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. 

Aug
24
Sat
2019
LA GIOCONDA
Aug 24 @ 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM


LA GIOCONDA:Ponchielli
Original Air Date: 03/16/1946
Cooper; Milanov, Tucker, Warren, Stevens, Vaghi
SID.19340638
The Met doesn’t reach back into the 1940s often, but La Gioconda is a good opera to do that. This is from Tucker’s debut broadcast (his house debut is in the same role the previous season). Milanov, Tucker, and Warren really show the type of voices necessary for this work. The MOoD from 1953 substitutes Baum for Tucker, but you pick up Barbieri and Siepi. A major Gioconda omission from rebroadcast is the 1959 the only other Gioconda broadcast with Milanov and Tucker together. It also features Merrill and Siepi which is about as potent a male lineup as can be imagined. Sirius, Met, how about a look at 1959, and the addition of this 1946 performance to MOoD.

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)

Feb
25
Tue
2020
SAMSON ET DALILA
Feb 25 @ 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Saint-Saëns
Cooper; Vinay, Stevens, Merrill
Original Air Date: 11/26/1949

SID.20090213
I like Samson, but not quite as much as Sirius. Some listeners don’t cotton to Vinay, but I find him OK. This is Merrill’s first Met High Priest, and if not Gabriel Bacquier or Martial Singher, he has some major vocal trumps to play. I find Stevens a bit lacking on tonal voluptuousness for the part. Visually of course she had a lot to offer.

Feb
28
Fri
2020
SAMSON ET DALILA
Feb 28 @ 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM

Saint-Saëns
Cooper; Vinay, Stevens, Merrill
Original Air Date: 11/26/1949

SID.20090530
I like Samson, but not quite as much as Sirius. Some listeners don’t cotton to Vinay, but I find him OK. This is Merrill’s first Met High Priest, and if not Gabriel Bacquier or Martial Singher, he has some major vocal trumps to play. I find Stevens a bit lacking on tonal voluptuousness for the part. Visually of course she had a lot to offer.

Mar
1
Sun
2020
SAMSON ET DALILA
Mar 1 @ 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Saint-Saëns
Cooper; Vinay, Stevens, Merrill
Original Air Date: 11/26/1949

SID.20090746
I like Samson, but not quite as much as Sirius. Some listeners don’t cotton to Vinay, but I find him OK. This is Merrill’s first Met High Priest, and if not Gabriel Bacquier or Martial Singher, he has some major vocal trumps to play. I find Stevens a bit lacking on tonal voluptuousness for the part. Visually of course she had a lot to offer.