IL TROVATORE:Verdi
Rudolf; Baum, Stella, Madeira, Merrill, Moscona
Original Air Date: 03/16/1957
SID.20140533
This is a performance well worth hearing. Stella and Merrill are blessed with two of the richest voices ever to be before the public and both are in their absolute prime. I don’t much care for Baum, but for some he is more listenable. He is the Manrico most frequently encountered in the 40s and 50s. This is his 6th and last broadcast Trovatore (only Martinelli exceeds Baum’s 60 Manricos with 69). Madeira is tied with Mignon Dunn for 4th (Homer, Zajick, and Cossotto are #1-3). Her voice is a real alt, so the end of the opera is a bit beyond her. The conductor Max Rudolf was “head of music staff” in this period and just as his Butterfly recording with Steber and Tucker is quite tidy, so is this Trovatore. Take a listen to this performance and see how you think it ranks with this season’s Trovatore.
HAMLET:Thomas
Langrée; Keenlyside, Petersen, Larmore, Morris, Spence
Original Air Date: 03/27/2010
MOD Video
SID.20140534
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.
PETER GRIMES:Britten
Davis; Vickers, Amara, Evans, Madeira, Chookasian
Original Air Date: 02/11/1967
SID.20140535
HIghly recommended. This is the first of Vickers’ four broadcast Peter Grimes and the partnership with Colin Davis yields some first-rate music making. It is the first broadcast by Vickers in the new production from the Lincoln Center Met’s first season. Colin Davis only has four broadcasts from the Met (two Grimes, Wozzeck, Pelleas) and he and Vickers contributed memorable performances on both sides of the Atlantic.
This is the third performance of the Vickers/Davis/Guthrie 1967 production which added a great role to Vickers’ gallery of overwhelming portrayals. While Britten was reportedly none too pleased with Vickers’ approach, the royalty coffers were greatly enriched by Vickers performances around the world which put Grimes solidly into mainstream repertory. There is a commercial video from Covent Garden (with Davis conducting as well) which is highly recommended in addition to this broadcast. Two years later the exact same cast broadcasts it again and this second broadcast of the Guthrie/Davis/Vickers Grimes is on MOoD.
OTELLO:Verdi
Cleva; Del Monaco, de los Angeles, Warren, Franke
Original Air Date: 03/08/1958
MOD Audio
SID.20140536
This is a splendid performance, and should also note the number of fine Otellos which have not been on Sirius, including but not limited to the the 3 1940s Otellos with Stella Roman, Tebaldi’s two Desdemonas from 1955 and 1958 (the 1955 is uncommon on the private market, and the 1958 never seen, even the 1958 from La Scala with the same trio– Tebaldi, Del Monaco, Warren is not that common and the 1963 Tucci, McCracken , Merrill with Solti have all been missed by Sirius. Really too many omissions for relatively recent performances. Also the Bohm (his only Verdi at the Met) from April 1972
LES PÊCHEURS DE PERLES:Bizet
Noseda; Damrau, Polenzani, Kwiecien, Teste*
Original Air Date: 01/16/2016
Live in HD
SID.20140538
Léila……………….Diana Damrau
Nadir……………….Matthew Polenzani
Zurga……………….Mariusz Kwiecien
Nourabad…………….Nicolas Testé
Conductor……………Gianandrea Noseda
Production…………..Penny Woolcock
Set Designer…………Dick Bird
Costume Designer……..Kevin Pollard
Lighting Designer…….Jen Schriever
Projection Design…….59 Productions
Movement Director…….Andrew Dawson
TV Director………….Matthew Diamond
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER:Wagner
Gergiev; Morris, Stemme, Wagenführer, Rootering, Grove, Polenzani
Original Air Date: 12/16/2000
MOD Audio
SID.20140539
The Met for almost two decades led a charmed life with most Dutchman revivals centered on Leonie Rysanek as Senta, and for the first decade George London as the Dutchman. This performance was an early appearance by Nina Stemme at the Met, long before her acclaimed Brunnhildes around the world in the last 5 years. People were not thinking of her as a future Brunnhilde in 2000, and an important appearance in 2016 as Elektra in a new production.
TANNHÄUSER:Wagner
Rosenstock; Nuoti, Nilsson, Stewart, Macurdy
Original Air Date: 03/26/1966
SID.20140640
Originally the title role was to have been taken by Windgassen, but he cancelled his run a week before the performances. Nilsson does both Elisabeth and Venus (scheduled as such) and this 1966 revival is the last time the Dresden version of Tannhauser has been heard at the Met; the Dresden had only come in the 1954 new production under Szell. Another Hungarian, Georg Solti had brought the Paris version back to
the Met in the 1960 revival, and when Levine did a new production in 1977, Paris became the house standard for choice of versions. Nuotio was not much more than a placeholder, and I think the Met had better repetiteurs than Rosenstock so overall this run doesn’t have much to recommend itself except Nilsson’s generous voicing of both roles, and Thomas Stewart’s Wolfram in his debut Met season.
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SIMON BOCCANEGRA:Verdi
Stiedry; Warren, Varnay, Tucker, Székely, Valdengo
Original Air Date: 01/28/1950
MOD Audio
SID.20140641
Reissued on Sony Classical in the Met’s Verdi box for his bicentennial. This is Warren’s only broadcast of the title role. He had done Paolo (the Valdengo role) a decade earlier shortly after winning the Met Auditions of the Air. His Simon was Lawrence Tibbett. This is Tucker’s first venture into the more dramatic tenor roles, and he sang it outstandingly for the next quarter century until his final Gabriel on the 1974 Met broadcast with plenty of gas still in the tank. This 1974 performance with Wixell and Maliponte is long overdue for a Sirius rebroadcast.
LA SONNAMBULA:Bellini
Varviso; Sutherland, Gedda, Flagello, Scovotti
Original Air Date: 03/30/1963
SID.20140642
This is stellar singing from one and all, and is available along with her second Met Sonnambula broadcast from 1968 in MOoD. I was lucky to see Sutherland from her very first USA appearance in Alcina (Dallas,1960) and lucky was I to enjoy such stellar performing for more than a quarter century. Other singers may have a more introspective approach to Sonnambula, but La Stupenda offers something different, and nowhere to be found in opera houses today.
VARIOUS:Various
Various Artists
Original Air Date: 01/01/9999
SID.20140643
LES TROYENS:Berlioz
Levine; Norman, Sooter, Monk, Taillon, Plishka, Ahlstedt
Original Air Date: 02/18/1984
MOD Audio
SID.20140645
Norman repeated Verrett’s double assumption on this broadcast (Verrett’s was for the opening of the production in 1973 when Ludwig was indisposed–I was there, quite an evening). I rather prefer Norman’s Didon to her Cassandre, but this broadcast now takes its place in MOoD. Enee is close to an impossible part, but Sooter is no worse than Ronald Dowd was in Boston for Caldwell.
MACBETH:Verdi
Fabio Luisi: Željko Lučić, Anna Netrebko, Joseph Calleja, René Pape
Original Air Date: 10/11/2014
Live in HD
SID.20140646
LES TROYENS:Berlioz
Levine; Norman, Sooter, Monk, Taillon, Plishka, Ahlstedt
Original Air Date: 02/18/1984
MOD Audio
SID.20140647
Norman repeated Verrett’s double assumption on this broadcast (Verrett’s was for the opening of the production in 1973 when Ludwig was indisposed–I was there, quite an evening). I rather prefer Norman’s Didon to her Cassandre, but this broadcast now takes its place in MOoD. Enee is close to an impossible part, but Sooter is no worse than Ronald Dowd was in Boston for Caldwell.
IL TROVATORE:Verdi
Rudolf; Baum, Stella, Madeira, Merrill, Moscona
Original Air Date: 03/16/1957
SID.20140648
This is a performance well worth hearing. Stella and Merrill are blessed with two of the richest voices ever to be before the public and both are in their absolute prime. I don’t much care for Baum, but for some he is more listenable. He is the Manrico most frequently encountered in the 40s and 50s. This is his 6th and last broadcast Trovatore (only Martinelli exceeds Baum’s 60 Manricos with 69). Madeira is tied with Mignon Dunn for 4th (Homer, Zajick, and Cossotto are #1-3). Her voice is a real alt, so the end of the opera is a bit beyond her. The conductor Max Rudolf was “head of music staff” in this period and just as his Butterfly recording with Steber and Tucker is quite tidy, so is this Trovatore. Take a listen to this performance and see how you think it ranks with this season’s Trovatore.
L’ELISIR D’AMORE:Donizetti
Schippers; Bergonzi, Peters, Corena, Guarrera
Original Air Date: 03/05/1966
MOD Audio
SID.20140749
This performance has been issued in Sony’s Historic Met CD series. Also on MOoD is Bergonzi and Corena partnered by Scotto and Sereni who I think are better matches in this opera.One cannot lose with Bergonzi and Corena.
SAMSON ET DALILA:Saint-Saëns
Fournet; Vickers, Horne, Quilico
Original Air Date: 04/18/1987
MOD Audio
SID.20140750
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.
THE QUEEN OF SPADES:Tchaikovsky
Gergiev; Domingo, Gorchakova, Söderström, Hvorostovsky, Borodina, Putilin
Original Air Date: 04/10/1999
MOD AudioMOD Video
SID.20140751
This performance is too late for Soderstrom, too late for Domingo, and too late for Gorchakova. You can see the video of from five days later on MOoD as well. Better to hear the first season of the production with Gregorian who succeeded Heppner, Guleghina who succeeded Mattila with Rysanek. That has been on Sirius, but is not on MOoD. If Sirius had been at work when the production premiered we would have a broadcast of Heppner and Mattila at their very best. MOD is from 4-15-99 performance.
HAMLET:Thomas
Langrée; Keenlyside, Petersen, Larmore, Morris, Spence
Original Air Date: 03/27/2010
MOD Video
SID.20140752
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.
TANNHÄUSER:Wagner
Rosenstock; Nuoti, Nilsson, Stewart, Macurdy
Original Air Date: 03/26/1966
SID.20140753
Originally the title role was to have been taken by Windgassen, but he cancelled his run a week before the performances. Nilsson does both Elisabeth and Venus (scheduled as such) and this 1966 revival is the last time the Dresden version of Tannhauser has been heard at the Met; the Dresden had only come in the 1954 new production under Szell. Another Hungarian, Georg Solti had brought the Paris version back to the Met in the 1960 revival, and when Levine did a new production in 1977, Paris became the house standard for choice of versions. Nuotio was not much more than a placeholder, and I think the Met had better repetiteurs than Rosenstock so overall this run doesn’t have much to recommend itself except Nilsson’s generous voicing of both roles, and Thomas Stewart’s Wolfram in his debut Met season.
NORMA:Bellini
Rizzi; Radvanovsky, DiDonato, Calleja, Rose
Original Air Date: 10/07/2017
Live in HD
SID.20140754
Norma……………….Sondra Radvanovsky
Pollione…………….Joseph Calleja
Adalgisa…………….Joyce DiDonato
Oroveso……………..Matthew Rose
Clotilde…………….Michelle Bradley
Flavio………………Adam Diegel
Child……………….Christopher Reynolds
Child……………….John Reynolds
Conductor……………Carlo Rizzi
Production…………..David McVicar
Set Designer…………Robert Jones
Costume Designer……..Moritz Junge
Lighting Designerr……Paule Constable
Movement Directo……..Leah Hausman
TV Director………….Gary Halvorson
CARMEN:Bizet
Pelletier; Djanel, Jobin, Albanese, Valentino
Original Air Date: 03/24/1945
SID.20140755
I don’t remember this as well as Albanese’s earlier Micaela with Swarthout which is available on Met Player. We don’t get many broadcasts from the 1940s (this is not new to Sirius, but not played all that often). I wish that instead of the Micaela, MetRadio had programmed the 1941 Faust Beecham ;Jobin, Albanese, Pinza, Thomas,Browning
PETER GRIMES:Britten
Davis; Vickers, Amara, Evans, Madeira, Chookasian
Original Air Date: 02/11/1967
SID.20150101
HIghly recommended. This is the first of Vickers’ four broadcast Peter Grimes and the partnership with Colin Davis yields some first-rate music making. It is the first broadcast by Vickers in the new production from the Lincoln Center Met’s first season. Colin Davis only has four broadcasts from the Met (two Grimes, Wozzeck, Pelleas) and he and Vickers contributed memorable performances on both sides of the Atlantic. This is the third performance of the Vickers/Davis/Guthrie 1967 production which added a great role to Vickers’ gallery of overwhelming portrayals. While Britten was reportedly none too pleased with Vickers’ approach, the royalty coffers were greatly enriched by Vickers performances around the world which put Grimes solidly into mainstream repertory. There is a commercial video from Covent Garden (with Davis conducting as well) which is highly recommended in addition to this broadcast. Two years later the exact same cast broadcasts it again and this second broadcast of the Guthrie/Davis/Vickers Grimes is on MOoD.
MOSES UND ARON:Schoenberg
Levine; Tomlinson, Langridge
Original Air Date: 12/20/2003
SID.20150102
This performance was issued in Levine’s 40th anniversary CD box, and is also available in MOoD. This performance is well regarded.Both the MOoD and the CD issued in the Levine 40th anniversary CD box are from the first Met season of MuA in 1999. Both performances have been on Sirius, and here is the 2003 again.
DIE FLEDERMAUS:Strauss Jr.
Ormandy & Blatt; Resnik, Kullman, Munsel, Sullivan, Thebom, Brownlee
Original Air Date: 12/22/1951
SID.20150105
This is the second season of the hit Fledermaus production, and while I never cared much for Resnik’s soprano outings, she’s an improvement on Piazza. Ormandy comes back for this, but leaves the third act to a repetiteur as he had a Saturday night in Philadelphia with his Orchestra and his real bread and butter. Munsel is still the real star. Brownlee was in practically every Fledermaus until he left the Met.
UN BALLO IN MASCHERA:Verdi
Lewis; Morell, Ross, Merrill, Peters, Forrester
Original Air Date: 12/06/1975
SID.20150106
Merrill who had a virtual lock on Renato for two decades (one broadcast to Milnes) is still in decent form for his final season. The rest of the cast is not ideal. I saw Elinor Ross several times in Philadelphia, and while it was not an especially beautiful voice she could be a notable Gioconda and Turandot, and her video Norma from Germany with Del Monaco is well up to the task. Amelia is another matter, but paired with Morrell, this is not the afternoon for glorious Verdi. Forrester has a very distinguished concert career, but she’s wrong for Ulrica at the Met. It’s too late for Peters as Oscar — she’s very good in 1955. This is Merrill’s final broadcast (he has three farewell Germonts with Moffo which constitute the final operatic appearance for both at the Met. My memory of this performance is not especially positive. Elinor Ross was a fine singer. I saw her a decade earlier in Philadelphia with an excellent Gioconda, Aida, and Turandot. She also has on Youtube a mostly complete Norma with Del Monaco from Germany. She is well up to the competition there. This is I think a bit late. For Merrlll’s Renato I strongly recommend 2 of his earlier Renatos from 1963 (with Nilsson and Tucker) and 1966 (with Price and Bergonzi). Lewis is not an inspiring conductor for me.
FIDELIO:Beethoven
Haitink; Meier, Sooter, Roar, Macurdy, Blegen, Atherton
Original Air Date: 04/10/1982
SID.20150208
This is Haitink’s only Met season, and Meier is pinch-hitting for Verrett who was sick for two other performances (also sung by Johanna Meier) in the run as well. Hard to believe the original casting for Florestan was Sooter, but in any event he gets a fine review from Harriet Johnson of the NY Post. To my knowledge, Verrett’s 3 performances are her only times in the part.
LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN:Offenbach
Varviso; Alexander, Dooley, Scovotti, Cvejic, Amara, Martin
Original Air Date: 02/27/1965
SID.20150209
This performance goes back to the old house, and has the distinction of being John Alexander’s only broadcast Hoffmann. His career is distinguished by regularly being asked for by the biggest named sopranos in the world–Beverly Sills, Montserrat Caballe, Renata Tebaldi, Leontyne Price, and a repertory that was as comfortable in Mozart and the French, as he was in German (Walther and Bacchus among his roles) and Italian. He was a bit like Alberto Remedios, but with more coloratura flexibility; both with sweet voices that could cope with roles that often defeated less technically secure colleagues. Antonia is one of Amara’s best parts.
SUSANNAH:Floyd
Conlon; Fleming, Hadley, Ramey
Original Air Date: 04/03/1999
MOD Audio
SID.20150210
This is the Met’s only broadcast of Susannah, and finds all three principals on especially fine form. Even without the visual appeal, the opera makes an impact from the music alone. This was a highly successful Met repertory debut for the Carlisle Floyd opera and both Fleming and Ramey are extremely well cast. Conlon is very committed to the work, and it is a contemporary work that works almost as well in audio only as in the theatre with its sure-fire theatrics. One of the best efforts of the Met for both American and contemporary opera. This is one of Fleming’s very best outings, and Ramey and Hadley are well cast as well. One of the better 20th century American operas.
MANON LESCAUT:Puccini
Adler; Kirsten, Alexander, Walker, Michalski
Original Air Date: 03/08/1975
SID.20150211
Kirsten replaced Leontyne Price on this broadcast. She is thoroughly professional even if she is 65 years old!!!!! Her first broadcast is 26 years earlier when she was pushing 40. Better to hear that with Bjorling. Highly recommended but still omitted from the Sirius Manon Lescaut sweepstakes are the Tebaldi-Tucker from 1959 and the Kirsten Bergonzi from 1960 (Kirsten replacing Stella) This is a rare broadcast, but it IS possible to find
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I PURITANI:Bellini
Bonynge; Gruberova, Merritt, Gavanelli, Plishka
Original Air Date: 03/30/1991
MOD Audio
SID.20150212
This is primarily for Gruberova fans. She doesn’t sing in USA much so just as well since she only has two Met broadcasts, this Puritani and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos. Of greater interest would be her Queen of the Night (Met debut) and the new production of Traviata with Kleiber and Shicoff (neither broadcast; in today’s world of live Sirius, we would likely be hearing both)