Last month some of us, in fact many of us around the world, “attended” the MET’s production of Gotterdammerung, the final opera of their “Ring Cycle” live in HD at local movie houses. The conductor was Fabio Luisi who has taken over at the MET from the incapacitated James Levine. Luisi can be seen and heard on many CDs and DVDs, one example of which is a live performance of Mahler’s First Symphony that is outstanding in every way. The concert took place in the Philharmonie in Gasteig, Munich, with the Staatskapelle Dresden of which he was the music director at the time, in April 2008. From the first few bars of the first movement Luisi emerges as a true Mahlerian. His tempos and pacing are flawless as are the dynamics. It’s a gift to know what to do between the notes and, at least here, Luisi gets it. When he lets the orchestra out in the coda of the fourth movement the effect is spectacular in the grand manner. Earlier, the concert opens with a performance of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No.1 with pianist Margarita Hohenrieder. Her brilliant performance is engaging, witty and animated, proving that one can play Beethoven and smile at the same time. She and Luisi are on exactly the same page (EuroArts DVD 2057718).
Back to the MET …
Some of their productions have been issued on DVD by other companies but recently the MET has begun issuing selected performances from their archives that were broadcast live. The tapes of the selected performances are produced, transferred, restored and re-mastered by the MET themselves. Sony, who publishes them, has issued eight new two-CD sets since our first reviews some months ago and, as before, offer singers and conductors no longer with us.
Risë Stevens, one of the favourites of the day, stars with Richard Tucker and Nadine Connor in Bizet’s Carmen, conducted by Fritz Reiner in the performance of February 16, 1952 (Sony 88697 96189). Reiner was then a staff conductor at the MET but a year later he was appointed music director of the Chicago Symphony, a post that lasted for an illustrious ten years. Risë Stevens and Richard Tucker are featured again in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann with an all star cast including Roberta Peters, Lucine Amara, James McCracken and Martial Singher conducted by Pierre Monteux (88697 96190). This production was broadcast live on December 3, 1955, and the sound, as it is in all these sets, is clean and clear monaural, complete with some sounds of stage business that contributes, for me at least, to the illusion. In this case, however, the home listener of the time would not have heard the fidelity we have here. Hoffmann is one of my favourite operas and I listen to it regularly. This production does in no way disappoint.
Risë Stevens is joined by James Melton, Mimi Benzell and Ezio Pinza for Thomas’ Mignon from January 27, 1945 (88697 96192). Canadian Wilfrid Pelletier is the conductor and Pinza, who would retire from the Met in 1948 after 22 years, was still four years away from playing Emil de Beque. Handsome James Melton was a popular tenor in the 20s and 30s until the popularity of ballad singers and the romantic repertoire declined. He sang at the MET in suitable roles for just a few years only and here is a rare chance to hear him.
Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment was once the property of Lily Pons and here she is on December 28, 1940 assisted by Raoul Jobin, Salvatore Baccaloni and others conducted by Gennero Papi (88697 96191). It is the great bass Baccaloni as Suplice who dominates every time he opens his mouth and Lily Pons and the rest of the cast are swamped. Still, she has her moments and the whole production is good fun. Very good sound, too.
Moving into the 1960s, the usual suspects included Carlo Bergonzi, Leontyne Price, Cornell MacNeil, Carlotta Ordassy, Giorgio Tozzi, Roald Reitin and Robert Nagy and here they are in Verdi’s Ernani from December 1, 1962 under Thomas Schippers (88691 90996). The opera is basically about ill-fated lovers … the same old story of girl meets bandido, conspirators, revenge, the Holy Roman Empire and 16th century Spanish politicking. A good plot for an opera which this cast makes believable. A new production was seen in HD in movie theatres on February 25 with an encore presentation for those who missed it, or wish to see it again, coming up on March 31.
From March 5, 1966, we have Roberta Peters, Carlo Bergonzi, Frank Guarrera and Fernando Corena in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore conducted by Thomas Schippers (88691 90991). Love makers again, this time between a “poor villager and the beautiful, alluring landowner; the pair exude charm and vivacity...” It’s an amusing story with many comic situations that the cast have a great time conveying to the audience.
Thomas Schippers also conducts Verdi’s Luisa Miller from February 17, 1968, featuring Sherrill Milnes, Montserrat Caballé, Richard Tucker, Ezio Flagello and Giorgio Tozzi … a dream cast if there ever was one (88691 90994). This opera is a fine example of love – both requited and unrequited – deception and betrayal, with a tragic last scene. In other words, melodrama at its best. The artistry of the entire ensemble draws the listener in and holds on until the final curtain.
Finally, the double bill of “Cav & Pag,” Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci broadcast on April 14, 1954 (88691 90999). “Cav” features Richard Tucker, Eileen Farrell, Lili Chookasian, Cesare Bardelli and Mildred Miller. “Pag” stars Anselmo Colzani, Franco Corelli, Franco Ghitti, Lucine Amara and Calvin Marsh. Nello Santi conducts. The evening could not have been in better hands. Each singer brings his or her character to life, reacting seamlessly to the various situations. These really are marvelous performances.
Concert Notes: You can hear an abridged version of La Fille du Régiment at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music’s annual Opera Tea at MacMillan Theatre on April 1. The Canadian Opera Company presents The Tales of Hoffmann in performances at the Four Seasons Centre April 10 to May 14.