In this 11th year, over ten nights performances from the Met’s Live in HD series will be shown starting with a screening of FUNNY FACE in a special co-presentation with Film at Lincoln Center. Screenings run from August 23 through September 2. There will be 3000 seats in the Plaza in front of the Opera House with an additional standing room area. Cancellations due to thunder/lighting or high wind will not be rescheduled.
MANON LESCAUT:Puccini
Original Air Date: 03/23/1968
Molinari-Pradelli; Tebaldi, Alexander, Guarrera, Michalski
SID.19350104
I am always happy to hear Manon Lescaut, and Alexander is an under-appreciated singer so happy to have him here, BUT Tebaldi’s greatness in the role is in the 1959 broadcast with Tucker (not yet broadcast on Sirius). Also on Met Player . Although this performance is available on Met Player, for some reason the Met keeps avoiding the 1959 performance with Tucker– he is represented with Kabaiwanska in a very decent performance from 1966. Once again I would call on the Met to restore to broadcast availability one of the remarkable unions of two Met legends of Tebaldi and Tucker. This 1968 performance captures Tebaldi after two long runs in Gioconda, and the voice was simply not the same. I yield to no one in my admiration of John Alexander, but it is still inexplicable to me that the 1959 broadcast with Tebaldi and Tucker remains un-rebroadcast, and this performance is in MOoD and regularly on Sirius. For Tebaldi, the 9 year span makes a huge difference. By the time of this broadcast she is well on her way through her Gioconda marathon after a vocal crisis in the early 60s. She has many wonderful moments, but surely Met listeners deserve to hear the Tucker/Tebaldi/Puccini combination one more time (I’ve written on the 1956 Tosca many times).
MANON LESCAUT:Puccini
Original Air Date: 03/23/1968
Molinari-Pradelli; Tebaldi, Alexander, Guarrera, Michalski
SID.19350320
I am always happy to hear Manon Lescaut, and Alexander is an under-appreciated singer so happy to have him here, BUT Tebaldi’s greatness in the role is in the 1959 broadcast with Tucker (not yet broadcast on Sirius). Also on Met Player . Although this performance is available on Met Player, for some reason the Met keeps avoiding the 1959 performance with Tucker– he is represented with Kabaiwanska in a very decent performance from 1966. Once again I would call on the Met to restore to broadcast availability one of the remarkable unions of two Met legends of Tebaldi and Tucker. This 1968 performance captures Tebaldi after two long runs in Gioconda, and the voice was simply not the same. I yield to no one in my admiration of John Alexander, but it is still inexplicable to me that the 1959 broadcast with Tebaldi and Tucker remains un-rebroadcast, and this performance is in MOoD and regularly on Sirius. For Tebaldi, the 9 year span makes a huge difference. By the time of this broadcast she is well on her way through her Gioconda marathon after a vocal crisis in the early 60s. She has many wonderful moments, but surely Met listeners deserve to hear the Tucker/Tebaldi/Puccini combination one more time (I’ve written on the 1956 Tosca many times).
MANON LESCAUT:Puccini
Original Air Date: 03/23/1968
Molinari-Pradelli; Tebaldi, Alexander, Guarrera, Michalski
SID.19350530
I am always happy to hear Manon Lescaut, and Alexander is an under-appreciated singer so happy to have him here, BUT Tebaldi’s greatness in the role is in the 1959 broadcast with Tucker (not yet broadcast on Sirius). Also on Met Player . Although this performance is available on Met Player, for some reason the Met keeps avoiding the 1959 performance with Tucker– he is represented with Kabaiwanska in a very decent performance from 1966. Once again I would call on the Met to restore to broadcast availability one of the remarkable unions of two Met legends of Tebaldi and Tucker. This 1968 performance captures Tebaldi after two long runs in Gioconda, and the voice was simply not the same. I yield to no one in my admiration of John Alexander, but it is still inexplicable to me that the 1959 broadcast with Tebaldi and Tucker remains un-rebroadcast, and this performance is in MOoD and regularly on Sirius. For Tebaldi, the 9 year span makes a huge difference. By the time of this broadcast she is well on her way through her Gioconda marathon after a vocal crisis in the early 60s. She has many wonderful moments, but surely Met listeners deserve to hear the Tucker/Tebaldi/Puccini combination one more time (I’ve written on the 1956 Tosca many times).
MANON LESCAUT:Puccini
Original Air Date: 03/23/1968
Molinari-Pradelli; Tebaldi, Alexander, Guarrera, Michalski
SID.19350749
I am always happy to hear Manon Lescaut, and Alexander is an under-appreciated singer so happy to have him here, BUT Tebaldi’s greatness in the role is in the 1959 broadcast with Tucker (not yet broadcast on Sirius). Also on Met Player . Although this performance is available on Met Player, for some reason the Met keeps avoiding the 1959 performance with Tucker– he is represented with Kabaiwanska in a very decent performance from 1966. Once again I would call on the Met to restore to broadcast availability one of the remarkable unions of two Met legends of Tebaldi and Tucker. This 1968 performance captures Tebaldi after two long runs in Gioconda, and the voice was simply not the same. I yield to no one in my admiration of John Alexander, but it is still inexplicable to me that the 1959 broadcast with Tebaldi and Tucker remains un-rebroadcast, and this performance is in MOoD and regularly on Sirius. For Tebaldi, the 9 year span makes a huge difference. By the time of this broadcast she is well on her way through her Gioconda marathon after a vocal crisis in the early 60s. She has many wonderful moments, but surely Met listeners deserve to hear the Tucker/Tebaldi/Puccini combination one more time (I’ve written on the 1956 Tosca many times).
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR:Donizetti
Molinari-Pradelli; Scotto, Alexander, Sereni, Plishka
Original Air Date: 04/21/1973
SID.19430315
This is Scotto’s only Met broadcast of Lucia, even though she has two 39th street (old house) performances. Alexander is well suited to Edgardo and his Lucias include Sutherland, Moffo, Sills, Robinson, and Negri (his last in a Bronx Parks assignment). Sereni was a regular Enrico and Molinari-Pradelli is a solid maestro. Scotto the previous performance she cancelled after Act 1, and this broadcast is her final New York Lucia. She does do five tour Lucias after this broadcast. The male contingent is fairly standard B+ casting from the Met, not more, not less. This is the first Met broadcast of Lucia since the Moffo, Gedda performance (debut of Franci and Bruson) of 2/1/69 which is a performance not yet on Sirius, but Jackson spends some time on it (and I remember it like yesterday). This was a bad period at the Met for the Bride of Lammermoor.
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR:Donizetti
Molinari-Pradelli; Scotto, Alexander, Sereni, Plishka
Original Air Date: 04/21/1973
SID.19430320
This is Scotto’s only Met broadcast of Lucia, even though she has two 39th street (old house) performances. Alexander is well suited to Edgardo and his Lucias include Sutherland, Moffo, Sills, Robinson, and Negri (his last in a Bronx Parks assignment). Sereni was a regular Enrico and Molinari-Pradelli is a solid maestro. Scotto the previous performance she cancelled after Act 1, and this broadcast is her final New York Lucia. She does do five tour Lucias after this broadcast. The male contingent is fairly standard B+ casting from the Met, not more, not less. This is the first Met broadcast of Lucia since the Moffo, Gedda performance (debut of Franci and Bruson) of 2/1/69 which is a performance not yet on Sirius, but Jackson spends some time on it (and I remember it like yesterday). This was a bad period at the Met for the Bride of Lammermoor.
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.
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.
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.
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE:Gounod
Molinari-Pradelli; Gedda, Freni, Macurdy, Baldwin, Reardon
Original Air Date: 04/13/1968
MOD Audio
SID.20080749
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.
SIMON BOCCANEGRA:Verdi
Molinari-Pradelli; MacNeil, Tucci, Shirley, Hines, Milnes
Original Air Date: 12/14/1968
SID.20090102
This is MacNeil’s only broadcast Doge, and is almost as notable for Milnes’ turn as Paolo emulating Leonard Warren who had debuted as Paolo in 1939 and premiered a new Met production less than a week before his untimely death onstage. Hines lacks the profile if not the voice for one of the most interesting of Verdi’s bass roles. Tucci and Shirley are decent if not as megawatt as Tebaldi and Tucker or Milanov and Bergonzi in past times, and Te Kanawa and Domingo in more recent times (though even that is more than 25 years ago now). It should be in MOoD. In two complete misses on Boccanegra, the 1974 revival had two outstanding portrayals under Eherling: Ingvar Wixell in the title role, and Maliponte as Amelia. Tucker is on exceptional late form as well. Historically there are only two broadcasts 1935 and 1939 with Lawrence Tibbett and Ezio Pinza under Panizza should be added to the MOoD archive.
SIMON BOCCANEGRA:Verdi
Molinari-Pradelli; MacNeil, Tucci, Shirley, Hines, Milnes
Original Air Date: 12/14/1968
SID.20090318
This is MacNeil’s only broadcast Doge, and is almost as notable for Milnes’ turn as Paolo emulating Leonard Warren who had debuted as Paolo in 1939 and premiered a new Met production less than a week before his untimely death onstage. Hines lacks the profile if not the voice for one of the most interesting of Verdi’s bass roles. Tucci and Shirley are decent if not as megawatt as Tebaldi and Tucker or Milanov and Bergonzi in past times, and Te Kanawa and Domingo in more recent times (though even that is more than 25 years ago now). It should be in MOoD. In two complete misses on Boccanegra, the 1974 revival had two outstanding portrayals under Eherling: Ingvar Wixell in the title role, and Maliponte as Amelia. Tucker is on exceptional late form as well. Historically there are only two broadcasts 1935 and 1939 with Lawrence Tibbett and Ezio Pinza under Panizza should be added to the MOoD archive.
SIMON BOCCANEGRA:Verdi
Molinari-Pradelli; MacNeil, Tucci, Shirley, Hines, Milnes
Original Air Date: 12/14/1968
SID.20090534
This is MacNeil’s only broadcast Doge, and is almost as notable for Milnes’ turn as Paolo emulating Leonard Warren who had debuted as Paolo in 1939 and premiered a new Met production less than a week before his untimely death onstage. Hines lacks the profile if not the voice for one of the most interesting of Verdi’s bass roles. Tucci and Shirley are decent if not as megawatt as Tebaldi and Tucker or Milanov and Bergonzi in past times, and Te Kanawa and Domingo in more recent times (though even that is more than 25 years ago now). It should be in MOoD. In two complete misses on Boccanegra, the 1974 revival had two outstanding portrayals under Eherling: Ingvar Wixell in the title role, and Maliponte as Amelia. Tucker is on exceptional late form as well. Historically there are only two broadcasts 1935 and 1939 with Lawrence Tibbett and Ezio Pinza under Panizza should be added to the MOoD archive.