SAMSON ET DALILA:Saint-Saens
Original Air Date: 03/23/2019
Elder; Rachvelishvili, Antonenko, Naouri, Konieczny, Groissböck
SID.19120640
Following triumphant performances in Aida and Adriana Lecouvreur earlier this season, mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili gives a commanding … exhilarating (New York Times) performance as the seductive Dalila, opposite tenor Gregory Kunde, who sings Samson with strong, focused tone and … genuine nobility (New York Times). Darko Tresnjak, who won a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical in 2014 for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, makes his Met debut directing a vivid staging of Saint-Saëns’s biblical epic, featuring a monumental setting for the last-act Temple of Dagon, where the hero crushes his Philistine enemies. Sir Mark Elder conducts the first new Met production of the work in 20 years.
Conductor Sir Mark Elder
Samson Gregory Kunde
Abimélech Tomasz Konieczny
The high priest of dagon Laurent Naouri
First philistine Eduardo Valdes
Second philistine Jeongcheol Cha
A philistine messenger Scott Scully
An old hebrew Günther Groissböck
Dalila Anita Rachvelishvili
First Intermission
-Backstage Pass: Loren Toolajian interviews Anita Rachvelishvilil
-Backstage Pass: Loren Toolajian interviews Gregory Kunde and Laurent Naouri
-Backstage Pass: Loren Toolajian interviews Tomasz Konieczny and Günther Groissböck
-Mary Jo Heath interviews maestro Carlo Rizzi
Second Intermission
-Mary Jo Heath interviews chorus master Donald Palumbo
-TOLL BROTHERS – METROPOLITAN OPERA QUIZ
Guest Artist: Erin Morley; Host: Gerald Martin Moorel Panelists: Ken Benson, Brad Cresswell and Peter Kazaras
Pianist: Howard Watson
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE:Mozart
Original Air Date: 12/15/1973
Maag; Moffo, Alva, Gramm, Shane, Hines
SID.19120641
This Zauberflote turns up as among the most commonly broadcast Flutes. I’m not sure why except that it is in generally good sound. Shane and Hines are the only two performers with 29 and 55 performances respectively who are major exponents of their roles. One thing that lowers the availability is that from 1941 until 1967, it was performed exclusively in English, and generally Sirius plays no performances performed in translation.
AIDA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/02/1996
Badea; Rautio, Sylvester, Zajick, Pons, Plishka
SID.19120642
While this is prime Zajick, the rest of this cast does not attract me. There are far worthier broadcasts including Solti and Steinberg from the 1960s, Curtis-Verna’s only broadcast Aida (replacing Tebaldi) with a sterling supporting cast from the 50s, etc. etc. Sylvester has 2 other broadcasts his first with Sweet and Zajick in 1994, and his last in 1997 with Sweet and Toczyska and I think Sweet is to be preferred if Sylvester (who is a solid Radames) is your primary interest.
LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 12/28/1940
Papi; Pons, Jobin, Petina, Baccaloni
MOD Audio SID.19120743
This performance has also been issued in the Sony Historical CD series from the Met. The surprise was that this was Pons’ only Met broadcast of Marie–she has thirteen Lucia broadcasts!!!!! This broadcast is her first time in the part at the Met (Broadcast production premieres were not common prior to Gelb) She was a huge Met star. She was my third Lucia (Callas and Sutherland first); that Fort Worth Lucia was not the way to remember her. Generally I don’t find Fille as strong a work as either Don Pasquale or L’Elisir d’Amore. This is not only the incomparable Lily Pons’s first performance in Donizetti’s comic opera at the Met; it is her only broadcast as Marie. Equal parts dazzling singer and romping tomboy, she is totally charming. No wonder Time magazine put her on its cover. Salvatore Baccaloni is Sergeant Sulpice and Raoul Jobin is the man who steals Pons’s heart. In this famous World War II-era broadcast Pons interpolates “La Marseillaise” at the end—bringing a cheering Met audience to its feet.
BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE:Bartók
Original Air Date: 01/28/1989
Levine; Ramey, Norman
SID.19120745
What is defective about this is that in March of 2013 [and March 2015] the rebroadcast included the second work of the afternoon Schoenberg’s Erwartung with Norman. Rebroadcasting half the afternoon? I’ll try to be up and check and see if both works are actually on. Bluebeard with a much weaker cast is scheduled in a new production in 2014-2015 (the starrier fare of this season is Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta with Netrebko and Beczala. I find it a bit tone deaf to be honoring Norman’s 70th birthday with a broadcast that is incomplete and not yet honored in Met Opera on Demand or DVD for both the Bluebeard and the Erwartung. Although the Bartok is done in an English translation it was telecast as well. Norman is at her considerable best, and it would be nice if this performance could be issued somehow. Ramey is a very strong Bluebeard. It’s one of the few post 1977 videos not available in any form, either MOoD or DVD.
MANON:Massenet
Original Air Date: 02/28/1987
Rosenthal; Malfitano, Gulyás, Holloway
SID.19120746
This was the first Met broadcast of Massenet’s Manon in almost a quarter century, and despite the authentic touches of Rosenthal and Senechal, the Ponnelle production and some casting was a dud. We’ll see Manon fares in the new production in a few weeks with Netrebko. Gulyas who was a cover tenor when not performing in Khovanshchina had been called into duty when Neil Shicoff was suffering from pharyngitis. Several other tenors were pressed into debuts after the broadcast including Jerry Hadley and Gregory Kunde. I would vote for the 1959 Manon with De Los Angeles and Gedda which has never been heard on Sirius.
TANNHÄUSER:Wagner
Original Air Date: 03/26/1966
Rosenstock; Nuoti, Nilsson, Stewart, Macurdy
SID.19120747
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.
BILLY BUDD:Britten
Original Air Date: 04/19/1980
Leppard; Stilwell, Cassilly, Morris, Glossop, Ward
SID.19120749
The Met has broadcast Billy Budd 5 times since its arrival in 1978. This is the second, with Cassilly replacing the Vere creator Peter Pears. The Pears broadcast from the year before has not been on Sirius, and in the case of the most recent Budd broadcast with Dwayne Croft and Phillip Langridge a video was done which has not yet made its way to either Met Player or to a commercial DVD. In memory of Langridge and one of the great Met productions (Dexter at his considerable best), this should move into Met Player, one of the view Met videos left that does not have distribution. The 1980 performance on Sirius next week features Stilwell and Morris repeating their roles from the Met premiere the season before. I find Budd a stronger work overall than Peter Grimes, especially as experienced in the theatre.
ELEKTRA:Strauss
Original Air Date: 12/30/1978
Leinsdorf; Mastilovic, Marton, Cornell, Bailey, Ulfung
SID.19130101
This broadcast marks Leinsdorf’s only season of Elektra since his debut and sophomore seasons in the late 1930s. Mastilovic is a solid if not especially memorable Elektra, and Eva Marton who never brought her outstanding Elektra to the Met (I saw one of her early ones in 1990 at Covent Garden) but IS a memorable Chrysothemis as well.. Gwynn Cornell who had made quite a splash in New Jersey as Laura to Bumbry and Tucker in Gioconda debuts (I think as a replacement for Dunn) as Klytemnestra. Though quite a vocal talent, this is a big dramatic role and her inexperience shows. Norman Bailey who only has four Met broadcasts is not yet represented by his Wotan which has an interesting cast (also with Leinsdorf) in Rita Hunter, James King (his only Met airwaves outing as Siegmund) and Janis Martin.
Original Air Date: 02/24/1979
Levine; Giacomini, Scotto, Milnes, Horne, Ghiaurov, Morris
SID.19130210
This is Levine’s first year conducting Don Carlo, and in its full five act format. I don’t think Horne works very well at all, and some of the phrases press Scotto very hard. The men are solid, though it’s not my favorite Posa. Ghiaurov is caught well past his best, Horne is miscast, Scotto is overparted, and Giacomini rather monochrone in his first Met season. Morris is one of the younger Inquisitors, and certainly gala casting for the Celestial Voice from Leona Mitchell. What is a surprise is that Don Carlo which is one of Levine’s most frequent assignments (60 performances) and a Met record for the opera, but the only Levine performances listed in MOoD is the atreamed audio from 2006 with Racette and Botha, and neither of the videos — the first with Freni, the second with Scotto (with Moldoveanu and Troyanos) which have been available on DVD have made it to MOoD. Whatever the limitations of individual performers, this is a full voiced line-up.
COSI FAN TUTTE:Mozart
Original Air Date: 01/28/2006
Levine; Deshorties, Groves, Kozená, Kwiecien, Focile, Allen
SID.19130317
This revival had premiered in the fall with Frittoli making a wonderful foil for Kozena, and Levine was at his considerable Mozartean best. Deshorties, while not as stretched as she had been in Entfuhrung is again cast beyond her capacity. Still, the overall ensemble is of good quality and worthy of a listen.
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA / PAGLIACCI:Mascagni / Leoncavallo
Original Air Date: 04/13/1957
Cleva; Milanov, Tucker, Valentino / Amara, Baum, Merrill
SID.19130318
The main feature here is Merrill’s Tonio which he only broadcast twice in his long Met career, this performance and in 1960 with a weaker Cavalleria cast. The Pagliacci is the same cast on both broadcasts. Warren really dominated Tonio during his lifetime, and MacNeil and Milnes in the latter part of Merrill’s career. For me, Merrill is the voice for the prologue, and he also has an excellent commercial with Lorengar and McCracken.
UN BALLO IN MASCHERA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/15/1997
Levine; Pavarotti, Voigt, Pons, Shin, Dever
SID.19130319
Except for Pavarotti, there is nothing of special distinction. Both of Pavarotti’s Met videos (1980 and 1991) of Ballo have more interest and they are both on MOoD. Levine only has three matinee broadcasts, 1991 (with Millo and Pavarotti), this broadcast, and a 2015 with Radvanovsky, Tamura (replacing Beczala) and Hvorostovsky. Better to add that one to the rotation.
ARABELLA:Strauss
Original Air Date: 12/15/2001
Eschenbach; Fleming; Ketelsen, Bonney, Very, Forst, Halfvarson
MOD Audio SID.19130320
This is Fleming’s only Met broadcast outing as Arabella. Eschenbach was the fly in the ointment when I saw the production prior to the broadcast, and so he remains. Because of the English translation used prior to the new production, Sirius listeners are regularly denied the glories of Steber under Kempe in the premiere season of 1955, and Della Casa from 1957-1965. Della Casa has studio and stage Arabellas in German from other sources, but Kempe is a special Straussian, and Steber is in particularly stunning voice with London from the premiere year. 09/24/2012 – I thought Eschenbach was the real fly in the ointment when this revival came around. Fleming is in very beautiful voice, but the performance as a whole lacks magic. Arabella takes special handling and this doesn’t really get it. 03/27/2012 – I saw an earlier performance in the run, and while OK, Fleming did not have a great deal of personality. The singing was excellent. I prefer Steber or Della Casa. 8/2/2011 – For me, Eschenbach is a bit of the fly in the ointment, but this is still a solid Arabella cast. This does give me a chance to make a plea for the Met premiere broadcast of Arabella (in English — part of the delay I am sure) with Steber, Guden, London, under Rudolf Kempe. What a magnificent performance from all concerned
SALOME:Strauss
Original Air Date: 03/13/1965
Böhm; Nilsson, Liebl, Dalis, Cassel, Shirley
MOD Audio SID.19130321
This is an absolute MUST. Mercifully it’s on Met Player (at least for North America). Bohm and Nilsson are ablaze. I saw two performance this first season of the Rennert/Heinrich production and as much as I loved the Solti recording, and later Nilsson with Solti and CSO at Carnegie Hall, Bohm and Nilsson burned ever so brightly, and the conductor threw in a concert Don Juan before the Salome to warm the orchestra up. I added Ernst Wiemann who as First Nazarene makes his presence known, and he was part of excellent Met singers in secondary parts. The supporting cast is very strongly cast (the five Jews and the Nazarenes Ernst Wiemann and the recently deceased Calvin Marsh are very distinctive. One of the great performances captured, with Nilsson in her only broadcast Met Salome, and it’s a humdinger. Liebl and Dalis both in the new Rennert production and their vivid singing contribute strongly, but in the end it’s a Birgit and Karl show.
DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL:Mozart
Original Air Date: 12/12/1987
Janowski; Donat, Winbergh, Salminen, Mills, Zednik
SID.19130422
The main news here is Winbergh who had too few Met appearances and Salminen who is a solid Osmin, if not as good as Moll. My memory of Donat (the Polish coloratura, not Helen Donath) is limited and certainly in this performance. Janowski only has three broadcast appearances at the Met (Arabella, and Salome with Marton are the other two). He’s a major conductor, and if Salminen lacks some of the smoothness of Moll, to me he is much preferable to Talvela in this role. Winbergh left us much too soon, and Mills and Zednik are lively performers. Donat is too low profile for Konstanze (and this is her final Met performance), but the men are very good, and Janowski is a conductor we saw too little of. Salminen reappears four years later in a broadcast that is in MOoD with Devia and Olsen as support under Levine in one of his best efforts. Winbergh only has three other Met broadcasts, two Ottavios in Don Giovanni and his final Met appearance as Jose in Carmen. Since that is where his career was going — Parsifal and Tristan were on his calendar in final year, it would be nice to hear his Jose, and Uria-Monzon would be a break from the typical Carmen–she’s native French speaker.
UN BALLO IN MASCHERA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/15/1997
Levine; Pavarotti, Voigt, Pons, Shin, Dever
SID.19130423
Except for Pavarotti, there is nothing of special distinction. Both of Pavarotti’s Met videos (1980 and 1991) of Ballo have more interest and they are both on MOoD. Levine only has three matinee broadcasts, 1991 (with Millo and Pavarotti), this broadcast, and a 2015 with Radvanovsky, Tamura (replacing Beczala) and Hvorostovsky. Better to add that one to the rotation.
THE GHOSTS OF VERSAILLES:Corigliano
Original Air Date: 01/04/1992
Levine; Stratas, Hagegård, Quilico, Horne, Clark, Fleming
SID.19130424
This was a basically successful Met commission and beautifully cast and prepared. I think it is best experienced with the video from a telecast the next week), which is available from Levine’s 40th anniversary DVD package and in MOoD. The video really helps the work along. . Commissioned by the Met and with a libretto by William M. Hoffman, the work imagines an opera put on by the ghost of Beaumarchais for the ghost of Marie Antoinette and the other spectral residents of Versailles. The sold-out, seven-performance premiere run featured an all-star cast that included Teresa Stratas, Håkan Hagegård, Renée Fleming, Graham Clark, Gino Quilico, and Marilyn Horne.
Original Air Date: 02/24/1979
Levine; Giacomini, Scotto, Milnes, Horne, Ghiaurov, Morris
SID.19130425
This is Levine’s first year conducting Don Carlo, and in its full five act format. I don’t think Horne works very well at all, and some of the phrases press Scotto very hard. The men are solid, though it’s not my favorite Posa. Ghiaurov is caught well past his best, Horne is miscast, Scotto is overparted, and Giacomini rather monochrone in his first Met season. Morris is one of the younger Inquisitors, and certainly gala casting for the Celestial Voice from Leona Mitchell. What is a surprise is that Don Carlo which is one of Levine’s most frequent assignments (60 performances) and a Met record for the opera, but the only Levine performances listed in MOoD is the atreamed audio from 2006 with Racette and Botha, and neither of the videos — the first with Freni, the second with Scotto (with Moldoveanu and Troyanos) which have been available on DVD have made it to MOoD. Whatever the limitations of individual performers, this is a full voiced line-up.
Original Air Date: 02/24/1979
Levine; Giacomini, Scotto, Milnes, Horne, Ghiaurov, Morris
SID.19130426
This is Levine’s first year conducting Don Carlo, and in its full five act format. I don’t think Horne works very well at all, and some of the phrases press Scotto very hard. The men are solid, though it’s not my favorite Posa. Ghiaurov is caught well past his best, Horne is miscast, Scotto is overparted, and Giacomini rather monochrone in his first Met season. Morris is one of the younger Inquisitors, and certainly gala casting for the Celestial Voice from Leona Mitchell. What is a surprise is that Don Carlo which is one of Levine’s most frequent assignments (60 performances) and a Met record for the opera, but the only Levine performances listed in MOoD is the atreamed audio from 2006 with Racette and Botha, and neither of the videos — the first with Freni, the second with Scotto (with Moldoveanu and Troyanos) which have been available on DVD have made it to MOoD. Whatever the limitations of individual performers, this is a full voiced line-up.
MANON LESCAUT:Puccini
Original Air Date: 03/08/1975
Adler; Kirsten, Alexander, Walker, Michalski
SID.19130427
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
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 01/29/1994
Santi; Devia, Hadley, Pons, Plishka
SID.19130428
Devia has not been a frequent Met performer (73 performances over 15 years). This is her final broadcast from the Met (and she has not been at the Met for 18 years w, though still quite active in Europe.) For me she is a much superior Lucia to Dessay, Netrebko, or Swenson, even if she is not in the Sutherland class. Who is? This performance is available on Met Opera on Demand (MOoD).
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THE GHOSTS OF VERSAILLES:Corigliano
Original Air Date: 01/04/1992
Levine; Stratas, Hagegård, Quilico, Horne, Clark, Fleming
SID.19130529
This was a basically successful Met commission and beautifully cast and prepared. I think it is best experienced with the video from a telecast the next week), which is available from Levine’s 40th anniversary DVD package and in MOoD. The video really helps the work along. . Commissioned by the Met and with a libretto by William M. Hoffman, the work imagines an opera put on by the ghost of Beaumarchais for the ghost of Marie Antoinette and the other spectral residents of Versailles. The sold-out, seven-performance premiere run featured an all-star cast that included Teresa Stratas, Håkan Hagegård, Renée Fleming, Graham Clark, Gino Quilico, and Marilyn Horne.
IL TROVATORE:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/16/1957
Rudolf; Baum, Stella, Madeira, Merrill, Moscona
SID.19130530
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.
FRANCESCA DA RIMINI:Zandonai
Original Air Date: 02/22/1986
Santi; Scotto, Mauro, MacNeil, Lewis
SID.19130531
I saw this cast and this performance is Kabaivanska’s Met farewell. Well cast and well conducted, there are two broadcasts of Onegin in 1979 (but different seasons),both with Mazurok and Plishka the only repeats from one to another. To me, this is slightly better. For those who have never encountered Mazurok, I find his voice as velvety as Hvorostovsky, and an upper register that definitely has squillo. Wish the Met would transfer one of these Mazurok Onegins to MOoD. Glad that it at least gets a regular Sirius re-hearing.
LA TRAVIATA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 04/21/1962
Strasfogel; Moffo, Morell, Sereni
SID.19130532
I’m sure I heard this performance while I was still living in Texas, but despite the visual glamor of Moffo, I find her appeal in this part limited. Along with Albanese (not one of my favorites) with 87, Moffo with her 80 Violettas totally dominate the chronology. Sembrich and Bori are the next two down and by more than two and half dozen. Most Violetta totals at the Met hover between 15 and 25. This is Moffo’s first Violetta broadcast, so probably her best. Her other two (in different seasons) come in 1967, and I know those performances well. Although Moffo had a high selling Traviata for RCA, this is the first of her three broadcasts, and the only one that has been on Sirius. I like her commercial, but as early as 1967, vocally I found her compromised (but always with huge E flat). Morell and Sereni are OK, no more. This is the first of Moffo’s three Violetta broadcasts; the other two are in 1967 (in different seasons). Moffo was a gorgeous Violetta, and very successful. I’m not sure how well it bears up in live performance in an audio only mode, but I’ll give this a try. As for the other Met broadcast Traviatas, I wish the Met would reach back to the 1935 Ponselle/Tibbett Traviata under Panizza. This has been on private labels for years and exists in good enough sound. Ponselle will not be to everyone’s taste, but I find the duet with Tibbett with Panizza’s masterly support to be of the highest quality. Albanese is the dominant Violetta (with several broadcasts from Sayao none on Sirius), but her only appearance on Sirius is her last Violetta broadcast in 1959. It’s a little late, but since I don’t much care for her Violetta (see Paul Jackson’s analysis of Met broadcasts– he worships Albanese), she is partnered by Valletti, and they make a winning pair. Two performances which have been on Sirius and are both on Met Player are the Steber with DiStefano and Merrill from 1949 (she’s replacing Sayao and practically doing a lesson in vocal technique and exquisite vocalism) and Tebaldi from 1957, where first act transpositions are mostly irrelevant to one of the most celebrated performances ever. Tebaldi did 21 performances in a single season, and Bing sent her everywhere. If not quite the perfection of the Tosca, this Violetta is quite memorable. Almost worth a Met Player subscription on its own. Surprisingly, the 1964 Sutherland Violetta has not been on Sirius. This omission should be corrected as part of the Guild’s upcoming memorial to her. I saw her Violetta at least 3 times, and it was one of her most memorable roles. Sutherland is not the only omission that should make its way to Sirius. I remember Cruz-Romo’s fine 1973 broadcast (very much in the Tebaldi tradition), Rita Shane replacing Sills in 1976 (Wixell’s only Germont broadcast), Maria Chiara in 1977, Malfitano in 1982 (I think the first to do two verses of Addio del passato), Maliponte in 1984 (I don’t remember this performance but she’s a favorite of many on this list including me) 1987 with Tomowa Sintow (again I have no memory, but she’s a singer I remember fondly) and the 2000 broadcast with Gallardo-Domas. While I thought Butterfly too heavy for her, her Violetta is one of the very best, and this has not made it to Sirius. Sirius has some heavy lifting to do for Traviata!
COSI FAN TUTTE:Mozart
Original Air Date: 01/28/2006
Levine; Deshorties, Groves, Kozená, Kwiecien, Focile, Allen
SID.19130533
This revival had premiered in the fall with Frittoli making a wonderful foil for Kozena, and Levine was at his considerable Mozartean best. Deshorties, while not as stretched as she had been in Entfuhrung is again cast beyond her capacity. Still, the overall ensemble is of good quality and worthy of a listen.
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA / PAGLIACCI:Mascagni / Leoncavallo
Original Air Date: 04/13/1957
Cleva; Milanov, Tucker, Valentino / Amara, Baum, Merrill
SID.19130534
The main feature here is Merrill’s Tonio which he only broadcast twice in his long Met career, this performance and in 1960 with a weaker Cavalleria cast. The Pagliacci is the same cast on both broadcasts. Warren really dominated Tonio during his lifetime, and MacNeil and Milnes in the latter part of Merrill’s career. For me, Merrill is the voice for the prologue, and he also has an excellent commercial with Lorengar and McCracken.
Original Air Date: 02/24/1979
Levine; Giacomini, Scotto, Milnes, Horne, Ghiaurov, Morris
SID.19130641
This is Levine’s first year conducting Don Carlo, and in its full five act format. I don’t think Horne works very well at all, and some of the phrases press Scotto very hard. The men are solid, though it’s not my favorite Posa. Ghiaurov is caught well past his best, Horne is miscast, Scotto is overparted, and Giacomini rather monochrone in his first Met season. Morris is one of the younger Inquisitors, and certainly gala casting for the Celestial Voice from Leona Mitchell. What is a surprise is that Don Carlo which is one of Levine’s most frequent assignments (60 performances) and a Met record for the opera, but the only Levine performances listed in MOoD is the atreamed audio from 2006 with Racette and Botha, and neither of the videos — the first with Freni, the second with Scotto (with Moldoveanu and Troyanos) which have been available on DVD have made it to MOoD. Whatever the limitations of individual performers, this is a full voiced line-up.
UN BALLO IN MASCHERA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/15/1997
Levine; Pavarotti, Voigt, Pons, Shin, Dever
SID.19130535
Except for Pavarotti, there is nothing of special distinction. Both of Pavarotti’s Met videos (1980 and 1991) of Ballo have more interest and they are both on MOoD. Levine only has three matinee broadcasts, 1991 (with Millo and Pavarotti), this broadcast, and a 2015 with Radvanovsky, Tamura (replacing Beczala) and Hvorostovsky. Better to add that one to the rotation.