2019 Summer HD Festival

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. 

Sep
4
Wed
2019
AIDA
Sep 4 @ 12:00 AM – 3:00 AM


AIDA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/11/1950
Cooper; Welitsch, Vinay, Harshaw, Merrill, Hines
MOD Audio SID.19360315
Welitsch has some powerful moments, and a pleasure to hear early Merrill in this role. He is the Met champion Amonasro with 72 (MacNeil is 71, and Amato 70)

Sep
6
Fri
2019
AIDA
Sep 6 @ 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM


AIDA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/11/1950
Cooper; Welitsch, Vinay, Harshaw, Merrill, Hines
MOD Audio SID.19360531
Welitsch has some powerful moments, and a pleasure to hear early Merrill in this role. He is the Met champion Amonasro with 72 (MacNeil is 71, and Amato 70)

Sep
8
Sun
2019
AIDA
Sep 8 @ 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM


AIDA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 03/11/1950
Cooper; Welitsch, Vinay, Harshaw, Merrill, Hines
MOD Audio SID.19360747
Welitsch has some powerful moments, and a pleasure to hear early Merrill in this role. He is the Met champion Amonasro with 72 (MacNeil is 71, and Amato 70)

Oct
29
Tue
2019
DAS RHEINGOLD
Oct 29 @ 9:00 PM – 11:55 PM


DAS RHEINGOLD:Wagner
Stiedry; Hotter, Harshaw, Svanholm, Davidson, Hines, Ernster
Original Air Date: 01/27/1951
MOD Audio
SID.19440214
Hans Hotter’s MET debut season. This performance is taken from the Wagner at the Met CD box set. The chief vocal interest lies in Hotter’s broadcast of Wotan – one of only two Ring performances he broadcast from the Met; the other was Hunding (not Wotan) in Walkure in 1954. Branzell returns to the Met after a seven year absence and moves down from Fricka to Erda, appearing in two Rheingolds and three Siegfrieds in 1951. Her Met career spans 27 years from 1924 -1951 and 412 performances. Paul Jackson, in his survey of Met broadcasts, is not enamored of Stiedry’s conducting. Hopefully this means we will hear the rest of the 1951 Ring on Sirius – which includes Traubel’s Siegfried & Gotterdammerung Brunnhildes; Jackson is especially fond of her Siegfried even though she omits the few Bs and Cs of the role.

Oct
31
Thu
2019
DAS RHEINGOLD
Oct 31 @ 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM


DAS RHEINGOLD:Wagner
Stiedry; Hotter, Harshaw, Svanholm, Davidson, Hines, Ernster
Original Air Date: 01/27/1951
MOD Audio
SID.19440423
Hans Hotter’s MET debut season. This performance is taken from the Wagner at the Met CD box set. The chief vocal interest lies in Hotter’s broadcast of Wotan – one of only two Ring performances he broadcast from the Met; the other was Hunding (not Wotan) in Walkure in 1954. Branzell returns to the Met after a seven year absence and moves down from Fricka to Erda, appearing in two Rheingolds and three Siegfrieds in 1951. Her Met career spans 27 years from 1924 -1951 and 412 performances. Paul Jackson, in his survey of Met broadcasts, is not enamored of Stiedry’s conducting. Hopefully this means we will hear the rest of the 1951 Ring on Sirius – which includes Traubel’s Siegfried & Gotterdammerung Brunnhildes; Jackson is especially fond of her Siegfried even though she omits the few Bs and Cs of the role.

Nov
3
Sun
2019
DAS RHEINGOLD
Nov 3 @ 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM


DAS RHEINGOLD:Wagner
Stiedry; Hotter, Harshaw, Svanholm, Davidson, Hines, Ernster
Original Air Date: 01/27/1951
MOD Audio
SID.19440214
Hans Hotter’s MET debut season. This performance is taken from the Wagner at the Met CD box set. The chief vocal interest lies in Hotter’s broadcast of Wotan – one of only two Ring performances he broadcast from the Met; the other was Hunding (not Wotan) in Walkure in 1954. Branzell returns to the Met after a seven year absence and moves down from Fricka to Erda, appearing in two Rheingolds and three Siegfrieds in 1951. Her Met career spans 27 years from 1924 -1951 and 412 performances. Paul Jackson, in his survey of Met broadcasts, is not enamored of Stiedry’s conducting. Hopefully this means we will hear the rest of the 1951 Ring on Sirius – which includes Traubel’s Siegfried & Gotterdammerung Brunnhildes; Jackson is especially fond of her Siegfried even though she omits the few Bs and Cs of the role.

Dec
30
Mon
2019
PARSIFAL
Dec 30 @ 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM


PARSIFAL:Wagner
Stiedry; Svanholm, Harshaw, Schöffler, Edelmann, Pechner
Original Air Date: 03/24/1956

SID.20010103
I only heard parts of this performance, so I checked Jackson to see where he was. Except for a glancing mention of Svanholm, this performance is ignored in favor of the 1954 Stiedry performance which he doesn’t much care for which features Hotter’s farewell to the Met (very few appearances). Only Hotter comes in for considerable praise. A few pages later he takes great pleasure in the Pretre 1966 Parsifal with Konya , Crespin and Hines. This is one of Crespin’s very best broadcast efforts, and belongs both on Sirius and in MOoD.

PARSIFAL
Dec 30 @ 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM


PARSIFAL:Wagner
Stiedry; Svanholm, Harshaw, Schöffler, Edelmann, Pechner
Original Air Date: 03/24/1956

SID.20010104
Except for a glancing mention of Svanholm, this performance is ignored in favor of the 1954 Stiedry performance which he doesn’t much care for which features Hotter’s farewell to the Met (very few appearances). Only Hotter comes in for considerable praise. A few pages later he takes great pleasure in the Pretre 1966 Parsifal with Konya , Crespin and Hines. This is one of Crespin’s very best broadcast efforts, and belongs both on Sirius and in MOoD.

Jan
1
Wed
2020
PARSIFAL
Jan 1 @ 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM


PARSIFAL:Wagner
Stiedry; Svanholm, Harshaw, Schöffler, Edelmann, Pechner
Original Air Date: 03/24/1956

SID.20010319
Except for a glancing mention of Svanholm, this performance is ignored in favor of the 1954 Stiedry performance which he doesn’t much care for which features Hotter’s farewell to the Met (very few appearances). Only Hotter comes in for considerable praise. A few pages later he takes great pleasure in the Pretre 1966 Parsifal with Konya , Crespin and Hines. This is one of Crespin’s very best broadcast efforts, and belongs both on Sirius and in MOoD.

PARSIFAL
Jan 1 @ 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM


PARSIFAL:Wagner
Stiedry; Svanholm, Harshaw, Schöffler, Edelmann, Pechner
Original Air Date: 03/24/1956

SID.20010320
Except for a glancing mention of Svanholm, this performance is ignored in favor of the 1954 Stiedry performance which he doesn’t much care for which features Hotter’s farewell to the Met (very few appearances). Only Hotter comes in for considerable praise. A few pages later he takes great pleasure in the Pretre 1966 Parsifal with Konya , Crespin and Hines. This is one of Crespin’s very best broadcast efforts, and belongs both on Sirius and in MOoD

Jan
3
Fri
2020
PARSIFAL
Jan 3 @ 9:00 PM – 11:55 PM


PARSIFAL:Wagner
Stiedry; Svanholm, Harshaw, Schöffler, Edelmann, Pechner
Original Air Date: 03/24/1956

SID.20010535
Except for a glancing mention of Svanholm, this performance is ignored in favor of the 1954 Stiedry performance which he doesn’t much care for which features Hotter’s farewell to the Met (very few appearances). Only Hotter comes in for considerable praise. A few pages later he takes great pleasure in the Pretre 1966 Parsifal with Konya , Crespin and Hines. This is one of Crespin’s very best broadcast efforts, and belongs both on Sirius and in MOoD.

Jan
4
Sat
2020
PARSIFAL
Jan 4 @ 12:00 AM – 3:00 AM


PARSIFAL:Wagner
Stiedry; Svanholm, Harshaw, Schöffler, Edelmann, Pechner
Original Air Date: 03/24/1956

SID.20010636
Except for a glancing mention of Svanholm, this performance is ignored in favor of the 1954 Stiedry performance which he doesn’t much care for which features Hotter’s farewell to the Met (very few appearances). Only Hotter comes in for considerable praise. A few pages later he takes great pleasure in the Pretre 1966 Parsifal with Konya , Crespin and Hines. This is one of Crespin’s very best broadcast efforts, and belongs both on Sirius and in MOoD.

Mar
23
Mon
2020
DON GIOVANNI
Mar 23 @ 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM


DON GIOVANNI:Mozart
Rudolf; London, Harshaw, Corena, Steber, Conley, Conner
Original Air Date: 03/13/1954

SID.20130105
RWW: The unusual casting is for the two leading ladies with Harshaw in her first Anna broadcast (the second comes a year later with Siepi for London, Amara for Steber, Valletti for Conley, and Peters for Conner. Rudolf, Harshaw, and Corena are the constants. Steber finishes her 1944-1954 Met connection with Elvira at 3 tour stops with Valletti back for them. With Bing’s full complement of lyric sopranos, he unveils a new production in 1957 with Steber moving up to Anna [Steber did a 2 performance preview of her Anna in the 1954-1955 season], Della Casa becoming the preferred Elvira, and Peters the preferred Zerlina. I’m happy to have this 1954 in the rotation, but once again call on the Met to offer the 1957 broadcast on Sirius and eventually on MOoD. I have a European pressing of this performance, and it is one of the great broadcasts of the 1950s.

Mar
25
Wed
2020
DON GIOVANNI
Mar 25 @ 9:00 PM – 11:55 PM


DON GIOVANNI:Mozart
Rudolf; London, Harshaw, Corena, Steber, Conley, Conner
Original Air Date: 03/13/1954

SID.20130324
RWW: The unusual casting is for the two leading ladies with Harshaw in her first Anna broadcast (the second comes a year later with Siepi for London, Amara for Steber, Valletti for Conley, and Peters for Conner. Rudolf, Harshaw, and Corena are the constants. Steber finishes her 1944-1954 Met connection with Elvira at 3 tour stops with Valletti back for them. With Bing’s full complement of lyric sopranos, he unveils a new production in 1957 with Steber moving up to Anna [Steber did a 2 performance preview of her Anna in the 1954-1955 season], Della Casa becoming the preferred Elvira, and Peters the preferred Zerlina. I’m happy to have this 1954 in the rotation, but once again call on the Met to offer the 1957 broadcast on Sirius and eventually on MOoD. I have a European pressing of this performance, and it is one of the great broadcasts of the 1950s.

Mar
28
Sat
2020
DON GIOVANNI
Mar 28 @ 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM


DON GIOVANNI:Mozart
Rudolf; London, Harshaw, Corena, Steber, Conley, Conner
Original Air Date: 03/13/1954

SID.20130643
RWW: The unusual casting is for the two leading ladies with Harshaw in her first Anna broadcast (the second comes a year later with Siepi for London, Amara for Steber, Valletti for Conley, and Peters for Conner. Rudolf, Harshaw, and Corena are the constants. Steber finishes her 1944-1954 Met connection with Elvira at 3 tour stops with Valletti back for them. With Bing’s full complement of lyric sopranos, he unveils a new production in 1957 with Steber moving up to Anna [Steber did a 2 performance preview of her Anna in the 1954-1955 season], Della Casa becoming the preferred Elvira, and Peters the preferred Zerlina. I’m happy to have this 1954 in the rotation, but once again call on the Met to offer the 1957 broadcast on Sirius and eventually on MOoD. I have a European pressing of this performance, and it is one of the great broadcasts of the 1950s.

Apr
14
Tue
2020
DIE WALKÜRE
Apr 14 @ 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM


DIE WALKÜRE:Wagner
Mitropoulos; Harshaw, Edelmann, Schech, Vinay, Thebom, Böhme
Original Air Date: 02/02/1957
MOD Audio
SID.20160212
Mitropoulos is not often heard in Wagner, but he is alert to the drama at all times. Unfortunately, there are a number of cuts even in parts of the Todesverkundigung (about 4.5 minutes there by my check). Still, this is a performance worth hearing. Harshaw is a stalwart Brunnhilde, and Edelmann was not yet in terminal Ochs voice. I also like Vinay very much, but he is not to everyone’s taste. One of MY highlights for the week.

Apr
16
Thu
2020
DIE WALKÜRE
Apr 16 @ 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM


DIE WALKÜRE:Wagner
Mitropoulos; Harshaw, Edelmann, Schech, Vinay, Thebom, Böhme
Original Air Date: 02/02/1957
MOD Audio
SID.20160430
Mitropoulos is not often heard in Wagner, but he is alert to the drama at all times. Unfortunately, there are a number of cuts even in parts of the Todesverkundigung (about 4.5 minutes there by my check). Still, this is a performance worth hearing. Harshaw is a stalwart Brunnhilde, and Edelmann was not yet in terminal Ochs voice. I also like Vinay very much, but he is not to everyone’s taste. One of MY highlights for the week.

Apr
18
Sat
2020
DIE WALKÜRE
Apr 18 @ 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM


DIE WALKÜRE:Wagner
Mitropoulos; Harshaw, Edelmann, Schech, Vinay, Thebom, Böhme
Original Air Date: 02/02/1957
MOD Audio
SID.20160642
Mitropoulos is not often heard in Wagner, but he is alert to the drama at all times. Unfortunately, there are a number of cuts even in parts of the Todesverkundigung (about 4.5 minutes there by my check). Still, this is a performance worth hearing. Harshaw is a stalwart Brunnhilde, and Edelmann was not yet in terminal Ochs voice. I also like Vinay very much, but he is not to everyone’s taste. One of MY highlights for the week.