support of young artists, the advocacy for vocal recitals, and certainly outstanding Rossinian efforts. But I’m not much of Rossini guy, and I find many of her ventures beyond not to my taste, Verdi (even as Quickly) really doesn’t work and Dalila doesn’t compare with my first (Rita Gorr in the premiere of the O’Hearn Merrill production in 1964) or some of my best more recent ones– Borodina’s voice was made for those languorous lines. This is Vickers’ only broadcast of Samson et Dalila, and sometime min the last 3 years has been added to MOoD as a testament to his work and whom we lost July 13, 2015 after a long illness.
ERNANI:Verdi
Original Air Date: 04/10/1965
Schippers; Corelli, Price, Sereni, Siepi
MOD Audio SID.19180533
The Met has two outstanding Ernani broadcasts from the mid 1960s, both with Schippers and Leontyne Price. The first is with Bergonzi and MacNeil, and the second features the special contributions of Corelli and Siepi. Luckily both are on MOoD, with the first also issued on Sony Historical CD. I love Ernani, and both these performances belong in every Verdi lover’s playlist. Ernani is back this season with Domingo in the baritone role; his only Met appearance in the title role was in 1971 (not broadcast).
FAUST:Gounod
Original Air Date: 03/17/2007
Benini; Vargas, Swenson, Abdrazakov, Yun, Deshayes
MOD Audio SID.19180637
The singers are OK, but there are some major Fausts still in the vault– including Bjorling from 1950 one month after his opening night Don Carlo for Bing and 1959, both with Siepi. Why Swenson ends up with 6 broadcasts in MOoD and major artists have half is inexplicable to me. Not one of the glory nights of the Gelb decade.
DON PASQUALE:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 01/09/1965
Varviso; Corena, Peters, Alva, Guarrera
MOD Audio SID.19180638
For me the stars of this broadcast are the matchless Corena and Peruvian tenor Luigi Alva. Alva is still with us and remains much beloved in his home country as well. In terms of style and stage presence, Alva yielded nothing to his more famous successors as Ernesto Alfredo Kraus and fellow Peruvian Juan Diego Florez. Corena shows up again five years later with Reri Grist and Kraus under Carlo Franci. Luckily both performances are in MOoD.
THE GREAT GATSBY:Harbison
Original Air Date: 01/01/2000
Levine; Hadley, Upshaw, Croft, Graham, Baker, Lieberson
MOD Audio SID.19180641
Levine is a great promoter of Harbison’s work, but I miss the appeal. First appearance of Hunt Lieberson whose only other role was Didon in the new Troyens production whose broadcast marks Hunt Lieberson’s Met farewell in February 2003 before her untimely death in July 2006.
LA TRAVIATA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 04/06/1957
Cleva; Tebaldi, Campora, Warren
MOD Audio SID.19180642
This performance divides some people. To use the old 4 act nomenclature, Tebaldi’s best act is not Act 1, but for me Acts 2-4 make for stiff competition for any Violetta. The Act 2 duet with Germont and the final act are one of the great performances in Met broadcast history. Tebaldi only did this at the Met one season, but Bing took her everywhere for 21 performances, This is about halfway through the run. Warren is a most sympathetic Germont.
CARMEN:Bizet
Original Air Date: 04/20/1968
Lombard; Bumbry, Tucker, Freni, Díaz
MOD Audio SID.19180743
Arguably three of the major voices of the 20th century, and whether you like their way with Carmen or not, they are not inexperienced. Bumbry, in particular, is the most notable LIVE Carmen I ever heard vocally. Though I wasn’t much of a fan of the Barrault production, she was splendid, and so she is here. Tucker premiered the previous production 18 years earlier with Stevens under Fritz Reiner with direction by Tyrone Guthrie. It’s not my favorite Tucker role, but he is exceeded in frequency only by Martinelli at the Met. Freni is caught in her youthful splendor. The French may not make for Academie Francaise, but Paris thought her their choice for Marguerite. I think her Micaela in this period is the one I always hear in my brain. Diaz looked fine as the Toreador (and even he ranks 4th in all-time at the Met) but he’s not in the same league as the others. I’m going to to take a 21st century listen.