Mozart
Original Air Date: 03/25/1978
Bonynge; Morris, Sutherland, Bacquier, Varady, Brecknock, Tourangeau
MOD Audio SID.18510641
This is Julia Varady’s only season and broadcast from the Met, and earns a well-deserved place in MOoD. The missing piece is that 9 days earlier the Met telecast this, and it operatic stage. Traubel has never appeared in any form. There is so little Sutherland video from the Met. Of particular interest is Bacquier in his only season as Leporello and Morris makes a youthful but powerful Don. It also captures the last of the Berman production. The video please! Also Sutherland’s only other Donna Anna from the Met is from opening season of the new house at Lincoln Center under Karl Bohm with Siepi, Flagello, and Giaiotti with Lorengar as the Elvira. This has not been recently discussed on SIrius in 5 years and should be in MOoD.
Strauss
Original Air Date: 01/05/2002
Thielemann; Voigt, Moser, Schnaut, Brendel, Runkel
SID.18510749
The main draw here is Thielemann conducting the opera complete, something Bohm never did at the Met, and one of the best outings for Voigt. Schnaut has a lot of presence as the Dyer’s wife, but the sound is often hard to take. Brendel as Barak is good, but if one saw the original Met production Walter Berry totally equalled the spectacular work of Rysanek, Ludwig, King, and Dalis. Still “Frosch” has some of the best music Strauss ever wrote, and Thielemann is a master of this score against any competition. Highly recommended.
***
Thielemann is the chief attraction here and the score is presented complete at the Met for the first time. Voigt is at close to her very best. Some of R. Strauss’ very best music. The recent Jurowski run was also complete, and with all new casting, which for me was definitely better for Dyer’s Wife and Emperor. For the Amme, I think one needs to go back to Dalis and Dunn.
***
This was Thielemann’s high water mark at the Met with a popular production by Herbert Wernicke who died an untimely death not long after this production was premiered in December 2001 (he died in April 2002). Thielemann did the score absolutely uncut for the first time at the Met, and the women on the whole garnered high praise. Schnaut’s voice is not a beautiful one (but Christel Goltz was not exactly Kiri te Kanawa either) but she certainly gets to the heart of the character. I have never been able to tolerate Moser’s voice, and Brendel is caught just a
little too late in the day for this. For many of us Barak will always be Walter Berry, but of course those lucky to have seen DFD in Europe it was a fine part for him as well.
DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN:Strauss
Original Air Date: 01/05/2002
Thielemann; Voigt, Moser, Schnaut, Brendel, Runkel
SID.18520101
This was Thielemann’s high water mark at the Met with a popular production by Herbert Wernicke who died an untimely death not long after this production was premiered in December 2001 (he died in April 2002). Thielemann did the score absolutely uncut for the first time at the Met, and the women on the whole garnered high praise. Schnaut’s voice is not a beautiful one (but Christel Goltz was not exactly Kiri te Kanawa either) but she certainly gets to the heart of the character. I have never been able to tolerate Moser’s voice, and Brendel is caught just a little too late in the day for this. For many of us Barak will always be Walter Berry, but of course those lucky to have seen DFD in Europe it was a fine part for him as well. The main draw here is Thielemann conducting the opera complete, something Bohm never did at the Met, and one of the best outings for Voigt. Still “Frosch” has some of the best music Strauss ever wrote, and Thielemann is a master of this score against any competition. Highly recommended.
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE:Gounod
Original Air Date: 04/18/1970
Lombard; Corelli, Pilou, Díaz, Baldwin, Reardon
SID.18520317
This is the earliest of Corelli’s three broadcasts as Romeo, but already quite a dropoff from his first Met Romeos 2 seasons earlier. His 1974 Romeo with Judith Blegen is on Met Player, but that also catches him far from his best. I like Pilou and liked her Juliette very much.
DIE WALKÜRE:Wagner
Original Air Date: 04/03/1993
Levine; Jones, Morris, Gessendorf, Lakes, Ludwig, Salminen
SID.18520318
This is Gwyneth Jones’ second Walkure Brunnhilde broadcast, her earlier one in 1983 was with Behrens as Sieglinde. This broadcast marks Christa Ludwig’s farewell to the Met in one of her signature roles. Mechthild Gessendorf sings one of the very best broadcast Sieglindes with gleaming tone at the top and a solid rich middle and lower voice. This broadcast is definitely worthy of your attention.
DIE WALKÜRE:Wagner
Original Air Date: 04/03/1993
Levine; Jones, Morris, Gessendorf, Lakes, Ludwig, Salminen
SID.18520319
This is Gwyneth Jones’ second Walkure Brunnhilde broadcast, her earlier one in 1983 was with Behrens as Sieglinde. This broadcast marks Christa Ludwig’s farewell to the Met in one of her signature roles. Mechthild Gessendorf sings one of the very best broadcast Sieglindes with gleaming tone at the top and a solid rich middle and lower voice. This broadcast is definitely worthy of your attention.
TBA:TBA
Original Air Date: 01/01/9999
TBA
SID.18520422
EUGENE ONEGIN:Tchaikovsky
Original Air Date: 02/23/2002
Jurowski; Hampson, Kringelborn, Giordani, Karnéus, Lloyd
MOD Audio SID.18520423
Jurowski is on especially congenial turf, but my memories of Kringelborn are not quite so positive. Hampson has a commercial Onegin in English with te Kanawa under Mackerras. I love the opera, but my favorite Met archival broadcasts are with Yuri Mazurok –he has two Onegin broadcasts from 1979 (adjacent season).
AIDA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/06/1976
Levine; Price, Domingo, Horne, MacNeil, Giaiotti
MOD Audio SID.18520424
Three of Domingo’s 14 Met Radames were over the airwaves, and this is the first. In the Sirius listing, James Morris is left off as King. This is the kind of Aida bass tandem we were used to until the last two decades. Giaiotti is one of the best Ramfis around. I’m not a fan of Horne’s Amneris, and this is her only Met season in the role. She’s a major artist, but not a Verdi mezzo. Price is heard to better advantage in earlier performances, especially 1963 and 1965.
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA / PAGLIACCI:Mascagni / Leoncavallo
Original Air Date: 02/10/2007
Armiliato; Zajick, Licitra, Delavan / Licitra, Stoyanova, Ataneli
SID.18520425
The leading performances here are from the two female leads, Zajick and Stoyanova. Armiliato is much more involved than usual and the sound is unusually good. This is scheduled presumably as part of the memorial to Licitra. I think the Trittico shows him off to better effect. Zajick is a solid Santuzza, and I rather like Stoyanova, but not a great afternoon.”
FIDELIO:Beethoven
Original Air Date: 02/16/1991
Perick; Connell, Lakes, Welker, Moll, Donath, Kaasch
SID.18520426
This revival comes in for some harsh words from Tim Page, and this broadcast marks the late Elizabeth Connell’s farewell to the Met. She has a more considerable overall career than her appearances at the Met show, but this Fidelio does not help much. Moll and Donath are the two members of the A team, but Rocco and Marzelline are not the essential casting for Fidelio, though I certainly appreciate good singers in the canon quartet.
RODELINDA:Handel
Original Air Date: 05/06/2006
Summers; Fleming, Scholl, van Rensburg, Blythe, Dumaux, Relyea
MOD Video SID.18520427
This performance in the second season of the production and Scholl’s first appearance at the Met. There was a third broadcast which includes an HD moviecast of Rodelinda with Fleming and Scholl under Bicket (whom I prefer to Summers) but the intervening 4 years do not benefit either Fleming or Scholl. This video is available also in MOoD so you can compare for yourself. I like Scholl much more than David Daniels so this is my preferred Rodelinda.
RIGOLETTO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/03/1979
Stivender; MacNeil, Blegen, Alexander, Hines, Jones
SID.18520428
This is MacNeil’s final Met broadcast of the title role– he has the house record at 102 (5 broadcasts); I wish Sirius would roll out MacNeil’s first Rigoletto broadcast from 1960, when he is really in super-baritone form or even 1964 with Bergonzi’s first Duke broadcast. Blegen is tied for fourth after Peters (88!!!!!! one for every piano key), Pons, and Swenson who are tied for second. Blegen’s earlier broadcast is on Met Opera on Demand (MOoD) and she is one of my favorite Gildas. Alexander is a dependable Duke, but he has some stiff competition . He was a fine musician, marvelous colleague, and sustained among the most-wide ranging Met repertoire (and without need of transpositions). A very favored colleague of Sutherland, Caballe, Sills, and Levine.
SALOME:Strauss
Original Air Date: 03/30/1996
Runnicles; Malfitano, Riegel, Schwarz, Weikl, Baker
SID.18520529
This performance is notable as Weikl’s last Met season and his last staged performance was four days later. Schwarz is a forceful Herodias, but Riegel is a bit light for my taste as Herod. Malfitano is OK, but I never want to return to her work very much.
ESCLARMONDE:Massenet
Original Air Date: 12/11/1976
Bonynge; Sutherland, Aragall, Tourangeau, Grant
MOD Audio SID.18520530
This is the Met’s only broadcast of Esclarmonde, and the performance in addition to the predictable glitter from Sutherland, captures Aragall in one of his best performances. For many, his material was the best of absolute best, and the new generation of tenors in the 1970s, but it never quite all came together. Here is the exception. Enjoy.
RIGOLETTO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/03/1979
Stivender; MacNeil, Blegen, Alexander, Hines, Jones
SID.18520531
This is MacNeil’s final Met broadcast of the title role– he has the house record at 102 (5 broadcasts); I wish Sirius would roll out MacNeil’s first Rigoletto broadcast from 1960, when he is really in super-baritone form or even 1964 with Bergonzi’s first Duke broadcast. Blegen is tied for fourth after Peters (88!!!!!! one for every piano key), Pons, and Swenson who are tied for second. Blegen’s earlier broadcast is on Met Opera on Demand (MOoD) and she is one of my favorite Gildas. Alexander is a dependable Duke, but he has some stiff competition . He was a fine musician, marvelous colleague, and sustained among the most-wide ranging Met repertoire (and without need of transpositions). A very favored colleague of Sutherland, Caballe, Sills, and Levine.
CARMEN:Bizet
Original Air Date: 03/21/1987
Levine; Baltsa, Carreras, Cotrubas, Ramey
SID.18520532
Baltsa has two runs at the Met, her debut year in 1980 as Octavian in Rosenkavalier, and 7 years later a run in Carmen including a telecast (long available on DVD, except Mitchell for Cotrubas). She then returns for a gala concert with Domingo in 1988 and she is gone. Database is not marked as final appearance, but I wouldn’t bet on her returning. This performance is available on MOoD (formerly Met Player), but the most distinctive performance is Ramey. This is Carreras final broadcast and only two appearances away from the end of his Met career due to illness (he does one more Carmen with Isola Jones, and then comes back for an Act 4 of Carmen with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson on a gala evening (not broadcast) with Domingo and Pavarotti as well 13 years after finishing the Carmen run.
DAS RHEINGOLD:Wagner
Original Air Date: 01/27/1951
Stiedry; Hotter, Harshaw, Svanholm, Davidson, Hines, Ernster
MOD Audio SID.18520533
Hans Hotter’s MET debut season. This performance is taken from the “Wagner at the Met” CD box set. The chief vocal interest lies in Hotter’s broadcast of Wotan – one of only two Ring performances he broadcast from the Met; the other was Hunding (not Wotan) in Walkure in 1954. Branzell returns to the Met after a seven year absence and moves down from Fricka to Erda, appearing in two Rheingolds and three Siegfrieds in 1951. Her Met career spans 27 years from 1924 -1951 and 412 performances. Paul Jackson, in his survey of Met broadcasts, is not enamored of Stiedry’s conducting. I still hope this means we will hear the rest of the 1951 Ring on Sirius soon – which includes Traubel’s Siegfried & Gotterdammerung Brunnhildes; Jackson is especially fond of her Siegfried even though she omits the few Bs and Cs of the role..
LA BOHÈME:Puccini
Original Air Date: 12/19/1953
Erede; Güden, Conley, Fenn, Merrill, Scott
MOD Audio SID.18520534
This is the only season Merrill has Marcello, and broadcasts it twice, once in English, and once in Italian. I would love to hear the English language broadcast with Nadine Conner and Richard Tucker (whom Virgil Thomson thinks is ill matched to Conner), but among our many denials, translations are basically off-limits unless they are Janacek or the Dietz/Kanin Fledermaus from 1950.
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE:Gounod
Original Air Date: 04/18/1970
Lombard; Corelli, Pilou, Díaz, Baldwin, Reardon
SID.18520535
This is the earliest of Corelli’s three broadcasts as Romeo, but already quite a dropoff from his first Met Romeos 2 seasons earlier. His 1974 Romeo with Judith Blegen is on Met Player, but that also catches him far from his best. I like Pilou and liked her Juliette very much.
DIE WALKÜRE:Wagner
Original Air Date: 04/03/1993
Levine; Jones, Morris, Gessendorf, Lakes, Ludwig, Salminen
SID.18520637
This is Gwyneth Jones’ second Walkure Brunnhilde broadcast, her earlier one in 1983 was with Behrens as Sieglinde. This broadcast marks Christa Ludwig’s farewell to the Met in one of her signature roles. Mechthild Gessendorf sings one of the very best broadcast Sieglindes with gleaming tone at the top and a solid rich middle and lower voice. This broadcast is definitely worthy of your attention.
DIE WALKÜRE:Wagner
Original Air Date: 04/03/1993
Levine; Jones, Morris, Gessendorf, Lakes, Ludwig, Salminen
SID.18520638
This is Gwyneth Jones’ second Walkure Brunnhilde broadcast, her earlier one in 1983 was with Behrens as Sieglinde. This broadcast marks Christa Ludwig’s farewell to the Met in one of her signature roles. Mechthild Gessendorf sings one of the very best broadcast Sieglindes with gleaming tone at the top and a solid rich middle and lower voice. This broadcast is definitely worthy of your attention.
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA / PAGLIACCI:Mascagni / Leoncavallo
Original Air Date: 02/10/2007
Armiliato; Zajick, Licitra, Delavan / Licitra, Stoyanova, Ataneli
SID.18520641
The leading performances here are from the two female leads, Zajick and Stoyanova. Armiliato is much more involved than usual and the sound is unusually good. This is scheduled presumably as part of the memorial to Licitra. I think the Trittico shows him off to better effect. Zajick is a solid Santuzza, and I rather like Stoyanova, but not a great afternoon.
FIDELIO:Beethoven
Original Air Date: 02/16/1991
Perick; Connell, Lakes, Welker, Moll, Donath, Kaasch
SID.18520642
This revival comes in for some harsh words from Tim Page, and this broadcast marks the late Elizabeth Connell’s farewell to the Met. She has a more considerable overall career than her appearances at the Met show, but this Fidelio does not help much. Moll and Donath are the two members of the A team, but Rocco and Marzelline are not the essential casting for Fidelio, though I certainly appreciate good singers in the canon quartet.
EUGENE ONEGIN:Tchaikovsky
Original Air Date: 02/23/2002
Jurowski; Hampson, Kringelborn, Giordani, Karnéus, Lloyd
MOD Audio SID.18520743
Jurowski is on especially congenial turf, but my memories of Kringelborn are not quite so positive. Hampson has a commercial Onegin in English with te Kanawa under Mackerras. I love the opera, but my favorite Met archival broadcasts are with Yuri Mazurok –he has two Onegin broadcasts from 1979 (adjacent season).
DAS RHEINGOLD:Wagner
Original Air Date: 01/27/1951
Stiedry; Hotter, Harshaw, Svanholm, Davidson, Hines, Ernster
MOD Audio SID.18520744
Hans Hotter’s MET debut season. This performance is taken from the “Wagner at the Met” CD box set. The chief vocal interest lies in Hotter’s broadcast of Wotan – one of only two Ring performances he broadcast from the Met; the other was Hunding (not Wotan) in Walkure in 1954. Branzell returns to the Met after a seven year absence and moves down from Fricka to Erda, appearing in two Rheingolds and three Siegfrieds in 1951. Her Met career spans 27 years from 1924 -1951 and 412 performances. Paul Jackson, in his survey of Met broadcasts, is not enamored of Stiedry’s conducting. I still hope this means we will hear the rest of the 1951 Ring on Sirius soon – which includes Traubel’s Siegfried & Gotterdammerung Brunnhildes; Jackson is especially fond of her Siegfried even though she omits the few Bs and Cs of the role..
CARMEN:Bizet
Original Air Date: 03/21/1987
Levine; Baltsa, Carreras, Cotrubas, Ramey
SID.18520745
Baltsa has two runs at the Met, her debut year in 1980 as Octavian in Rosenkavalier, and 7 years later a run in Carmen including a telecast (long available on DVD, except Mitchell for Cotrubas). She then returns for a gala concert with Domingo in 1988 and she is gone. Database is not marked as final appearance, but I wouldn’t bet on her returning. This performance is available on MOoD (formerly Met Player), but the most distinctive performance is Ramey. This is Carreras final broadcast and only two appearances away from the end of his Met career due to illness (he does one more Carmen with Isola Jones, and then comes back for an Act 4 of Carmen with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson on a gala evening (not broadcast) with Domingo and Pavarotti as well 13 years after finishing the Carmen run.
RODELINDA:Handel
Original Air Date: 05/06/2006
Summers; Fleming, Scholl, van Rensburg, Blythe, Dumaux, Relyea
MOD Video SID.18520427
This performance in the second season of the production and Scholl’s first appearance at the Met. There was a third broadcast which includes an HD moviecast of Rodelinda with Fleming and Scholl under Bicket (whom I prefer to Summers) but the intervening 4 years do not benefit either Fleming or Scholl. This video is available also in MOoD so you can compare for yourself. I like Scholl much more than David Daniels so this is my preferred Rodelinda.
AIDA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/06/1976
Levine; Price, Domingo, Horne, MacNeil, Giaiotti
MOD Audio SID.18520747
Three of Domingo’s 14 Met Radames were over the airwaves, and this is the first. In the Sirius listing, James Morris is left off as King. This is the kind of Aida bass tandem we were used to until the last two decades. Giaiotti is one of the best Ramfis around. I’m not a fan of Horne’s Amneris, and this is her only Met season in the role. She’s a major artist, but not a Verdi mezzo. Price is heard to better advantage in earlier performances, especially 1963 and 1965.
SALOME:Strauss
Original Air Date: 03/30/1996
Runnicles; Malfitano, Riegel, Schwarz, Weikl, Baker
SID.18520748
This performance is notable as Weikl’s last Met season and his last staged performance was four days later. Schwarz is a forceful Herodias, but Riegel is a bit light for my taste as Herod. Malfitano is OK, but I never want to return to her work very much.