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.
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA:Rossini
Original Air Date: 03/09/1963
Strasfogel; Guarrera, D’Angelo, Shirley, Corena, Tozzi
SID.19340533
The only known I will vouch for in advance is Corena, one of his very best roles. Tozzi becomes more variable in this period, so I don’t want to praise a performance I have not recently heard. This performance could be anything from a train wreck to a secret gem. What I am sure about is that it is not the Zedda critical edition (not yet published).
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE:Mozart
Original Air Date: 03/04/1967
Krips; Raskin, Shirley, Uppman, Peters, Macurdy
MOD Audio SID.19390315
First year in the new house, the Chagall production premiered with the Europeans (Lorengar, Popp, Gedda, Prey) plus Hines, but the Americans in the cast above got the broadcast. I liked Krips conducting very much. Popp did broadcast her Queen 3 years later, but this performance has not been on Sirius. Skrowacewski is the conductor, Zylis-Gara is the Pamina, but Popp, Gedda, Prey are all picked up from the premiere cast, and it’s the only German broadcasts of their roles. Sirius should definitely fill in this gap. In 1967 Macurdy was actually fresher of voice than Hines, but mostly this cast was definitely second class.
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE:Mozart
Original Air Date: 03/04/1967
Krips; Raskin, Shirley, Uppman, Peters, Macurdy
MOD Audio SID.19390531
First year in the new house, the Chagall production premiered with the Europeans (Lorengar, Popp, Gedda, Prey) plus Hines, but the Americans in the cast above got the broadcast. I liked Krips conducting very much. Popp did broadcast her Queen 3 years later, but this performance has not been on Sirius. Skrowacewski is the conductor, Zylis-Gara is the Pamina, but Popp, Gedda, Prey are all picked up from the premiere cast, and it’s the only German broadcasts of their roles. Sirius should definitely fill in this gap. In 1967 Macurdy was actually fresher of voice than Hines, but mostly this cast was definitely second class.
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE:Mozart
Krips; Raskin, Shirley, Uppman, Peters, Macurdy
Original Air Date: 03/04/1967
MOD Audio
SID.19400101
First year in the new house, the Chagall production premiered with the Europeans (Lorengar, Popp, Gedda, Prey) plus Hines, but the Americans in the cast above got the broadcast. I liked Krips conducting very much. Popp did broadcast her Queen 3 years later, but this performance has not been on Sirius. Skrowacewski is the conductor, Zylis-Gara is the Pamina, but Popp, Gedda, Prey are all picked up from the premiere cast, and it’s the only German broadcasts of their roles. Sirius should definitely fill in this gap. In 1967 Macurdy was actually fresher of voice than Hines, but mostly this cast was definitely second class.
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.
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA:Rossini
Varviso; Herlea, Grist, Shirley, Corena, Siepi
Original Air Date: 03/19/1966
MOD Audio
SID.20120208
This is Reri Grist’s debut year, and the broadcast comes three weeks later. Herlea had some success debuting in Don Carlo two years earlier. One does not get better than Corena and Siepi in these roles. As Barbieres go, this one is not bad. Corena and Siepi are absolute masters in these roles, and the rest of the cast is good to very good– Grist has made her debut a few weeks before this broadcast. Varviso has an excellent studio Barbiere with Berganza, but this is a fine cast, which in the case of Corena and Siepi is not surpassed. Herlea is not as impressive here as in his Rodrigo (Don Carlo) but still a decent Figaro. I prefer a mezzo Rosina, but Grist is a fine singer and under-represented.
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA:Rossini
Varviso; Herlea, Grist, Shirley, Corena, Siepi
Original Air Date: 03/19/1966
MOD Audio
SID.20120424
This is Reri Grist’s debut year, and the broadcast comes three weeks later. Herlea had some success debuting in Don Carlo two years earlier. One does not get better than Corena and Siepi in these roles. As Barbieres go, this one is not bad. Corena and Siepi are absolute masters in these roles, and the rest of the cast is good to very good– Grist has made her debut a few weeks before this broadcast. Varviso has an excellent studio Barbiere with Berganza, but this is a fine cast, which in the case of Corena and Siepi is not surpassed. Herlea is not as impressive here as in his Rodrigo (Don Carlo) but still a decent Figaro. I prefer a mezzo Rosina, but Grist is a fine singer and under-represented.
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA:Rossini
Varviso; Herlea, Grist, Shirley, Corena, Siepi
Original Air Date: 03/19/1966
MOD Audio
SID.20120535
This is Reri Grist’s debut year, and the broadcast comes three weeks later. Herlea had some success debuting in Don Carlo two years earlier. One does not get better than Corena and Siepi in these roles. As Barbieres go, this one is not bad. Corena and Siepi are absolute masters in these roles, and the rest of the cast is good to very good– Grist has made her debut a few weeks before this broadcast. Varviso has an excellent studio Barbiere with Berganza, but this is a fine cast, which in the case of Corena and Siepi is not surpassed. Herlea is not as impressive here as in his Rodrigo (Don Carlo) but still a decent Figaro. I prefer a mezzo Rosina, but Grist is a fine singer and under-represented.
SALOME:Strauss
Böhm; Nilsson, Liebl, Dalis, Cassel, Shirley
Original Air Date: 03/13/1965
MOD Audio
SID.20160214
This is an absolute MUST. Mercifully it’s on Met Player (at least for North America). Bohm and Nilsson are ablaze. I saw two performance this first season of the Rennert/Heinrich production and as much as I loved the Solti recording, and later Nilsson with Solti and CSO at Carnegie Hall, Bohm and Nilsson burned ever so brightly, and the conductor threw in a concert Don Juan before the Salome to warm the orchestra up. I added Ernst Wiemann who as First Nazarene makes his presence known, and he was part of excellent Met singers in secondary parts. The supporting cast is very strongly cast (the five Jews and the Nazarenes Ernst Wiemann and the recently deceased Calvin Marsh are very distinctive. One of the great performances captured, with Nilsson in her only broadcast Met Salome, and it’s a humdinger. Liebl and Dalis both in the new Rennert production and their vivid singing contribute strongly, but in the end it’s a Birgit and Karl show.
SALOME:Strauss
Böhm; Nilsson, Liebl, Dalis, Cassel, Shirley
Original Air Date: 03/13/1965
MOD Audio
SID.20160425
This is an absolute MUST. Mercifully it’s on Met Player (at least for North America). Bohm and Nilsson are ablaze. I saw two performance this first season of the Rennert/Heinrich production and as much as I loved the Solti recording, and later Nilsson with Solti and CSO at Carnegie Hall, Bohm and Nilsson burned ever so brightly, and the conductor threw in a concert Don Juan before the Salome to warm the orchestra up. I added Ernst Wiemann who as First Nazarene makes his presence known, and he was part of excellent Met singers in secondary parts. The supporting cast is very strongly cast (the five Jews and the Nazarenes Ernst Wiemann and the recently deceased Calvin Marsh are very distinctive. One of the great performances captured, with Nilsson in her only broadcast Met Salome, and it’s a humdinger. Liebl and Dalis both in the new Rennert production and their vivid singing contribute strongly, but in the end it’s a Birgit and Karl show.
SALOME:Strauss
Böhm; Nilsson, Liebl, Dalis, Cassel, Shirley
Original Air Date: 03/13/1965
MOD Audio
SID.20160756
This is an absolute MUST. Mercifully it’s on Met Player (at least for North America). Bohm and Nilsson are ablaze. I saw two performance this first season of the Rennert/Heinrich production and as much as I loved the Solti recording, and later Nilsson with Solti and CSO at Carnegie Hall, Bohm and Nilsson burned ever so brightly, and the conductor threw in a concert Don Juan before the Salome to warm the orchestra up. I added Ernst Wiemann who as First Nazarene makes his presence known, and he was part of excellent Met singers in secondary parts. The supporting cast is very strongly cast (the five Jews and the Nazarenes Ernst Wiemann and the recently deceased Calvin Marsh are very distinctive. One of the great performances captured, with Nilsson in her only broadcast Met Salome, and it’s a humdinger. Liebl and Dalis both in the new Rennert production and their vivid singing contribute strongly, but in the end it’s a Birgit and Karl show.