DER ROSENKAVALIER:Strauss
Böhm; Fassbaender, Lear, Jungwirth, Mathis, Dooley
Original Air Date: 02/23/1974
SID.20120106
Evelyn Lear is a solid Marschallin, even if she is somewhat eclipsed by Fassbaender and Mathis, among the two best performers to ever do these roles. Bohm is in the pit, and Jungwirth is an excellent Ochs (as he is on the Solti Crespin commercial.)
LA CLEMENZA DI TITO:Mozart
Levine; Rolfe Johnson, von Otter, Vaness, Kirchschlager, Grant Murphy
Original Air Date: 12/06/1997
SID.20120107
Vaness and von Otter team up with Levine for Idomeneo also. Clemenza has some glorious moments, but I like Idomeneo better. One of Carol Vaness’s best efforts at the Met.
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA:Rossini
Varviso; Herlea, Grist, Shirley, Corena, Siepi
Original Air Date: 03/19/1966
MOD Audio
SID.20120208
This is Reri Grist’s debut year, and the broadcast comes three weeks later. Herlea had some success debuting in Don Carlo two years earlier. One does not get better than Corena and Siepi in these roles. As Barbieres go, this one is not bad. Corena and Siepi are absolute masters in these roles, and the rest of the cast is good to very good– Grist has made her debut a few weeks before this broadcast. Varviso has an excellent studio Barbiere with Berganza, but this is a fine cast, which in the case of Corena and Siepi is not surpassed. Herlea is not as impressive here as in his Rodrigo (Don Carlo) but still a decent Figaro. I prefer a mezzo Rosina, but Grist is a fine singer and under-represented.
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG:Wagner
Levine; Eaglen, West, Salminen, Held, Wray, Naef
Original Air Date: 04/24/2004
SID.20120209
This is Eaglen’s final Met appearance, although not so marked yet in the database. Her 2000 broadcast is on MOoD with Stig Anderson and Eric Halvarson and Felicity Palmer’s Met debut as Waltraute. West was always a solid singer for me and I will take a listen to see how sounds vis a vis current competition, and Salminen is the standard for Hagen. But don’t expect too much from Eaglen. The tone had become significantly compromised by the final round of her Met performances.
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG:Wagner
Levine; Eaglen, West, Salminen, Held, Wray, Naef
Original Air Date: 04/24/2004
SID.20120210
This is Eaglen’s final Met appearance, although not so marked yet in the database. Her 2000 broadcast is on MOoD with Stig Anderson and Eric Halvarson and Felicity Palmer’s Met debut as Waltraute. West was always a solid singer for me and I will take a listen to see how sounds vis a vis current competition, and Salminen is the standard for Hagen. But don’t expect too much from Eaglen. The tone had become significantly compromised by the final round of her Met performances.
I LOMBARDI:Verdi
Levine; Flanigan, Pavarotti, Beccaria, Plishka
Original Air Date: 01/15/1994
MOD Audio
SID.20120211
This is the Met’s only broadcast of Lombardi. Pavarotti is in both the December telecast and January broadcast and Ramey was in the premiere and telecast, Plishka in the audio broadcast. Neither Flanigan nor Beccaria are really up to this major assignment. Flanigan except for two Musettas the following fall, disappears from the Met roster. Her contributions to contemporary opera are significant, and she has some excellent work at NYCO, including a fine Lady Macbeth. Both this broadcast and the telecast a month earlier in December are on Met Opera on Demand (MOoD). The telecast was originally to have been Millo, but she left the production shortly after opening night. Ramey did the Met premiere (and telecast), but Plishka is on this broadcast. This broadcast is Beccaria’s Met farewell. Levine, the chorus, Pavarotti, and the bass deliver rather well some of Verdi’s lustiest music, but it’s far from the level of Ernani in terms of finish. In a week’s rotation, Lombardi is an interesting diversion. I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata to use its full name only got to the Met stage with this series of performances. Millo who originated the production was mostly replaced by Flanigan after 2 performances. Beccaria in a major part really is lacking in the face you want. Pavarotti of course gets La mia letizia, one of the great Verdian tenor arias; there is also the unforgettable trio (with violin obbligato) which Levine did for Gniewek as much as for himself. It’s not as good as either Ernani or Macbeth in my view, but several of the choruses are stirring, and with the newly energized Palumbo leadership, the Met could well revive this. The distinctive Pavarotti aside, the soprano and tenor parts could be very reasonably cast today. This performance at hand is also on MetPlayer.
COSÌ FAN TUTTE:Mozart
Summers; Diener, Groves, Graham, Gilfry, Upshaw, Pertusi
Original Air Date: 02/24/2001
SID.20120212
I only heard portions of this broadcast, where I thought Diener was a better than average Fiordiligi, and very good work from Susan Graham, though she appears four years earlier with Vaness and Isepp conducting a more interesting supporting cast- Marie McLaughlin, Richard Croft, Nathan Gunn, and William Shimell. I do not have strong memories of this performance, though Diener has solid Mozart credentials, and this is definitely prime time for Susan Graham.
LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT:Donizetti
Bonynge; Sutherland, Di Giuseppe, Sinclair, Corena
Original Air Date: 03/25/1972
SID.20120213
This is the first season of the production minus Pavarotti and Resnik. Both appear the following season in Sutherland’s second and final broadcast. Sutherland has a third season in 1983 with Kraus, but there was no matinee broadcast (the Sirius live broadcasts now capture portrayals, that used to just go missing). If Di Giuseppe does not have the star power of Pavarotti, he provides reasonable support for Sutherland, who is a complete charmer in the title role. I was surprised to discover she has twice as many Maries as Lily Pons. 8/23/11 – Di Giuseppe is not Pavarotti, but this is still a delightful broadcast.
DON CARLO:Verdi
Adler; Corelli, Rysanek, Herlea, Dalis, Tozzi, Uhde
Original Air Date: 03/07/1964
MOD Audio
SID.20120214
This performance is in the Sony Historical CD series. Corelli is the centerpiece, but he despite being in thrilling voice, is a bit of a mess. Rysanek has her moments, some very good, some not so good. Herlea is a successful debutant as Rodrigo, and Dalis a distinctive Eboli. The great Met Ebolis are shortly to arrive with Bumbry, Cossotto, Verrett and Zajick. This performance is heavily cut and Tozzi shows signs that his voice is no longer in prime condition, but one of the most beautiful voices ever in that prime.
MADAMA BUTTERFLY:Puccini
Rudel; Crider, Larin, White, Josephson, Fitch
Original Air Date: 02/26/2000
SID.20120315
I saw Crider’s Butterfly, and she didn’t make it for me. Arroyo, who was not a great Butterfly, sang it very well. Crider is several vocal grades below. The Met has had many wonderful Butterflys, but this is not among them, and to leave Stella, Tucci (with Bergonzi, Lorengar and Gorchakova (don’t laugh, when she first came I was overwhelmed by her Butterfly, and Gatti conducted slowly, but thrillingly). Better to re-run the excellent Soviero Butterfly– she has two broadcasts, the 1994 has been on Sirius, but the 1996 has not. Both are with Leech as is the Gorchakova. There are other forgettable Butterflys that follow Crider, but there are fine Butterflys, and I’ve listed five.
JENUFA:Janácek
Conlon; Benacková, Rysanek, Heppner, Trussel, Christin
Original Air Date: 12/26/1992
SID.20120316
One of the great Met performances, and why is this performance not in MOoD– in fact NO performances of Jenufa are there? All the ingredients are there, and I saw the combo of Benackova and Rysanek in both San Francisco and New York. Heppner is an additional bonus.
LA CLEMENZA DI TITO:Mozart
Levine; Rolfe Johnson, von Otter, Vaness, Kirchschlager, Grant Murphy
Original Air Date: 12/06/1997
SID.20120317
Vaness and von Otter team up with Levine for Idomeneo also. Clemenza has some glorious moments, but I like Idomeneo better. One of Carol Vaness’s best efforts at the Met.
RUSALKA:Dvorak
Nézet-Séguin; Fleming, Beczala, Magee, Zajick, Relyea
Original Air Date: 02/08/2014
Live in HD
SID.20120318
Read RWW’s Review of the Live in HD broadcast of this cast.
AIDA:Verdi
Schippers; Price, Bergonzi, Bumbry, Merrill, Hines
Original Air Date: 02/25/1967
MOD Audio
SID.20120319
On paper this performance looks like the dream cast. It is not. Price who sang possibly her very best performance ever in the opening night Antony and Cleopatra six months earlier, sings much too much on “principal” with a particularly vulgar opening of Ritorna vincitor. What is most sad is that her first two Aida broadcasts, the first with Gorr, Bergonzi, Sereni, Siepi, and Macurdy under Solti from 1963, the second from 1965 with Dalis, Tucker, Merrill, Ghiuselev, Michalski under Mehta have not been on Sirius. The first I remember vividly , and has been on private European pressings; it is one of the very best Met Aidas. Bergonzi is substantially stronger in 1963; The 1965 performance simply has Mehta as a better Aida conductor than Schippers. Richard Tucker, whose career is not overlooked by the Sirius folk, has not managed to have his Radames on Sirius despite having broadcast the role with Nilsson, Price, and Arroyo. Bumbry is here in the first of her 3 broadcast Amnerises, and she is better with Arroyo which has been on Sirius. Merrill is in remarkable voice 21 years after his debut (a few too many woofs, but still the most mellifluous Amonasro ever (though plenty of testosterone if not real anger). So here are 4 relatively recent Aidas (post 1960) which somehow can’t get to the airwaves. This 1967 is on Met Opera on Demand (MOoD) and also appears in the 2013 Verdi at the Met bicentennial box, but it still does not rank as one of Price’s best efforts, or one of the best modern Met Aidas. Available in MOoD. This is also in the new Verdi box , but the missing AIda should be the 1963 with Solti conducting Price, Gorr, Bergonzi, Siepi, Macurdy. Bergonzi cracks in the Celeste AIda and neither Price nor Bumbry are at their best.
DIE WALKÜRE:Wagner
Szell; Traubel, Janssen, Bampton, Melchior, Thorborg, Kipnis
Original Air Date: 12/02/1944
MOD Audio
SID.20120320
Who cares about 1944 sound? Janssen is a bit lightweight as Wotan, but then there is Szell, Traubel, Melchior, Kipnis and Thorborg. Szell does not linger and the Met is not a great Wagner orchestra at this point. Traubel’s Todesverkundigung is nobility itself, but the cuts are wearying.
ANDREA CHÉNIER:Giordano
Rudel; Martinucci, Millo, Milnes, Kesling, Castle, Johnson
Original Air Date: 12/22/1990
MOD Audio
SID.20120321
This performance marks the 25th anniversary of Milnes’ Met debut, and he goes on to 1997. Millo and Martinucci are authentic Italianate performances with voices well suited to the roles, This is actually some of the best casting of the last 25 years for this opera.
DER ROSENKAVALIER:Strauss
Böhm; Fassbaender, Lear, Jungwirth, Mathis, Dooley
Original Air Date: 02/23/1974
SID.20120422
Evelyn Lear is a solid Marschallin, even if she is somewhat eclipsed by Fassbaender and Mathis, among the two best performers to ever do these roles. Bohm is in the pit, and Jungwirth is an excellent Ochs (as he is on the Solti Crespin commercial.)
DON CARLO:Verdi
Adler; Corelli, Rysanek, Herlea, Dalis, Tozzi, Uhde
Original Air Date: 03/07/1964
MOD Audio
SID.20120423
This performance is in the Sony Historical CD series. Corelli is the centerpiece, but he despite being in thrilling voice, is a bit of a mess. Rysanek has her moments, some very good, some not so good. Herlea is a successful debutant as Rodrigo, and Dalis a distinctive Eboli. The great Met Ebolis are shortly to arrive with Bumbry, Cossotto, Verrett and Zajick. This performance is heavily cut and Tozzi shows signs that his voice is no longer in prime condition, but one of the most beautiful voices ever in that prime.
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA:Rossini
Varviso; Herlea, Grist, Shirley, Corena, Siepi
Original Air Date: 03/19/1966
MOD Audio
SID.20120424
This is Reri Grist’s debut year, and the broadcast comes three weeks later. Herlea had some success debuting in Don Carlo two years earlier. One does not get better than Corena and Siepi in these roles. As Barbieres go, this one is not bad. Corena and Siepi are absolute masters in these roles, and the rest of the cast is good to very good– Grist has made her debut a few weeks before this broadcast. Varviso has an excellent studio Barbiere with Berganza, but this is a fine cast, which in the case of Corena and Siepi is not surpassed. Herlea is not as impressive here as in his Rodrigo (Don Carlo) but still a decent Figaro. I prefer a mezzo Rosina, but Grist is a fine singer and under-represented.
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG:Wagner
Levine; Eaglen, West, Salminen, Held, Wray, Naef
Original Air Date: 04/24/2004
SID.20120425
This is Eaglen’s final Met appearance, although not so marked yet in the database. Her 2000 broadcast is on MOoD with Stig Anderson and Eric Halvarson and Felicity Palmer’s Met debut as Waltraute. West was always a solid singer for me and I will take a listen to see how sounds vis a vis current competition, and Salminen is the standard for Hagen. But don’t expect too much from Eaglen. The tone had become significantly compromised by the final round of her Met performances.
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG:Wagner
Levine; Eaglen, West, Salminen, Held, Wray, Naef
Original Air Date: 04/24/2004
SID.20120426
This is Eaglen’s final Met appearance, although not so marked yet in the database. Her 2000 broadcast is on MOoD with Stig Anderson and Eric Halvarson and Felicity Palmer’s Met debut as Waltraute. West was always a solid singer for me and I will take a listen to see how sounds vis a vis current competition, and Salminen is the standard for Hagen. But don’t expect too much from Eaglen. The tone had become significantly compromised by the final round of her Met performances.
I LOMBARDI:Verdi
Levine; Flanigan, Pavarotti, Beccaria, Plishka
Original Air Date: 01/15/1994
MOD Audio
SID.20120427
This is the Met’s only broadcast of Lombardi. Pavarotti is in both the December telecast and January broadcast and Ramey was in the premiere and telecast, Plishka in the audio broadcast. Neither Flanigan nor Beccaria are really up to this major assignment. Flanigan except for two Musettas the following fall, disappears from the Met roster. Her contributions to contemporary opera are significant, and she has some excellent work at NYCO, including a fine Lady Macbeth. Both this broadcast and the telecast a month earlier in December are on Met Opera on Demand (MOoD). The telecast was originally to have been Millo, but she left the production shortly after opening night. Ramey did the Met premiere (and telecast), but Plishka is on this broadcast. This broadcast is Beccaria’s Met farewell. Levine, the chorus, Pavarotti, and the bass deliver rather well some of Verdi’s lustiest music, but it’s far from the level of Ernani in terms of finish. In a week’s rotation, Lombardi is an interesting diversion. I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata to use its full name only got to the Met stage with this series of performances. Millo who originated the production was mostly replaced by Flanigan after 2 performances. Beccaria in a major part really is lacking in the face you want. Pavarotti of course gets La mia letizia, one of the great Verdian tenor arias; there is also the unforgettable trio (with violin obbligato) which Levine did for Gniewek as much as for himself. It’s not as good as either Ernani or Macbeth in my view, but several of the choruses are stirring, and with the newly energized Palumbo leadership, the Met could well revive this. The distinctive Pavarotti aside, the soprano and tenor parts could be very reasonably cast today. This performance at hand is also on MetPlayer.
COSÌ FAN TUTTE:Mozart
Summers; Diener, Groves, Graham, Gilfry, Upshaw, Pertusi
Original Air Date: 02/24/2001
SID.20120428
I only heard portions of this broadcast, where I thought Diener was a better than average Fiordiligi, and very good work from Susan Graham, though she appears four years earlier with Vaness and Isepp conducting a more interesting supporting cast- Marie McLaughlin, Richard Croft, Nathan Gunn, and William Shimell. I do not have strong memories of this performance, though Diener has solid Mozart credentials, and this is definitely prime time for Susan Graham.
LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT:Donizetti
Bonynge; Sutherland, Di Giuseppe, Sinclair, Corena
Original Air Date: 03/25/1972
SID.20120529
This is the first season of the production minus Pavarotti and Resnik. Both appear the following season in Sutherland’s second and final broadcast. Sutherland has a third season in 1983 with Kraus, but there was no matinee broadcast (the Sirius live broadcasts now capture portrayals, that used to just go missing). If Di Giuseppe does not have the star power of Pavarotti, he provides reasonable support for Sutherland, who is a complete charmer in the title role. I was surprised to discover she has twice as many Maries as Lily Pons. 8/23/11 – Di Giuseppe is not Pavarotti, but this is still a delightful broadcast.
DIE WALKÜRE:Wagner
Szell; Traubel, Janssen, Bampton, Melchior, Thorborg, Kipnis
Original Air Date: 12/02/1944
MOD Audio
SID.20120530
Who cares about 1944 sound? Janssen is a bit lightweight as Wotan, but then there is Szell, Traubel, Melchior, Kipnis and Thorborg. Szell does not linger and the Met is not a great Wagner orchestra at this point. Traubel’s Todesverkundigung is nobility itself, but the cuts are wearying.
MADAMA BUTTERFLY:Puccini
Rudel; Crider, Larin, White, Josephson, Fitch
Original Air Date: 02/26/2000
SID.20120531
I saw Crider’s Butterfly, and she didn’t make it for me. Arroyo, who was not a great Butterfly, sang it very well. Crider is several vocal grades below. The Met has had many wonderful Butterflys, but this is not among them, and to leave Stella, Tucci (with Bergonzi, Lorengar and Gorchakova (don’t laugh, when she first came I was overwhelmed by her Butterfly, and Gatti conducted slowly, but thrillingly). Better to re-run the excellent Soviero Butterfly– she has two broadcasts, the 1994 has been on Sirius, but the 1996 has not. Both are with Leech as is the Gorchakova. There are other forgettable Butterflys that follow Crider, but there are fine Butterflys, and I’ve listed five.
JENUFA:Janácek
Conlon; Benacková, Rysanek, Heppner, Trussel, Christin
Original Air Date: 12/26/1992
SID.20120532
One of the great Met performances, and why is this performance not in MOoD– in fact NO performances of Jenufa are there? All the ingredients are there, and I saw the combo of Benackova and Rysanek in both San Francisco and New York. Heppner is an additional bonus.
LA CLEMENZA DI TITO:Mozart
Levine; Rolfe Johnson, von Otter, Vaness, Kirchschlager, Grant Murphy
Original Air Date: 12/06/1997
SID.20120533
Vaness and von Otter team up with Levine for Idomeneo also. Clemenza has some glorious moments, but I like Idomeneo better. One of Carol Vaness’s best efforts at the Met.
AIDA:Verdi
Schippers; Price, Bergonzi, Bumbry, Merrill, Hines
Original Air Date: 02/25/1967
MOD Audio
SID.20120534
On paper this performance looks like the dream cast. It is not. Price who sang possibly her very best performance ever in the opening night Antony and Cleopatra six months earlier, sings much too much on “principal” with a particularly vulgar opening of Ritorna vincitor. What is most sad is that her first two Aida broadcasts, the first with Gorr, Bergonzi, Sereni, Siepi, and Macurdy under Solti from 1963, the second from 1965 with Dalis, Tucker, Merrill, Ghiuselev, Michalski under Mehta have not been on Sirius. The first I remember vividly , and has been on private European pressings; it is one of the very best Met Aidas. Bergonzi is substantially stronger in 1963; The 1965 performance simply has Mehta as a better Aida conductor than Schippers. Richard Tucker, whose career is not overlooked by the Sirius folk, has not managed to have his Radames on Sirius despite having broadcast the role with Nilsson, Price, and Arroyo. Bumbry is here in the first of her 3 broadcast Amnerises, and she is better with Arroyo which has been on Sirius. Merrill is in remarkable voice 21 years after his debut (a few too many woofs, but still the most mellifluous Amonasro ever (though plenty of testosterone if not real anger). So here are 4 relatively recent Aidas (post 1960) which somehow can’t get to the airwaves. This 1967 is on Met Opera on Demand (MOoD) and also appears in the 2013 Verdi at the Met bicentennial box, but it still does not rank as one of Price’s best efforts, or one of the best modern Met Aidas. Available in MOoD. This is also in the new Verdi box , but the missing AIda should be the 1963 with Solti conducting Price, Gorr, Bergonzi, Siepi, Macurdy. Bergonzi cracks in the Celeste AIda and neither Price nor Bumbry are at their best.
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA:Rossini
Varviso; Herlea, Grist, Shirley, Corena, Siepi
Original Air Date: 03/19/1966
MOD Audio
SID.20120535
This is Reri Grist’s debut year, and the broadcast comes three weeks later. Herlea had some success debuting in Don Carlo two years earlier. One does not get better than Corena and Siepi in these roles. As Barbieres go, this one is not bad. Corena and Siepi are absolute masters in these roles, and the rest of the cast is good to very good– Grist has made her debut a few weeks before this broadcast. Varviso has an excellent studio Barbiere with Berganza, but this is a fine cast, which in the case of Corena and Siepi is not surpassed. Herlea is not as impressive here as in his Rodrigo (Don Carlo) but still a decent Figaro. I prefer a mezzo Rosina, but Grist is a fine singer and under-represented.