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.
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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.
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.
OTELLO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/11/1967
Mehta; Caballé, McCracken, Gobbi, Lorenzi
MOD Audio SID.19370637
This is the first Otello broadcast from the new house at Lincoln Center. Caballe is very fine in the fourth act, but earlier acts do not find her fully engaged. McCracken and Gobbi are fully engaged from first note, and Mehta is a solid participant. Sirius continues to deprive us of Tebaldi’s 1955 and 1958 Desdemonas which capture her (especially 1955) in remarkable voice. This is Caballe’s first broadcast from the Met, and McCracken, Gobbi and Mehta are wonderful partners. Compared to some other Desdemonas, I found her a little short until Act Four, but in the final act she was on all eight cylinders. I love the chemistry of McCracken and Gobbi. This fine performance is available on MetPlayer also. There never was a tenor quite like James McCracken—a veritable force of nature vocally, he fought his way to an international career that would come to be dominated by his seething portrayal of the title role of Verdi’s Otello. In this March 11, 1967, broadcast conducted by Zubin Mehta, McCracken’s finely sung Otello rages with a raw-nerve fury but also brings heroic tenderness to the love duet and his final moments. Montserrat Caballé’s singing, regal in its beauty throughout, gives way to towering passion in Desdemona’s clash with Otello in Act III. Tito Gobbi is utter, impeccable evil as Iago, heard in the savage glee he finally takes in hurling Cassio’s name, like a knife, at Otello at the end of Act II. This performance is available in Met Opera on Demand (MOoD) and definitely worth your time.
DON CARLO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 04/21/1984
Levine; Ciannella, Caballé, Bruson, Verrett, Plishka, Hines
SID.19380104
This performance is not on so often, and it is Bruson’s Met farewell–he is STILL singing!!! His Met debut was 15 years earlier on the broadcast Lucia with Moffo 2/1/69. He has a good sense of Verdian line, but I like a bit more squillo. Zancanaro is a tone more to my liking, but he always seemed to prefer fishing to visiting NYC. Caballe only has an opening night run of Toscas ahead of her (none broadcast), so this serves as her broadcast farewell. She’s a more uneven singer than when she arrived 20 years earlier, but only made it to 98 performances. She always seemed happier at Carnegie Hall and a music stand handy. At her best she could make some lovely sounds. Verrett is not in the first flush of youth either, but this cast — Ciannella excepted– are people well up to their roles, and since it is my favorite Verdian opera for sure and close to my all-time top, this performance makes a welcome addition to the week. Caballe’s first Elisabetta broadcast is from Bing’s final season (the one with the endlessly held B (I believe) with Bumbry, Siepi, Milnes, and Domingo which has not been on Sirius at all and except for the Scotto Troyanos video from 1980 there is nothing in the Met streaming service from 1964 (Rysanek, Corelli) till 1992, These two Caballe Don Carlos belong there. [Alas, the streaming service is still missing these Don Carlos]
DON CARLO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 04/21/1984
Levine; Ciannella, Caballé, Bruson, Verrett, Plishka, Hines
SID.19380105
This performance is not on so often, and it is Bruson’s Met farewell–he is STILL singing!!! His Met debut was 15 years earlier on the broadcast Lucia with Moffo 2/1/69. He has a good sense of Verdian line, but I like a bit more squillo. Zancanaro is a tone more to my liking, but he always seemed to prefer fishing to visiting NYC. Caballe only has an opening night run of Toscas ahead of her (none broadcast), so this serves as her broadcast farewell. She’s a more uneven singer than when she arrived 20 years earlier, but only made it to 98 performances. She always seemed happier at Carnegie Hall and a music stand handy. At her best she could make some lovely sounds. Verrett is not in the first flush of youth either, but this cast — Ciannella excepted– are people well up to their roles, and since it is my favorite Verdian opera for sure and close to my all-time top, this performance makes a welcome addition to the week. Caballe’s first Elisabetta broadcast is from Bing’s final season (the one with the endlessly held B (I believe) with Bumbry, Siepi, Milnes, and Domingo which has not been on Sirius at all and except for the Scotto Troyanos video from 1980 there is nothing in the Met streaming service from 1964 (Rysanek, Corelli) till 1992, These two Caballe Don Carlos belong there. [Alas, the streaming service is still missing these Don Carlos]
DON CARLO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 04/21/1984
Levine; Ciannella, Caballé, Bruson, Verrett, Plishka, Hines
SID.19380320
This performance is not on so often, and it is Bruson’s Met farewell–he is STILL singing!!! His Met debut was 15 years earlier on the broadcast Lucia with Moffo 2/1/69. He has a good sense of Verdian line, but I like a bit more squillo. Zancanaro is a tone more to my liking, but he always seemed to prefer fishing to visiting NYC. Caballe only has an opening night run of Toscas ahead of her (none broadcast), so this serves as her broadcast farewell. She’s a more uneven singer than when she arrived 20 years earlier, but only made it to 98 performances. She always seemed happier at Carnegie Hall and a music stand handy. At her best she could make some lovely sounds. Verrett is not in the first flush of youth either, but this cast — Ciannella excepted– are people well up to their roles, and since it is my favorite Verdian opera for sure and close to my all-time top, this performance makes a welcome addition to the week. Caballe’s first Elisabetta broadcast is from Bing’s final season (the one with the endlessly held B (I believe) with Bumbry, Siepi, Milnes, and Domingo which has not been on Sirius at all and except for the Scotto Troyanos video from 1980 there is nothing in the Met streaming service from 1964 (Rysanek, Corelli) till 1992, These two Caballe Don Carlos belong there. [Alas, the streaming service is still missing these Don Carlos]
DON CARLO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 04/21/1984
Levine; Ciannella, Caballé, Bruson, Verrett, Plishka, Hines
SID.19380321
This performance is not on so often, and it is Bruson’s Met farewell–he is STILL singing!!! His Met debut was 15 years earlier on the broadcast Lucia with Moffo 2/1/69. He has a good sense of Verdian line, but I like a bit more squillo. Zancanaro is a tone more to my liking, but he always seemed to prefer fishing to visiting NYC. Caballe only has an opening night run of Toscas ahead of her (none broadcast), so this serves as her broadcast farewell. She’s a more uneven singer than when she arrived 20 years earlier, but only made it to 98 performances. She always seemed happier at Carnegie Hall and a music stand handy. At her best she could make some lovely sounds. Verrett is not in the first flush of youth either, but this cast — Ciannella excepted– are people well up to their roles, and since it is my favorite Verdian opera for sure and close to my all-time top, this performance makes a welcome addition to the week. Caballe’s first Elisabetta broadcast is from Bing’s final season (the one with the endlessly held B (I believe) with Bumbry, Siepi, Milnes, and Domingo which has not been on Sirius at all and except for the Scotto Troyanos video from 1980 there is nothing in the Met streaming service from 1964 (Rysanek, Corelli) till 1992, These two Caballe Don Carlos belong there. [Alas, the streaming service is still missing these Don Carlos]
DON CARLO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 04/21/1984
Levine; Ciannella, Caballé, Bruson, Verrett, Plishka, Hines
SID.19380637
This performance is not on so often, and it is Bruson’s Met farewell–he is STILL singing!!! His Met debut was 15 years earlier on the broadcast Lucia with Moffo 2/1/69. He has a good sense of Verdian line, but I like a bit more squillo. Zancanaro is a tone more to my liking, but he always seemed to prefer fishing to visiting NYC. Caballe only has an opening night run of Toscas ahead of her (none broadcast), so this serves as her broadcast farewell. She’s a more uneven singer than when she arrived 20 years earlier, but only made it to 98 performances. She always seemed happier at Carnegie Hall and a music stand handy. At her best she could make some lovely sounds. Verrett is not in the first flush of youth either, but this cast — Ciannella excepted– are people well up to their roles, and since it is my favorite Verdian opera for sure and close to my all-time top, this performance makes a welcome addition to the week. Caballe’s first Elisabetta broadcast is from Bing’s final season (the one with the endlessly held B (I believe) with Bumbry, Siepi, Milnes, and Domingo which has not been on Sirius at all and except for the Scotto Troyanos video from 1980 there is nothing in the Met streaming service from 1964 (Rysanek, Corelli) till 1992, These two Caballe Don Carlos belong there. [Alas, the streaming service is still missing these Don Carlos]
DON CARLO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 04/21/1984
Levine; Ciannella, Caballé, Bruson, Verrett, Plishka, Hines
SID.19380638
This performance is not on so often, and it is Bruson’s Met farewell–he is STILL singing!!! His Met debut was 15 years earlier on the broadcast Lucia with Moffo 2/1/69. He has a good sense of Verdian line, but I like a bit more squillo. Zancanaro is a tone more to my liking, but he always seemed to prefer fishing to visiting NYC. Caballe only has an opening night run of Toscas ahead of her (none broadcast), so this serves as her broadcast farewell. She’s a more uneven singer than when she arrived 20 years earlier, but only made it to 98 performances. She always seemed happier at Carnegie Hall and a music stand handy. At her best she could make some lovely sounds. Verrett is not in the first flush of youth either, but this cast — Ciannella excepted– are people well up to their roles, and since it is my favorite Verdian opera for sure and close to my all-time top, this performance makes a welcome addition to the week. Caballe’s first Elisabetta broadcast is from Bing’s final season (the one with the endlessly held B (I believe) with Bumbry, Siepi, Milnes, and Domingo which has not been on Sirius at all and except for the Scotto Troyanos video from 1980 there is nothing in the Met streaming service from 1964 (Rysanek, Corelli) till 1992, These two Caballe Don Carlos belong there. [Alas, the streaming service is still missing these Don Carlos]
Levine; Caballé, Gedda, Milnes, Díaz
Original Air Date: 03/09/1974
MOD Audio
SID.20130214
RWW: 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.
 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.</p> </div> <div class=)
 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.</p> </div> <div class=)