DAS RHEINGOLD:Wagner
Levine; Welch-Babidge, Petrova, Zifchak, Bunnell, Zaremba, Naef, Baker, Langridge, Siegel, Fink, Held, Nikitin, Koptchak, Morris
Original Air Date: 03/20/2004
MOD Audio
SID.20070427
There are multiple Rheingolds with Morris and Levine on MOoD; this is from Morris penultimate season in the Ring at the Met. The 1961 Leinsdorf Nilsson Ring has been on Sirius, but only the Walkure and Gotterdammerung have made their way to MOoD. The 1951 and 1957 Rheingolds make it to MOoD as well, but no Siegfied pre-Levine is on MOoD except the 1937 Bodanzky Melchior.
TANNHÄUSER:Wagner
Elder; Seiffert, Voigt, DeYoung, Hampson, Moll
Original Air Date: 12/18/2004
MOD Audio
SID.20070533
Seiffert was a more effective Tannhauser than I expected, but my memories of this broadcast from all participants is more solid than memorable.
TURANDOT:Puccini
Mehta; Nilsson, Freni, Corelli, Giaiotti
Original Air Date: 12/03/1966
MOD Audio
SID.20070534
This performance is Included in the Met’s 50th Anniversary collection. Turandot: The Best To Date at New Met [Unsigned review in the Journal-American of opening night September 26, 1966] The celebrating the opening of the new opera house over, the Metropolitan Opera settled for repertory last night and put on its best show to date. Puccini’s Turandot began the regular subscription season as a five-year old production that readily adjusted itself to new surroundings. It looked handsome, and it moved handsomely. Sighs. Birgit Nilsson and Franco Corelli took the leading roles as usual, the singing was magnificent. What else is there to say! This was a beautifully knit performance. Cecil Beaton’s sets and costumes rate among the best creations. Nathaniel Merrill has achieved some of the most imaginative staging. The cast is excellent. A new element entered with Zubin Mehta taking the conductor’s assignment. He imparts vitality and usually comprehends everything he does. The live acoustics of the pit led to overloud playing, but most interestingly he restrained himself in giving full rein to Puccini’s romanticism.
DAS RHEINGOLD:Wagner
Levine; Welch-Babidge, Petrova, Zifchak, Bunnell, Zaremba, Naef, Baker, Langridge, Siegel, Fink, Held, Nikitin, Koptchak, Morris
Original Air Date: 03/20/2004
MOD Audio
SID.20070744
There are multiple Rheingolds with Morris and Levine on MOoD; this is from Morris’s penultimate season in the Ring at the Met. The 1961 Leinsdorf Nilsson Ring has been on Sirius, but only the Walkure and Gotterdammerung have made their way to MOoD. The 1951 and 1957 Rheingolds make it to MOoD as well, but no Siegfied pre-Levine is on MOoD except the 1937 Bodanzky Melchior.
TANNHÄUSER:Wagner
Elder; Seiffert, Voigt, DeYoung, Hampson, Moll
Original Air Date: 12/18/2004
MOD Audio
SID.20080101
Seiffert was a more effective Tannhauser than expected, but memories of this broadcast from all participants is more solid than memorable.
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE:Gounod
Molinari-Pradelli; Gedda, Freni, Macurdy, Baldwin, Reardon
Original Air Date: 04/13/1968
MOD Audio
SID.20080102
Molinari-Pradelli is an improvement on Domingo in the pit, but others are still much better. Gedda and Freni are not ideal, but it’s a wonderful memory of her youthful singing at the Met, and she is more alive on the broadcast than in the studio (and many performances) with Corelli.
PARSIFAL:Wagner
Levine; Vickers, Ludwig, Weikl, Talvela, Shinall
Original Air Date: 04/14/1979
MOD Audio
SID.20080103
There is another Vickers Parsifal broadcast from 1985 which features Rysanek, Estes, Moll, and Mazura. This performance was issued on CD as a Guild special but has not been rebroadcast in any other form. At the minimum, it should appear on Sirius, since the restoration work has already been done. How did Shinall and Talvela, whose voice does not have the roundness of a Moll or Siepi or Pape end up in these roles.
PARSIFAL:Wagner
Levine; Vickers, Ludwig, Weikl, Talvela, Shinall
Original Air Date: 04/14/1979
MOD Audio
SID.20080104
There is another Vickers Parsifal broadcast from 1985 which features Rysanek, Estes, Moll, and Mazura. This performance was issued on CD as a Guild special but has not been rebroadcast in any other form. At the minimum, it should appear on Sirius, since the restoration work has already been done. How did Shinall and Talvela, whose voice does not have the roundness of a Moll or Siepi or Pape end up in these roles.
DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN:Strauss
Böhm; Rysanek, King, Ludwig, Berry, Dalis
Original Air Date: 12/17/1966
MOD Audio
SID.20080105
This is the Met broadcast premiere of one of Strauss’ greatest works. Hearing the performance almost five decades later it still holds up as one of the great ensemble and individual performance efforts in Met history. All of the singers are excellent, and for radio only, the voice that makes the best effect is Walter Berry. His work may be less well known to newer opera-goers, but he is favorite Barak on disc or in the theatre. FiDi was by all accounts quite memorable in the theatre. This performance is now on the Met Opera on Demand (MOoD) series as well as part of the Met at Lincoln Center 50th anniversary CD box.
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA:Barber
Schippers; Díaz, Price, Thomas, Flagello, Elias
Original Air Date: 09/16/1966
MOD Audio
SID.20080107
This is the opening of the new Met at Lincoln Center and the world premiere of the opera. Leontyne never sang better than this night, and luckily it is well preserved for all to hear. Lady Bird Johnson and Imelda Marcos were among the dignitaries that night. From MOD: Expectations were high when the Metropolitan Opera announced that the world premiere of Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra would christen its new house at Lincoln Center in the fall of 1966—a suitably grand work based on Shakespeare’s tragedy and written specifically for Leontyne Price as Cleopatra. A singer himself, the composer knew Price’s voice and what it could do, shaping his conception of the opera’s heroine around this iconic American diva. The 26-year-old Puerto Rican–born bass Justino Díaz starred alongside Price as Antony while Ezio Flagello portrayed Antony’s friend Enobarbus. Tenor Jess Thomas brought his heroic presence to the role of Octavius Caesar, and the beloved mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias, already a Met veteran in her 30s, sang the role of Cleopatra’s attendant Charmian. Thanks to a Texaco–Metropolitan Opera Radio Network broadcast from the opera’s world premiere, this indelible piece of Met history has been preserved for generations.
AIDA:Verdi
Levine; Voigt, Pavarotti, Borodina, Delavan, Bezzubenkov
Original Air Date: 01/27/2001
MOD Audio
SID.20080210
This performance commemorates the centenary of Verdi’s death, and except for the plush offered by Borodina, there is not much here. You can start to hear real stylistic limitations in Voigt’s performances (well before the surgery), but it is really quite remarkable that Pavarotti is out there at the age of 66 (!!!) as Radames. The visual was supposedly very compromised, but from the radio was OK, not more, but Giovanni Martinelli (KING of Radames with 123 Met performances from 1915-1943!!!!!! was only 58 at his last Met effort) Give Pavarotti another listen.
EUGENE ONEGIN:Tchaikovsky
Levine; Hynninen, Freni, Hadley, Walker, Sotin
Original Air Date: 03/25/1989
MOD Audio
SID.20080211
This is a solid cast, but not a native Russian anywhere around. Sotin is especially odd casting, unlike a full out bass as Gremin.
ERNANI:Verdi
Schippers; Corelli, Price, Sereni, Siepi
Original Air Date: 04/10/1965
MOD Audio
SID.20080212
The Met has two outstanding Ernani broadcasts from the mid 1960s, both with Schippers and Leontyne Price. The first is with Bergonzi and MacNeil, and the second features the special contributions of Corelli and Siepi. Luckily both are on MOoD, with the first also issued on Sony Historical CD. Both these performances belong in every Verdi lover’s playlist. Ernani was back later with Domingo in the baritone role; his only Met appearance in the title role was in 1971 (not broadcast).
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE:Gounod
Molinari-Pradelli; Gedda, Freni, Macurdy, Baldwin, Reardon
Original Air Date: 04/13/1968
MOD Audio
SID.20080318
Molinari-Pradelli is an improvement on Domingo in the pit, but others are still much better. Gedda and Freni are not ideal, but it’s a wonderful memory of her youthful singing at the Met, and she is more alive on the broadcast than in the studio (and many performances) with Corelli.
PARSIFAL:Wagner
Levine; Vickers, Ludwig, Weikl, Talvela, Shinall
Original Air Date: 04/14/1979
MOD Audio
SID.20080319
There is another Vickers Parsifal broadcast from 1985 which features Rysanek, Estes, Moll, and Mazura. This performance was issued on CD as a Guild special but has not been rebroadcast in any other form. At the minimum, it should appear on Sirius, since the restoration work has already been done. How did Shinall and Talvela, whose voice does not have the roundness of a Moll or Siepi or Pape end up in these roles.
PARSIFAL:Wagner
Levine; Vickers, Ludwig, Weikl, Talvela, Shinall
Original Air Date: 04/14/1979
MOD Audio
SID.20080320
There is another Vickers Parsifal broadcast from 1985 which features Rysanek, Estes, Moll, and Mazura. This performance was issued on CD as a Guild special but has not been rebroadcast in any other form. At the minimum, it should appear on Sirius, since the restoration work has already been done. How did Shinall and Talvela, whose voice does not have the roundness of a Moll or Siepi or Pape end up in these roles.
DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN:Strauss
Böhm; Rysanek, King, Ludwig, Berry, Dalis
Original Air Date: 12/17/1966
MOD Audio
SID.20080321
This is the Met broadcast premiere of one of Strauss’ greatest works. Hearing the performance almost five decades later it still holds up as one of the great ensemble and individual performance efforts in Met history. All of the singers are excellent, and for radio only, the voice that makes the best effect is Walter Berry. His work may be less well known to newer opera-goers, but he is favorite Barak on disc or in the theatre. FiDi was by all accounts quite memorable in the theatre. This performance is now on the Met Opera on Demand (MOoD) series as well as part of the Met at Lincoln Center 50th anniversary CD box.
EUGENE ONEGIN:Tchaikovsky
Levine; Hynninen, Freni, Hadley, Walker, Sotin
Original Air Date: 03/25/1989
MOD Audio
SID.20080422
This is a solid cast, but not a native Russian anywhere around. Sotin is especially odd casting, unlike a full out bass as Gremin.
AIDA:Verdi
Levine; Voigt, Pavarotti, Borodina, Delavan, Bezzubenkov
Original Air Date: 01/27/2001
MOD Audio
SID.20080426
This performance commemorates the centenary of Verdi’s death, and except for the plush offered by Borodina, there is not much here. You can start to hear real stylistic limitations in Voigt’s performances (well before the surgery), but it is really quite remarkable that Pavarotti is out there at the age of 66 (!!!) as Radames. The visual was supposedly very compromised, but from the radio was OK, not more, but Giovanni Martinelli (KING of Radames with 123 Met performances from 1915-1943!!!!!! was only 58 at his last Met effort) Give Pavarotti another listen.
EUGENE ONEGIN:Tchaikovsky
Levine; Hynninen, Freni, Hadley, Walker, Sotin
Original Air Date: 03/25/1989
MOD Audio
SID.20080427
This is a solid cast, but not a native Russian anywhere around. Sotin is especially odd casting, unlike a full out bass as Gremin.
ERNANI:Verdi
Schippers; Corelli, Price, Sereni, Siepi
Original Air Date: 04/10/1965
MOD Audio
SID.20080428
The Met has two outstanding Ernani broadcasts from the mid 1960s, both with Schippers and Leontyne Price. The first is with Bergonzi and MacNeil, and the second features the special contributions of Corelli and Siepi. Luckily both are on MOoD, with the first also issued on Sony Historical CD. Both these performances belong in every Verdi lover’s playlist. Ernani was back later with Domingo in the baritone role; his only Met appearance in the title role was in 1971 (not broadcast).
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA:Barber
Schippers; Díaz, Price, Thomas, Flagello, Elias
Original Air Date: 09/16/1966
MOD Audio
SID.20080531
This is the opening of the new Met at Lincoln Center and the world premiere of the opera. Leontyne never sang better than this night, and luckily it is well preserved for all to hear. Lady Bird Johnson and Imelda Marcos were among the dignitaries that night. From MOD: Expectations were high when the Metropolitan Opera announced that the world premiere of Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra would christen its new house at Lincoln Center in the fall of 1966—a suitably grand work based on Shakespeare’s tragedy and written specifically for Leontyne Price as Cleopatra. A singer himself, the composer knew Price’s voice and what it could do, shaping his conception of the opera’s heroine around this iconic American diva. The 26-year-old Puerto Rican–born bass Justino Díaz starred alongside Price as Antony while Ezio Flagello portrayed Antony’s friend Enobarbus. Tenor Jess Thomas brought his heroic presence to the role of Octavius Caesar, and the beloved mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias, already a Met veteran in her 30s, sang the role of Cleopatra’s attendant Charmian. Thanks to a Texaco–Metropolitan Opera Radio Network broadcast from the opera’s world premiere, this indelible piece of Met history has been preserved for generations.
ERNANI:Verdi
Schippers; Corelli, Price, Sereni, Siepi
Original Air Date: 04/10/1965
MOD Audio
SID.20080532
The Met has two outstanding Ernani broadcasts from the mid 1960s, both with Schippers and Leontyne Price. The first is with Bergonzi and MacNeil, and the second features the special contributions of Corelli and Siepi. Luckily both are on MOoD, with the first also issued on Sony Historical CD. Both these performances belong in every Verdi lover’s playlist. Ernani was back later with Domingo in the baritone role; his only Met appearance in the title role was in 1971 (not broadcast).
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE:Gounod
Molinari-Pradelli; Gedda, Freni, Macurdy, Baldwin, Reardon
Original Air Date: 04/13/1968
MOD Audio
SID.20080534
Molinari-Pradelli is an improvement on Domingo in the pit, but others are still much better. Gedda and Freni are not ideal, but it’s a wonderful memory of her youthful singing at the Met, and she is more alive on the broadcast than in the studio (and many performances) with Corelli.
PARSIFAL:Wagner
Levine; Vickers, Ludwig, Weikl, Talvela, Shinall
Original Air Date: 04/14/1979
MOD Audio
SID.20080535
There is another Vickers Parsifal broadcast from 1985 which features Rysanek, Estes, Moll, and Mazura. This performance was issued on CD as a Guild special but has not been rebroadcast in any other form. At the minimum, it should appear on Sirius, since the restoration work has already been done. How did Shinall and Talvela, whose voice does not have the roundness of a Moll or Siepi or Pape end up in these roles.
PARSIFAL:Wagner
Levine; Vickers, Ludwig, Weikl, Talvela, Shinall
Original Air Date: 04/14/1979
MOD Audio
SID.20080636
There is another Vickers Parsifal broadcast from 1985 which features Rysanek, Estes, Moll, and Mazura. This performance was issued on CD as a Guild special but has not been rebroadcast in any other form. At the minimum, it should appear on Sirius, since the restoration work has already been done. How did Shinall and Talvela, whose voice does not have the roundness of a Moll or Siepi or Pape end up in these roles.
DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN:Strauss
Böhm; Rysanek, King, Ludwig, Berry, Dalis
Original Air Date: 12/17/1966
MOD Audio
SID.20080637
This is the Met broadcast premiere of one of Strauss’ greatest works. Hearing the performance almost five decades later it still holds up as one of the great ensemble and individual performance efforts in Met history. All of the singers are excellent, and for radio only, the voice that makes the best effect is Walter Berry. His work may be less well known to newer opera-goers, but he is favorite Barak on disc or in the theatre. FiDi was by all accounts quite memorable in the theatre. This performance is now on the Met Opera on Demand (MOoD) series as well as part of the Met at Lincoln Center 50th anniversary CD box.
AIDA:Verdi
Levine; Voigt, Pavarotti, Borodina, Delavan, Bezzubenkov
Original Air Date: 01/27/2001
MOD Audio
SID.20080743
This performance commemorates the centenary of Verdi’s death, and except for the plush offered by Borodina, there is not much here. You can start to hear real stylistic limitations in Voigt’s performances (well before the surgery), but it is really quite remarkable that Pavarotti is out there at the age of 66 (!!!) as Radames. The visual was supposedly very compromised, but from the radio was OK, not more, but Giovanni Martinelli (KING of Radames with 123 Met performances from 1915-1943!!!!!! was only 58 at his last Met effort) Give Pavarotti another listen.
ERNANI:Verdi
Schippers; Corelli, Price, Sereni, Siepi
Original Air Date: 04/10/1965
MOD Audio
SID.20080744
The Met has two outstanding Ernani broadcasts from the mid 1960s, both with Schippers and Leontyne Price. The first is with Bergonzi and MacNeil, and the second features the special contributions of Corelli and Siepi. Luckily both are on MOoD, with the first also issued on Sony Historical CD. Both these performances belong in every Verdi lover’s playlist. Ernani was back later with Domingo in the baritone role; his only Met appearance in the title role was in 1971 (not broadcast).
EUGENE ONEGIN:Tchaikovsky
Levine; Hynninen, Freni, Hadley, Walker, Sotin
Original Air Date: 03/25/1989
MOD Audio
SID.20080745
This is a solid cast, but not a native Russian anywhere around. Sotin is especially odd casting, unlike a full out bass as Gremin.