LA BOHÈME:Puccini
Original Air Date: 01/25/1969
Adler; Tucci, Labò, Fenn, Walker, Díaz
SID.19390425
Not a gala Boheme, but it’s nice to have two Italians in the leads. Tucci was a first rate lyric soprano, and Labo sounds very major compared to some of the second tier guys who have been doing Puccini leads. February 1 is Labo’s birthday which he shares with a far more famous Mimi, Renata Tebaldi.
SIMON BOCCANEGRA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/06/2010
Levine; Domingo, Pieczonka, Giordani, Morris, Gaertner
SID.19390426
This is the broadcast that was paired with the Live in HD transmission. I actually prefer the following year’s Boccanegra when Hvorostovsky moves into the title role, and Frittoli and Furlanetto have more to offer.
SAMSON ET DALILA:Saint-Saëns
Original Air Date: 04/12/1958
Cleva; Del Monaco, Stevens, Singher
MOD Audio SID.19390427
Del Monaco never did a studio version of Samson so this performance is welcome. Singher came in 1943 to the Met and makes his farewell eight months after this Samson broadcast doing the two performances of the four Hoffmann villains. He’s an important part of the Met’s French wing with both Pelleas and Golaud in two different revivals. He went on to be a major teacher at the Curtis Institute, with James King his most notable student. This performance is available on MOoD, and good to have it since Del Monaco never did a studio version
SIEGFRIED:Wagner
Original Air Date: 04/15/2000
Levine; Eaglen, Svendén, Andersen, Clark, Morris, Wlaschiha
SID.19390428
This is Andersen’s Met debut and the first of Eaglen’s two broadcast Siegfried Brunnhildes. To me, the treat in Siegfried is always Morris, and especially the 3rd act scenes with Erda and Siegfried.
BILLY BUDD:Britten
Original Air Date: 04/14/1984
Atherton; Duesing, Cassilly, Morris, Glossop, Clark
SID.19390530
The Dexter/Dudley Billy Budd is a Met classic, and Morris is at the top of his considerable form as Claggart in this third broadcast of a production premiered in 1978.
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE:Mozart
Original Air Date: 03/04/1967
Krips; Raskin, Shirley, Uppman, Peters, Macurdy
MOD Audio SID.19390531
First year in the new house, the Chagall production premiered with the Europeans (Lorengar, Popp, Gedda, Prey) plus Hines, but the Americans in the cast above got the broadcast. I liked Krips conducting very much. Popp did broadcast her Queen 3 years later, but this performance has not been on Sirius. Skrowacewski is the conductor, Zylis-Gara is the Pamina, but Popp, Gedda, Prey are all picked up from the premiere cast, and it’s the only German broadcasts of their roles. Sirius should definitely fill in this gap. In 1967 Macurdy was actually fresher of voice than Hines, but mostly this cast was definitely second class.
RIGOLETTO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 01/05/1957
Cleva; Merrill, Güden, Peerce, Tozzi, Roggero
SID.19390532
This exact same cast broadcast Rigoletto four years earlier– Bing could be very much a creature of habit. Also the exact same trio of leads as the 1953 performance except Erede was in the pit. This is Merrill probably at his vocal peak (the Rigoletto broadcasts would mostly alternate between Warren (often with Tucker) and Merrill, with Tucker’s brother-in law. Luxury indeed. Let me put in a word here for the 1960 Rigoletto which has MacNeil’s first broadcast jester, Giaiotti as Monterone and Tozzi in the third of his three broadcast Sparafuciles. 1957 like so many years was an extraordinary year for Merrill’s instrument. Take a listen. A note on representation in MOoD for Rigoletto. There is no performance represented there between 1945 and 1973. The 1945 shows Warren at close to his vocal best, but no representation of Tucker’s Duke– four broadcasts from 1951-1972, nor Peerce’s, the 1960 for MacNeil, and no Merrill Rigoletto at all, and the same for Peters’ Gilda. Considering some of the mediocre Rigolettos that ARE included, this is one of the worst gaps in terms of match of Sirius/ MOoD to actual Met performance and broadcast history.
IDOMENEO:Mozart
Original Air Date: 03/25/1995
Levine; Domingo, Upshaw, Vaness, von Otter, Davies
MOD Audio SID.19390317
Levine is an excellent Idomeneo conductor, and Vaness is the best of the Met Elettras. Upshaw is a bit light
TBA:TBA
Original Air Date: 01/01/9999
TBA
SID.19390534
Various selections between scheduled operas. Siriusxm Radio and web player will show the Composer and Title.
UN BALLO IN MASCHERA:Verdi
Cleva; Domingo, Arroyo, Merrill, Peters, Dunn
Original Air Date: 01/30/1971
SID.19390535
This is a solid Ballo with early Domingo (he only arrived in 1968) and late Merrill (well Merrill had one more broadcast and 5 more seasons actually concluding his Met tenure in Detroit in May 1976. On the broadcast airwaves, Merrill totally dominated with 8 of the 9 broadcasts between 1955 and 1975. Arroyo has several impressive moments in the role, but while the top is very secure, the flow in the lower register is not her natural strength. Still, this is an afternoon with little to wince at from anyone.
LA BOHÈME:Puccini
Adler; Tucci, Labò, Fenn, Walker, Díaz
Original Air Date: 01/25/1969
SID.19390636
Not a gala Boheme, but it’s nice to have two Italians in the leads. Tucci was a first rate lyric soprano, and Labo sounds very major compared to some of the second tier guys who have been doing Puccini leads. February 1 is Labo’s birthday which he shares with a far more famous Mimi, Renata Tebaldi.
HAMLET:Thomas
Langrée; Keenlyside, Petersen, Larmore, Morris, Spence
Original Air Date: 03/27/2010
MOD Video
SID.19390637
This is the only Met broadcast of the Thomas work. Keenlyside has a commercial DVD in the same production with Dessay from Barcelona 2004. Petersen was a late substitute for Dessay for the whole run. Larmoreis especially vivid as Gertrude, part of her movement into dramatic mezzo/soprano parts.
NABUCCO:Verdi
Levine; Putilin, Guleghina, Buchuladze, Hughes Jones
Original Air Date: 02/26/2005
SID.19390639
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR:Donizetti
Müller; Swenson, Vargas, Nucci, Pertusi
Original Air Date: 12/11/1999
SID.19390640
Vargas did some very nice early Edgardos at the Met (I remember one with Futral) and Nucci should also be a strong Enrico. This is the second season for Swenson in a Nicholas Joel production she premiered which replaced the disastrous Zambello production. Solid support from the male contingent for her. If they’re going to put Anderson in MOoD (with Leech and Fu), Swenson should be as well, and this is a stronger male cast.
THE QUEEN OF SPADES:Tchaikovsky
Jurowski; Domingo, Dalayman, Palmer, Chernov, Zaremba, Putilin
Original Air Date: 02/14/2004
SID.19390641
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 as is 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, much prefer Palmer to Soderstrom and Dalayman to Gorchakova. This is late Chernov. Jurowski is a top drawer conductor in my view. Not a short work, but a lot of thrilling music. Jurowski is 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.
HAMLET:Thomas
Langrée; Keenlyside, Petersen, Larmore, Morris, Spence
Original Air Date: 03/27/2010
MOD Video
SID.19390642
This is the only Met broadcast of the Thomas work. Keenlyside has a commercial DVD in the same production with Dessay from Barcelona 2004. Petersen was a late substitute for Dessay for the whole run. Larmoreis especially vivid as Gertrude, part of her movement into dramatic mezzo/soprano parts.
RIGOLETTO:Verdi
Cleva; Merrill, Güden, Peerce, Tozzi, Roggero
Original Air Date: 01/05/1957
SID.19390744
This exact same cast broadcast Rigoletto four years earlier– Bing could be very much a creature of habit. Also the exact same trio of leads as the 1953 performance except Erede was in the pit. This is Merrill probably at his vocal peak (the Rigoletto broadcasts would mostly alternate between Warren (often with Tucker) and Merrill, with Tucker’s brother-in law. Luxury indeed. Let me put in a word here for the 1960 Rigoletto which has MacNeil’s first broadcast jester, Giaiotti as Monterone and Tozzi in the third of his three broadcast Sparafuciles. 1957 like so many years was an extraordinary year for Merrill’s instrument. Take a listen. A note on representation in MOoD for Rigoletto. There is no performance represented there between 1945 and 1973. The 1945 shows Warren at close to his vocal best, but no representation of Tucker’s Duke– four broadcasts from 1951-1972, nor Peerce’s, the 1960 for MacNeil, and no Merrill Rigoletto at all, and the same for Peters’ Gilda. Considering some of the mediocre Rigolettos that ARE included, this is one of the worst gaps in terms of match of Sirius/ MOoD to actual Met performance and broadcast history.
LA CENERENTOLA:Rossini
Levine; Larmore, Vargas, Alaimo, Corbelli
Original Air Date: 01/24/1998
MOD Audio
SID.19390745
The 2000 broadcast with Larmore features Campanella and Gimenez. This 1998 broadcast is the original cast from the fall 1997 premiere except with Larmore for Bartoli. The Bartoli performance is preserved on video on MOoD. New York has seen a lot of Cenerentola in the 17 years since it premiered– Bartoli, Larmore,Borodina, Ganassi, Garanca, DiDonato. Neither Borodina nor Ganassi were broadcast– I liked Borodina very much and the Ganassi performances featured Florez’ first NYC Ramiros.
SIEGFRIED:Wagner
Levine; Eaglen, Svendén, Andersen, Clark, Morris, Wlaschiha
Original Air Date: 04/15/2000
SID.19390746
This is Andersen’s Met debut and the first of Eaglen’s two broadcast Siegfried Brunnhildes. To me, the treat in Siegfried is always Morris, and especially the 3rd act scenes with Erda and Siegfried.
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE:Mozart
Krips; Raskin, Shirley, Uppman, Peters, Macurdy
Original Air Date: 03/04/1967
MOD Audio
SID.19400101
First year in the new house, the Chagall production premiered with the Europeans (Lorengar, Popp, Gedda, Prey) plus Hines, but the Americans in the cast above got the broadcast. I liked Krips conducting very much. Popp did broadcast her Queen 3 years later, but this performance has not been on Sirius. Skrowacewski is the conductor, Zylis-Gara is the Pamina, but Popp, Gedda, Prey are all picked up from the premiere cast, and it’s the only German broadcasts of their roles. Sirius should definitely fill in this gap. In 1967 Macurdy was actually fresher of voice than Hines, but mostly this cast was definitely second class.
MANON LESCAUT:Puccini
Levine; Scotto, Domingo, Elvira, Capecchi
Original Air Date: 03/29/1980
SID.19400102
This performance is also available on video in MOoD. As an audio only performance, it ranks behind the two Bjorling broadcasts (1949 with Kirsten and 1956 with Albanese– the latter one of the great Met broadcasts thanks to the additional force of Mitropoulos in the pit). Though Tebaldi and Tucker were both great exponents of these roles, their 1959 broadcast together still seems to elude the Sirius programmers. Great shame, especially for her, as it’s one of her great afternoons. This 1980 broadcast is well worth listening to, but recent reactions to Scotto’s 1967 Butterfly and her 1982 Lady Macbeth found her tone even harder than remembered. Her style is impeccable, but her 45 year old Manon is pretty hard-edged.
LUISA MILLER:Verdi
Levine; Scotto, Domingo, Milnes, Giaiotti, Morris, Kraft
Original Air Date: 01/27/1979
SID.19400103
MOoD also features the telecast from a week before with the same cast (and was issued on DVD as well.) Scotto and Domingo understand the style very well, and if every note is not ideal, they rise to great heights in the final act (which is among Verdi’s greatest music for any of his operas).
DON GIOVANNI:Mozart
Hager; Morris, Sweet, Perry, Schuman, Olsen, Hong
Original Air Date: 12/24/1994
SID.19400104
Morris has four broadcast performances of the title role going back to 1974 (all post Siepi of course, who is very much my standard). In a house the size of of the Met I prefer a bass-baritone Don. Hager is a solid conductor and D’Arcangelo is caught at the beginning of his Met career. I like this overall cast better than the two surrounding broadcasts which feature Hampson. We need to hear the 1967 Don Giovanni with Siepi, Sutherland, Lorengar, Gedda, Flagello, Giaiotti under Bohm and also the 1957 Don with Steber and Della Casa at their peak under Bohm, and on MOoD, the video of Sutherland with Morris from 1978 which features Varady on camera for her only Met role.
DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG:Wagner
Schippers; Adam, Lorengar, King, Kusche, Flagello, Driscoll
Original Air Date: 01/15/1972
MOD Audio
SID.19400105
This performance is on Sony’s Met historical CD series Lorengar and King, who do not have commercials of their portrayals are fine exponents of their roles, and Kusche is a long respected Beckmesser. Adam split the Sachs with Tozzi, and at this point Adam was probably the better choice.
ELEKTRA:Strauss
Nezet-Seguin; Goerke, van den heever, Schuster, Morris, Petrenlo
Original Air Date: 03/18/2018
SID.19400106
Christine Goerke sings her first Elektra at the Met in Patrice Chéreau’s landmark production, a sensation at its Met premiere last spring, which the Wall Street Journal called “revolutionary … a triumph on all fronts.” Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Strauss’s shattering score, a tour de force for the singers and the orchestra alike. Opening night (3-1-2018) is dedicated to the memory of Patrice Chéreau.
AIDA:Verdi
Fiore; Sweet, Sylvester, Zajick, Pons, Plishka
Original Air Date: 02/05/1994
SID.19400107
This is a pretty standard house casting for Aida in the 90s. Sweet and Zajick appear in Aida together 14 times over five seasons from 1994-1999. The male contingent holds less interest than in earlier times, Pons has a huge Met career, but not one of much interest to me.
LA TRAVIATA:Verdi
Gergiev; Fleming, Vargas, Hvorostovsky
Original Air Date: 03/06/2004
SID.19400208
This is a very solid performance. Fleming’s LA and London DVDs are even better, but Hvorostovsky’s sound eight years is preferable ago to his efforts in the Decker/Dessay production. Violetta is a relatively late part for Fleming, but she ranks 11th in all-time Violettas (20) with more performances at the Met than Caballe (no broadcast, but opening night) Cotrubas, De Los Angeles, Dessay, Gheorghiu, Ponselle, Scotto, Sills, Steber, Sutherland. The two huge totals are Albanese at 87, Moffo at 80, Bori at 58, and Sembrich at 47. Next down are Kirsten and Malfitano tied at 27. It’s one of Callas’ 4 roles at the Met so almost no one completely misses, but one who has is Netrebko (though originally announced for the Decker production.)
FAUST:Gounod
Rich; Domingo, Zylis-Gara, Tozzi, Sereni, von Stade
Original Air Date: 02/26/1972
MOD Audio
SID.19400209
This over-programmed Faust is on again, but there are so many better Fausts on the shelf. Domingo is better than expected in one of his early broadcasts, but Tozzi, a Met stalwart, is in poor form. Mercifully, the rotation has slowed down on this performance. There are a number of excellent Fausts, 2 with Bjorling (and Siepi) which Sirius has never played, and there are several much better Fausts in the Sirius rotation. This one does not deserve such airplay. Nicolai Gedda is third in all-time performances (42) as Faust surpassed only by Jean de Reszke at 71 and Giovanni Martinelli at 56, and yet is represented by only one Faust broadcast in MOoD and Sirius reports replay of the 1972, but neither his 1966 or 1969 with interesting casts have been heard on either. Gedda was a Met star tenor for two decades, and we mostly hear him in Vanessa (where he is remarkable), but he was the leading Faust in the world with the passing of Bjorling his Swedish countryman.