DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN:Strauss
Original Air Date: 04/01/1978
Böhm; Rysanek, King, Schröder-Feinen, Berry, Dunn
MOD Audio SID.19330744
This is the last of the 4 Bohm broadcasts starting in 1966 all with Rysanek and Berry; 3 of the 4 are with King, but the first three feature Ludwig and Dalis in their parts; Schroder-Feinen and Dunn are first rate presences as well. It is a shame that the 1966 premiere season and 1971 performances which have been on Sirius with some regularity have not made their way to MOoD. The 1969 broadcast is reported in the MetDatabase as having been on Sirius, but according to my records it has not been broadcast in the last four years. as has the 1971 Unfortunately Bohm never came close to the near completeness of his 1955 Decca recording at the Met, and a steady increase of cuts came with each revival. NEVERTHELESS, one could do much worse than hear one of the great Straussian ensembles he held together for over 2 decades in New York. Frau’s best moments are right up there with Ariadne, Elektra, and Rosenkavalier, and the weaker stuff is better than the weaker Rosenkavalier pages.
LA JUIVE:Halévy
Original Air Date: 12/13/2003
Viotti; Isokoski, Shicoff, Futral, Cutler, Furlanetto
MOD Audio SID.19330746
Viotti died only a year or so after premiering the Juive. He was a real talent, and Shicoff, Isokoski and Furlanetto all bring their considerable talents in a production transferred from Vienna. This is the Met’s first season since the mid 1930s and its only broadcast to date. Some early 1930s operas were broadcast but don’t exist. La Juive was never broadcast until 2003.
LES TROYENS:Berlioz
Original Air Date: 02/18/1984
Levine; Norman, Sooter, Monk, Taillon, Plishka, Ahlstedt
MOD Audio SID.19330748
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.
LES TROYENS:Berlioz
Original Air Date: 02/18/1984
Levine; Norman, Sooter, Monk, Taillon, Plishka, Ahlstedt
MOD Audio SID.19330749
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.
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA / PAGLIACCI:Mascagni / Leoncavallo
Original Air Date: 02/01/1941
Calusio; Roman, Jagel, Warren / Martinelli, Greco, Tibbett
MOD Audio SID.19340101
The star performers on this Cav/Pag are Martinelli and Tibbett, but the remarkable performance is from Stella Roman as Santuzza. She has many excellent broadcasts from the Met in the 1940s, but the only two which have made it to Sirius and MOoD are this Cav/Pag, and a Forza with many of the same singers under Bruno Walter in 1943. There is also a Bjorling Trovatore which has made the rounds of the private market. She’s not a perfect singer, but severely underrated.
I PURITANI:Bellini
Original Air Date: 03/13/1976
Bonynge; Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes, Morris
MOD Audio SID.19340102
Bing delivered a lovely production, and the four principals all were well suited to their roles. This was a big break-out part for Morris and the Suoni la tromba duet with Milnes almost stole the show from Pavarotti and Sutherland. Sutherland is 50 for this performance, and amazingly is back ten years later for another Puritani broadcast. This 1976 is the preferred broadcast and deservingly is on Met Player. It’s just a shame it wasn’t videod as well (the first video of the modern series comes a year later). It is a fitting document to one of the strongest Puritani quartets ever. There is no arguing that Met casting was top tier, and this certainly lifted Morris up from being promising to being major.
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NORMA:Bellini
Original Air Date: 02/17/1973
Cillario; Caballé, Cossotto, Cossutta, Tozzi
MOD Audio SID.19340106
This is from Caballe’s first run at Norma with the reliable Cossotto; they are certainly a team. Cossutta missed the premiere, and this is his debut; he would go on to do 12 more Polliones with Caballe, Galvany, and Verrett and that is his Met career. Tozzi would not be my choice for Oroveso. Norma is one of Caballe’s best roles.
I VESPRI SICILIANI:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/09/1974
Levine; Caballé, Gedda, Milnes, Díaz
MOD Audio SID.19340210
This is a performance where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. If Caballe does not have every note in place, she is still very near the top of her considerable form, and the ensemble reflects the new production intensity and first appearance of a major Verdi opera in the Met repertory. Gedda has the most performances of Arrigo, the challenging tenor role. Tucker was scheduled for a run (including broadcast) the year he died, but none of the hearty tenors of the past had the right timing– no Corelli, Bergonzi, and only five for Domingo, and he was gone. This performance is available in Met Opera on Demand (MOoD) and is a strong performance.
DON PASQUALE:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 12/05/1970
Franci; Corena, Grist, Kraus, Krause
MOD Audio SID.19340213
This is a fine performance, but I would love to hear Corena from 1956 with Peters and Valletti in Schippers debut season. I also notice Pinza did a broadcast in 1935 which I think does not survive. Love to hear Pinza and Donizetti, though for the patter duet Corena is absolutely the last word, closely followed by Baccaloni. Corena’s 1965 broadcast with Peters has been on Sirius and is on MOoD, but that’s with Alva, not Valletti.
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER:Wagner
Original Air Date: 02/16/1963
Böhm; London, Rysanek, Kónya, Tozzi
MOD Audio SID.19340214
This is a legendary partnership of Bohm with London and Rysanek. Bohm and Rysanek are together for two later broadcasts in 1965 with David Ward, and 1970 with William Dooley. This 1963 broadcast was swapped with Ariadne two weeks earlier when the Hollander cast could not be assembled. That swap denied the broadcast audience the chance to hear Della Casa’s Ariadne. There is no Senta like Rysanek. Rysanek and London are certainly a remarkable pair, and the applause for their Act 2 duet (in the 3 act version) regularly seemed unending. The Met Hollander premiere three years earlier with Rysanek and London was with Schippers. There is nothing like the finale. Tthis performance is on Met Player, and is far more thrilling than the studio performance with much the same cast under Dorati.
TOSCA:Puccini
Original Air Date: 03/20/1999
Santi; Vaness, Pavarotti, Morris
MOD Audio SID.19340315
This is Pavarotti’s fifth and final Cavaradossi broadcast. I always find his voice a tad light for the role, but no one exceeds him in his honeyed delivery of the text. Vaness is a low wattage Tosca. Available on MOoD there is a 1995 performance of the Pav with Holleque and Pons. Best of all, at least for him is the 1978 telecast (on MOoD) and DVD with Verrett and MacNeil under Conlon.
FALSTAFF:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/03/1996
Levine; Plishka, Daniels, Quilico, Horne, Bonney, Groves
MOD Audio SID.19340316
Levine, Plishka, Bonney, and Horne are all in the 1992 revival which is on MOoD, but with Freni for Daniels, and Bruno Pola for Quilico. My experience with almost all of the Falstaff casting in the Levine era is OK, but not really an ensemble. We still keep having the Bernstein performance overlooked (LB’s only other Met broadcast beside Cavalleria) from 1964. The bad luck continues with Rosenstock’s conducting from 1965 and Amaducci’s conducting fom 1967. The Dohnanyi performance from 1972 features Gobbi in one of HIS two Met broadcasts (the other is Otello, no Scarpia on the Met airwaves alas) with Tebaldi, Resnik, Paskalis in sterling support. This should be in MOoD.
I PURITANI:Bellini
Original Air Date: 03/13/1976
Bonynge; Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes, Morris
MOD Audio SID.19340318
Bing delivered a lovely production, and the four principals all were well suited to their roles. This was a big break-out part for Morris and the Suoni la tromba duet with Milnes almost stole the show from Pavarotti and Sutherland. Sutherland is 50 for this performance, and amazingly is back ten years later for another Puritani broadcast. This 1976 is the preferred broadcast and deservingly is on Met Player. It’s just a shame it wasn’t videod as well (the first video of the modern series comes a year later). It is a fitting document to one of the strongest Puritani quartets ever. There is no arguing that Met casting was top tier, and this certainly lifted Morris up from being promising to being major.
/268x0w.jpg”/>
NORMA:Bellini
Original Air Date: 02/17/1973
Cillario; Caballé, Cossotto, Cossutta, Tozzi
MOD Audio SID.19340422
This is from Caballe’s first run at Norma with the reliable Cossotto; they are certainly a team. Cossutta missed the premiere, and this is his debut; he would go on to do 12 more Polliones with Caballe, Galvany, and Verrett and that is his Met career. Tozzi would not be my choice for Oroveso. Norma is one of Caballe’s best roles.
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER:Wagner
Original Air Date: 02/16/1963
Böhm; London, Rysanek, Kónya, Tozzi
MOD Audio SID.19340423
This is a legendary partnership of Bohm with London and Rysanek. Bohm and Rysanek are together for two later broadcasts in 1965 with David Ward, and 1970 with William Dooley. This 1963 broadcast was swapped with Ariadne two weeks earlier when the Hollander cast could not be assembled. That swap denied the broadcast audience the chance to hear Della Casa’s Ariadne. There is no Senta like Rysanek. Rysanek and London are certainly a remarkable pair, and the applause for their Act 2 duet (in the 3 act version) regularly seemed unending. The Met Hollander premiere three years earlier with Rysanek and London was with Schippers. There is nothing like the finale. Tthis performance is on Met Player, and is far more thrilling than the studio performance with much the same cast under Dorati.
I VESPRI SICILIANI:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/09/1974
Levine; Caballé, Gedda, Milnes, Díaz
MOD Audio SID.19340426
This is a performance where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. If Caballe does not have every note in place, she is still very near the top of her considerable form, and the ensemble reflects the new production intensity and first appearance of a major Verdi opera in the Met repertory. Gedda has the most performances of Arrigo, the challenging tenor role. Tucker was scheduled for a run (including broadcast) the year he died, but none of the hearty tenors of the past had the right timing– no Corelli, Bergonzi, and only five for Domingo, and he was gone. This performance is available in Met Opera on Demand (MOoD) and is a strong performance.
DON PASQUALE:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 12/05/1970
Franci; Corena, Grist, Kraus, Krause
MOD Audio SID.19340529
This is a fine performance, but I would love to hear Corena from 1956 with Peters and Valletti in Schippers debut season. I also notice Pinza did a broadcast in 1935 which I think does not survive. Love to hear Pinza and Donizetti, though for the patter duet Corena is absolutely the last word, closely followed by Baccaloni. Corena’s 1965 broadcast with Peters has been on Sirius and is on MOoD, but that’s with Alva, not Valletti.
TOSCA:Puccini
Original Air Date: 03/20/1999
Santi; Vaness, Pavarotti, Morris
MOD Audio SID.19340531
This is Pavarotti’s fifth and final Cavaradossi broadcast. I always find his voice a tad light for the role, but no one exceeds him in his honeyed delivery of the text. Vaness is a low wattage Tosca. Available on MOoD there is a 1995 performance of the Pav with Holleque and Pons. Best of all, at least for him is the 1978 telecast (on MOoD) and DVD with Verrett and MacNeil under Conlon.
FALSTAFF:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/03/1996
Levine; Plishka, Daniels, Quilico, Horne, Bonney, Groves
MOD Audio SID.19340532
Levine, Plishka, Bonney, and Horne are all in the 1992 revival which is on MOoD, but with Freni for Daniels, and Bruno Pola for Quilico. My experience with almost all of the Falstaff casting in the Levine era is OK, but not really an ensemble. We still keep having the Bernstein performance overlooked (LB’s only other Met broadcast beside Cavalleria) from 1964. The bad luck continues with Rosenstock’s conducting from 1965 and Amaducci’s conducting fom 1967. The Dohnanyi performance from 1972 features Gobbi in one of HIS two Met broadcasts (the other is Otello, no Scarpia on the Met airwaves alas) with Tebaldi, Resnik, Paskalis in sterling support. This should be in MOoD.
I PURITANI:Bellini
Original Air Date: 03/13/1976
Bonynge; Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes, Morris
MOD Audio SID.19340636
Bing delivered a lovely production, and the four principals all were well suited to their roles. This was a big break-out part for Morris and the Suoni la tromba duet with Milnes almost stole the show from Pavarotti and Sutherland. Sutherland is 50 for this performance, and amazingly is back ten years later for another Puritani broadcast. This 1976 is the preferred broadcast and deservingly is on Met Player. It’s just a shame it wasn’t videod as well (the first video of the modern series comes a year later). It is a fitting document to one of the strongest Puritani quartets ever. There is no arguing that Met casting was top tier, and this certainly lifted Morris up from being promising to being major.
/268x0w.jpg” />
NORMA:Bellini
Original Air Date: 02/17/1973
Cillario; Caballé, Cossotto, Cossutta, Tozzi
MOD Audio SID.19340639
This is from Caballe’s first run at Norma with the reliable Cossotto; they are certainly a team. Cossutta missed the premiere, and this is his debut; he would go on to do 12 more Polliones with Caballe, Galvany, and Verrett and that is his Met career. Tozzi would not be my choice for Oroveso. Norma is one of Caballe’s best roles.
?pubId=610394115001&videoId=5839999932001
AIDA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 10/06/2018
Luisotti; Netrebko, Rachvelishvili, Antonenko, Kelsey, Belosselskiy, Speedo Green
Live in HDMOD Video SID.19349992
In what should be a highlight of the new season, soprano Anna Netrebko sings her first Met Aida, going toe-to-toe with mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili as Amneris. Later in the season, a second star-studded cast takes over, with Sondra Radvanovsky and Dolora Zajick as the leading ladies.Tenors Aleksandrs Antonenko and Yonghoon Lee alternate as Radamès, and Nicola Luisotti and Plácido Domingo take the podium for the Met’s monumental production. Production a gift of Mrs. Donald D. Harrington Revival a gift of Viking Cruises
Original Air Date: 03/09/1974
Levine; Caballé, Gedda, Milnes, Díaz
MOD Audio SID.19340642
This is a performance where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. If Caballe does not have every note in place, she is still very near the top of her considerable form, and the ensemble reflects the new production intensity and first appearance of a major Verdi opera in the Met repertory. Gedda has the most performances of Arrigo, the challenging tenor role. Tucker was scheduled for a run (including broadcast) the year he died, but none of the hearty tenors of the past had the right timing– no Corelli, Bergonzi, and only five for Domingo, and he was gone. This performance is available in Met Opera on Demand (MOoD) and is a strong performance.
CARMEN:Bizet
Original Air Date: 01/16/2010
Nezet-Seguin; Frittoli, Garanca, Alagna, Tahu Rhodes
Live in HDMOD Video SID.19349993
RWW Review: Overall, I give the afternoon an A; not that there weren’t things to NOT like, but that I felt the balance of elements was extremely satisfying, and you understand why Carmen can survive anything from Spike Jones (set in a bubble gum factory decades before regie theatre was thought of) to Carmen Jones to whatever some crazy director somewhere in the EU is cooking up. What a score, even if you’re listening mostly to Choudens and Guiraud recitatives. The melodies, the characters, the everything. Almost every time I listen/watch Carmen at home, I am overwhelmed anew; in the theatre its length (no, not Wagnerian, but it isn’t short and as it used to be with 3 intervals with work the next day etc, etc. often the whole was not the sum of its parts. Today, it emphatically was. I have not yet seen the production in the house, and probably won’t be able to see the original cast when I do.
Now to the particulars. I loved Elina Garanca; her voice to me is both fruity and clear. Her middle and upper voice are technically very satisfying and if there is a little weakness at the bottom in a theare the size of the Met, she has baby blue eyes and a command of the role that clearly put her as one of my very favorite Carmens (never saw Stevens, but Resnik (Dallas, 1963 my first), Bumbry, Verrett, Borodina, De Los Angeles (Newark, and I enjoyed), Crespin, Horne, Baltsa are the ones most worthy of mention. Garanca wowed the Paramus audience besides me as well.
Alagna is such a theatre performer that you go with him even when everything is not perfect. He is a very fine Jose, had to make the high climax of the Flower song pure falsetto to avoid a crack, but overall one of my favorite Joses. That he is arguably the best with the text of any doesn’t hurt, and visually he’s quite a specimen at 47. Carmen has to give him up because he’s immature not because he isn’t the hottest guy in Seville.
Frittoli is a singer I like, having adored her Fiordiligi in the house, many
Desdemonas, and her wrenching Suor Angelica. Her vibrato is always 10% too “loose” to be ideal, but when she needs to get out a big climax, she’s right there, only Freni and Lidia Marimpietri (Dallas, 1963) have made a greater impact.
Teddy Tahu Rhodes was a late (10 am this morning) replacement for Kwiecien who was ill. Though he is often portrayed as a bari hunk, he looked skinny in the costume, and I wasn’t much impressed. The vocal if not stylistic standard is Merrill. The best Escamillos for me (all seen live) Jose van Dam, Sam Ramey, Rene Pape, Norman Treigle (also in that first Carmen). I’ve heard and seen worse Escamillos than Rhodes, MUCH worse.
Conducting. I liked Yannick Nezet-Seguin very much. The musical preparation was outstanding. He started the first act prelude like a house of fire, but as he was accompanying the singers, came into more traditional tempi; he got a nice Gallic tang out of the orchestra. Where the preparation showed was in the many numbers that mix in the quintet of smugglers with chorus and 1 or more of the principals. Elizabeth Caballero as Frasquita sounded VERY good; I want to hear more of her, but the ensemble was really terrific today.
I have to cut this short, but except for the final tableau , i found the production very satisfactory, and easily the best visual Carmen of my experience (i liked John Bury’s sets in the Peter Hall production but not a lot else). I didn’t mind the dancing (might not feel so on repeated viewings) This is the 5th Met production I’ve seen (I alas never saw the Guthrie which showcased Stevens and Tucker (plus on some occasions others, but mostly RS and RT for the whole of the 50s.”
FALSTAFF:Verdi
Original Air Date: 02/03/1996
Levine; Plishka, Daniels, Quilico, Horne, Bonney, Groves
MOD Audio SID.19350101
Levine, Plishka, Bonney, and Horne are all in the 1992 revival which is on MOoD, but with Freni for Daniels, and Bruno Pola for Quilico. My experience with almost all of the Falstaff casting in the Levine era is OK, but not really an ensemble. We still keep having the Bernstein performance overlooked (LB’s only other Met broadcast beside Cavalleria) from 1964. The bad luck continues with Rosenstock’s conducting from 1965 and Amaducci’s conducting fom 1967. The Dohnanyi performance from 1972 features Gobbi in one of HIS two Met broadcasts (the other is Otello, no Scarpia on the Met airwaves alas) with Tebaldi, Resnik, Paskalis in sterling support. This should be in MOoD.
DON GIOVANNI:Mozart
Original Air Date: 02/15/2003
Cambreling; Mattei, Radvanovsky, Furlanetto, Diener, Trost, Netrebko
MOD Audio SID.19350102
This Don Giovanni is a solid performance especially in key roles, and proof that not all fine performances are pre-1980. Radvanovsky and Netrebko have gone on to extraordinary careers, but Mattei and Furlanetto make for a fresh and effective pairing as the Don and Leporello (Mattei will reprise his DON later in the 2014-2015 season, but I don’t think Furlanetto does Leporello so much these days. I’ve listened to this performance thanks to previous Sirius appearances. Recommended. This performance is on Met Player, it’s a splendid afternoon. I saw an earlier performance with Mattei and found him one of the very best of recent Giovannis. I’m not forgetting Siepi, but Mattei managed to be both dark of drama and sunny of voice. The women are among the very best of recent trios, with Radvanovsky just starting to take off, Diener very solid, and Netrebko one of the lushest Zerlinas ever. Furlanetto is not chopped liver as Leporello, and Trost is OK. Not all fine performances took place 40 years ago.
ERNANI:Verdi
Original Air Date: 12/17/1983
Levine; Pavarotti, Mitchell, Milnes, Raimondi
MOD Audio SID.19350103
This is the audio that goes with the video available on DVD. I love Ernani, and Pavarotti and Mitchell are quite good. Milnes and Raimondi are not my usual choices in this music; I prefer by a lot MacNeil and Siepi. Levine is lively, and a week with Ernani always makes me feel better. I think Pavarotti may only have one other run in this role (Verona?)but unusually Domingo’s Ernani total at the Met is lower — one.
RODELINDA:Handel
Original Air Date: 05/06/2006
Summers; Fleming, Scholl, van Rensburg, Blythe, Dumaux, Relyea
MOD Video SID.19350105
This performance in the second season of the production and Scholl’s first appearance at the Met. There was a third broadcast which includes an HD moviecast of Rodelinda with Fleming and Scholl under Bicket (whom I prefer to Summers) but the intervening 4 years do not benefit either Fleming or Scholl. This video is available also in MOoD so you can compare for yourself. I like Scholl much more than David Daniels so this is my preferred Rodelinda.
Donizetti
Original Air Date: 12/04/1982
Bonynge; Sutherland, Kraus, Elvira, Morris
MOD Video SID.19350211
Most people are very familiar with the telecast from November 13, 1982 which is on MOoD. The telecast which is also available on DVD features Plishka instead of Morris, and while Sutherland (age 56) and Kraus (55) are certainly veterans they have a lot to offer. MOD is video from 11-13-82 performance with Plishka for Morris
DON GIOVANNI:Mozart
Original Air Date: 02/15/2003
Cambreling; Mattei, Radvanovsky, Furlanetto, Diener, Trost, Netrebko
MOD Audio SID.19350318
This Don Giovanni is a solid performance especially in key roles, and proof that not all fine performances are pre-1980. Radvanovsky and Netrebko have gone on to extraordinary careers, but Mattei and Furlanetto make for a fresh and effective pairing as the Don and Leporello (Mattei will reprise his DON later in the 2014-2015 season, but I don’t think Furlanetto does Leporello so much these days. I’ve listened to this performance thanks to previous Sirius appearances. Recommended. This performance is on Met Player, it’s a splendid afternoon. I saw an earlier performance with Mattei and found him one of the very best of recent Giovannis. I’m not forgetting Siepi, but Mattei managed to be both dark of drama and sunny of voice. The women are among the very best of recent trios, with Radvanovsky just starting to take off, Diener very solid, and Netrebko one of the lushest Zerlinas ever. Furlanetto is not chopped liver as Leporello, and Trost is OK. Not all fine performances took place 40 years ago.