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.
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE:Gounod
Original Air Date: 12/06/1986
Domingo; Kraus, Gasdia, Plishka, Harris, Schexnayder
MOD Audio SID.19370104
This broadcast documents Gasdia’s only season at the Met. The run, Kraus’ only times in Romeo at the Met, also featured six performances with Soviero, whom I would have preferred in the broadcast.
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE:Gounod
Original Air Date: 12/06/1986
Domingo; Kraus, Gasdia, Plishka, Harris, Schexnayder
MOD Audio SID.19370320
This broadcast documents Gasdia’s only season at the Met. The run, Kraus’ only times in Romeo at the Met, also featured six performances with Soviero, whom I would have preferred in the broadcast.
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE:Gounod
Original Air Date: 12/06/1986
Domingo; Kraus, Gasdia, Plishka, Harris, Schexnayder
MOD Audio SID.19370530
This broadcast documents Gasdia’s only season at the Met. The run, Kraus’ only times in Romeo at the Met, also featured six performances with Soviero, whom I would have preferred in the broadcast.
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE:Gounod
Original Air Date: 12/06/1986
Domingo; Kraus, Gasdia, Plishka, Harris, Schexnayder
MOD Audio SID.19370749
This broadcast documents Gasdia’s only season at the Met. The run, Kraus’ only times in Romeo at the Met, also featured six performances with Soviero, whom I would have preferred in the broadcast.
TANNHÄUSER:Wagner
Levine; Cassilly, Norman, Randová, Hagegård, Rootering
Original Air Date: 01/24/1987
MOD Audio
SID.19400213
Levine has three broadcasts after these in October 2015 (8,19,27) with Westbroek, DeYoung, Botha, Mattei, Groissbock RWW: Amazingly, this is Levine’s last broadcast Tannhauser. A run of performances 10 years later with Sharon Sweet, Jon Frederic West, and Bryn Terfel was prior to the broadcast season are his final Met appearances in the opera Tannhauser remains one of Levine’s highest totals at 62, but none since 1997, and none broadcast since this 1987, but it’s one of his best efforts and Norman presents a beautiful, if unconventional Elisabeth, and the orchestra and chorus are on top form. This performance is in MOoD and highly recommended on Sirius this week as well. The Paris/Vienna revisions make Tannhauser a bit more exciting in the theatre. This performance is available on Met on Demand. Levine does have a wonderful run in 1997 with Jon Frederic West , Terfel and Sweet , but that run was not on the matinee broadcasts. Levine’s strong conducting, and Jessye Norman’s Elisabeth (not commercially recorded) are the most distinctive features.
TANNHÄUSER:Wagner
Levine; Cassilly, Norman, Randová, Hagegård, Rootering
Original Air Date: 01/24/1987
MOD Audio
SID.19400531
Levine has three broadcasts after these in October 2015 (8,19,27) with Westbroek, DeYoung, Botha, Mattei, Groissbock RWW: Amazingly, this is Levine’s last broadcast Tannhauser. A run of performances 10 years later with Sharon Sweet, Jon Frederic West, and Bryn Terfel was prior to the broadcast season are his final Met appearances in the opera Tannhauser remains one of Levine’s highest totals at 62, but none since 1997, and none broadcast since this 1987, but it’s one of his best efforts and Norman presents a beautiful, if unconventional Elisabeth, and the orchestra and chorus are on top form. This performance is in MOoD and highly recommended on Sirius this week as well. The Paris/Vienna revisions make Tannhauser a bit more exciting in the theatre. This performance is available on Met on Demand. Levine does have a wonderful run in 1997 with Jon Frederic West , Terfel and Sweet , but that run was not on the matinee broadcasts. Levine’s strong conducting, and Jessye Norman’s Elisabeth (not commercially recorded) are the most distinctive features.
TANNHÄUSER:Wagner
Levine; Cassilly, Norman, Randová, Hagegård, Rootering
Original Air Date: 01/24/1987
MOD Audio
SID.19400642
Levine has three broadcasts after these in October 2015 (8,19,27) with Westbroek, DeYoung, Botha, Mattei, Groissbock RWW: Amazingly, this is Levine’s last broadcast Tannhauser. A run of performances 10 years later with Sharon Sweet, Jon Frederic West, and Bryn Terfel was prior to the broadcast season are his final Met appearances in the opera Tannhauser remains one of Levine’s highest totals at 62, but none since 1997, and none broadcast since this 1987, but it’s one of his best efforts and Norman presents a beautiful, if unconventional Elisabeth, and the orchestra and chorus are on top form. This performance is in MOoD and highly recommended on Sirius this week as well. The Paris/Vienna revisions make Tannhauser a bit more exciting in the theatre. This performance is available on Met on Demand. Levine does have a wonderful run in 1997 with Jon Frederic West , Terfel and Sweet , but that run was not on the matinee broadcasts. Levine’s strong conducting, and Jessye Norman’s Elisabeth (not commercially recorded) are the most distinctive features.
LA CLEMENZA DI TITO:Mozart
Levine; Rendall, Troyanos, Alexander, Montague, Hong
Original Air Date: 02/14/1987
SID.19470320
Unlike Idomeneo, Levine has totally dominated this opera at the Met, conducting 35 of the 45 performances. This is his second broadcast, and the vocal standout is once again Troyanos. MOoD features Levine’s first in 1985, and his last broadcast in 2005.
LA CLEMENZA DI TITO:Mozart
Levine; Rendall, Troyanos, Alexander, Montague, Hong
Original Air Date: 02/14/1987
SID.19470531
Unlike Idomeneo, Levine has totally dominated this opera at the Met, conducting 35 of the 45 performances. This is his second broadcast, and the vocal standout is once again Troyanos. MOoD features Levine’s first in 1985, and his last broadcast in 2005.
LA CLEMENZA DI TITO:Mozart
Levine; Rendall, Troyanos, Alexander, Montague, Hong
Original Air Date: 02/14/1987
SID.19470746
Unlike Idomeneo, Levine has totally dominated this opera at the Met, conducting 35 of the 45 performances. This is his second broadcast, and the vocal standout is once again Troyanos. MOoD features Levine’s first in 1985, and his last broadcast in 2005.
Puccini
Rudel; Mitchell, Mauro, Schexnayder, Tajo
Original Air Date: 01/31/1987
SID.19510209
Mitchell is quite a good Manon, and Mauro is acceptable. I’ve heard this performance several times on Sirius, and it is a decent repertory performance. 10/17/11-Manon Lescaut is at the top of my Puccini list, and it is nice to hear Mitchell’s lush voice in the music, while still showing off attractive high notes. Mauro is less to my taste, but this performance is not overly rotated. I’ll catch again during the week.
Puccini
Rudel; Mitchell, Mauro, Schexnayder, Tajo
Original Air Date: 01/31/1987
SID.19510425
Mitchell is quite a good Manon, and Mauro is acceptable. I’ve heard this performance several times on Sirius, and it is a decent repertory performance. 10/17/11-Manon Lescaut is at the top of my Puccini list, and it is nice to hear Mitchell’s lush voice in the music, while still showing off attractive high notes. Mauro is less to my taste, but this performance is not overly rotated. I’ll catch again during the week.
Puccini
Rudel; Mitchell, Mauro, Schexnayder, Tajo
Original Air Date: 01/31/1987
SID.19510641
Mitchell is quite a good Manon, and Mauro is acceptable. I’ve heard this performance several times on Sirius, and it is a decent repertory performance. 10/17/11-Manon Lescaut is at the top of my Puccini list, and it is nice to hear Mitchell’s lush voice in the music, while still showing off attractive high notes. Mauro is less to my taste, but this performance is not overly rotated. I’ll catch again during the week.
I PURITANI:Bellini
Bonynge; Sutherland, Blake, Milnes, Ramey
Original Air Date: 12/13/1986
SID.20060212
This is Sutherland in her penultimate Met season and still singing this music at 60, and in many passages even better than she sang them 10 years earlier at 50. She also leaves us with the legendary New York and Philadelphia concert performances with a resplendent Nicolai Gedda. Blake is not Pavarotti, but Milnes and Ramey have a lot to offer in the other roles.
I PURITANI:Bellini
Bonynge; Sutherland, Blake, Milnes, Ramey
Original Air Date: 12/13/1986
SID.20060529
This is Sutherland in her penultimate Met season and still singing this music at 60, and in many passages even better than she sang them 10 years earlier at 50. She also leaves us with the legendary New York and Philadelphia concert performances with a resplendent Nicolai Gedda. Blake is not Pavarotti, but Milnes and Ramey have a lot to offer in the other roles.
I PURITANI:Bellini
Bonynge; Sutherland, Blake, Milnes, Ramey
Original Air Date: 12/13/1986
SID.20060638
This is Sutherland in her penultimate Met season and still singing this music at 60, and in many passages even better than she sang them 10 years earlier at 50. She also leaves us with the legendary New York and Philadelphia concert performances with a resplendent Nicolai Gedda. Blake is not Pavarotti, but Milnes and Ramey have a lot to offer in the other roles.
MANON:Massenet
Rosenthal; Malfitano, Gulyás, Holloway
Original Air Date: 02/28/1987
SID.20100212
This was the first Met broadcast of Massenet’s Manon in almost a quarter century, and despite the authentic touches of Rosenthal and Senechal, the Ponnelle production and some casting was a dud. Gulyas who was a cover tenor when not performing in Khovanshchina had been called into duty when Neil Shicoff was suffering from pharyngitis. Several other tenors were pressed into debuts after the broadcast including Jerry Hadley and Gregory Kunde. Can we get the 1959 Manon with De Los Angeles and Gedda which has never been heard on Sirius.
MANON:Massenet
Rosenthal; Malfitano, Gulyás, Holloway
Original Air Date: 02/28/1987
SID.20100424
This was the first Met broadcast of Massenet’s Manon in almost a quarter century, and despite the authentic touches of Rosenthal and Senechal, the Ponnelle production and some casting was a dud. Gulyas who was a cover tenor when not performing in Khovanshchina had been called into duty when Neil Shicoff was suffering from pharyngitis. Several other tenors were pressed into debuts after the broadcast including Jerry Hadley and Gregory Kunde. Can we get the 1959 Manon with De Los Angeles and Gedda which has never been heard on Sirius.
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO:Mozart
Levine; Van Dam, Battle, Söderström, Hynninen, von Stade
Original Air Date: 02/07/1987
SID.20110104
This is the second year of the Ponnelle production, and plenty of interesting casting with Battle and von Stade the only holdovers. This is Montarsolo’s farewell, the real star is Levine welding the whole ensemble together.
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO:Mozart
Levine; Van Dam, Battle, Söderström, Hynninen, von Stade
Original Air Date: 02/07/1987
SID.20110320
This is the second year of the Ponnelle production, and plenty of interesting casting with Battle and von Stade the only holdovers. This is Montarsolo’s farewell, the real star is Levine welding the whole ensemble together.
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO:Mozart
Levine; Van Dam, Battle, Söderström, Hynninen, von Stade
Original Air Date: 02/07/1987
SID.20110530
This is the second year of the Ponnelle production, and plenty of interesting casting with Battle and von Stade the only holdovers. This is Montarsolo’s farewell, the real star is Levine welding the whole ensemble together.
SAMSON ET DALILA:Saint-Saëns
Fournet; Vickers, Horne, Quilico
Original Air Date: 04/18/1987
MOD Audio
SID.20140213
This is Vickers’ farewell to the Met (not announced in advance). For many of us, he is a legendary singer who spans the beginning of our operatic journey, and 26 years later still shines very brightly indeed. In almost every assumption he not only gave his individual commitment (he was Giasone to Callas in my first opera in 1958 in Dallas) but simply encompassed roles as few ever do and was always in the top rank and usually best ever seen in the roles. Samson is certainly one of those roles, and if the opera has been a bit overdone on Sirius, I am never finished with my enjoyment of Vickers. Horne is a singer I admire on many fronts– her support of young artists, the advocacy for vocal recitals, and certainly outstanding Rossinian efforts. But I’m not much of Rossini guy, and I find many of her ventures beyond not to my taste, Verdi (even as Quickly) really doesn’t work and Dalila doesn’t compare with my first (Rita Gorr in the premiere of the O’Hearn Merrill production in 1964) or some of my best more recent ones– Borodina’s voice was made for those languorous lines. This is Vickers’ only broadcast of Samson et Dalila, and sometime min the last 3 years has been added to MOoD as a testament to his work and whom we lost July 13, 2015 after a long illness.
SAMSON ET DALILA:Saint-Saëns
Fournet; Vickers, Horne, Quilico
Original Air Date: 04/18/1987
MOD Audio
SID.20140532
This is Vickers’ farewell to the Met (not announced in advance). For many of us, he is a legendary singer who spans the beginning of our operatic journey, and 26 years later still shines very brightly indeed. In almost every assumption he not only gave his individual commitment (he was Giasone to Callas in my first opera in 1958 in Dallas) but simply encompassed roles as few ever do and was always in the top rank and usually best ever seen in the roles. Samson is certainly one of those roles, and if the opera has been a bit overdone on Sirius, I am never finished with my enjoyment of Vickers. Horne is a singer I admire on many fronts– her support of young artists, the advocacy for vocal recitals, and certainly outstanding Rossinian efforts. But I’m not much of Rossini guy, and I find many of her ventures beyond not to my taste, Verdi (even as Quickly) really doesn’t work and Dalila doesn’t compare with my first (Rita Gorr in the premiere of the O’Hearn Merrill production in 1964) or some of my best more recent ones– Borodina’s voice was made for those languorous lines. This is Vickers’ only broadcast of Samson et Dalila, and sometime min the last 3 years has been added to MOoD as a testament to his work and whom we lost July 13, 2015 after a long illness.
SAMSON ET DALILA:Saint-Saëns
Fournet; Vickers, Horne, Quilico
Original Air Date: 04/18/1987
MOD Audio
SID.20140750
This is Vickers’ farewell to the Met (not announced in advance). For many of us, he is a legendary singer who spans the beginning of our operatic journey, and 26 years later still shines very brightly indeed. In almost every assumption he not only gave his individual commitment (he was Giasone to Callas in my first opera in 1958 in Dallas) but simply encompassed roles as few ever do and was always in the top rank and usually best ever seen in the roles. Samson is certainly one of those roles, and if the opera has been a bit overdone on Sirius, I am never finished with my enjoyment of Vickers. Horne is a singer I admire on many fronts– her support of young artists, the advocacy for vocal recitals, and certainly outstanding Rossinian efforts. But I’m not much of Rossini guy, and I find many of her ventures beyond not to my taste, Verdi (even as Quickly) really doesn’t work and Dalila doesn’t compare with my first (Rita Gorr in the premiere of the O’Hearn Merrill production in 1964) or some of my best more recent ones– Borodina’s voice was made for those languorous lines. This is Vickers’ only broadcast of Samson et Dalila, and sometime min the last 3 years has been added to MOoD as a testament to his work and whom we lost July 13, 2015 after a long illness.