When Renata Tebaldi sang Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello at London’s Covent Garden in 1950, it was her first operatic performance outside Italy. It was also the role in which she made her last appearance on the opera stage, at the Metropolitan Opera New York in 1973. Between these two performances she made close to a hundred stage appearances as Desdemona, not to mention two studio recordings with Alberto Erede and Herbert von Karajan. It was Arturo Toscanini who coined for her the moniker “voce d’angelo” (voice of an angel). She made her highly acclaimed debut as Desdemona at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955 and from that moment on made New York the focus of her life.
In this live 1973 performance from Japan, Scotto is parthnered by one of the great tenors of our time, José Carreras, then at the start of his international career. The distinguished baritone Sesto Bruscantini is a formidable Germont who sings an exceptionally moving rendition of the famous aria "Di Provenza il mar".
Jon Vickers one of the great Othellos of the 20th century brings his remarkable vocal power and dramatic intensity to the role, with Renata Scotto as Desdemona at the height of her powers and Cornell MacNeil's manacing Iago in one of the baritone's greatest roles. James Levine conducts the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus in one of the most thrilling performances of the decade.
The Met's first production in more than 60 years is "treated with a keen appreciation for the special requirements of verismo and a practically vanished performing tradition. Scotto has found her ideal role…a great performance… Domingo sang glamorously… Levine's affectionate concern for the music told in every measure… The massive sets by Ezio Frigerio serve the work exquisitely … Piero Faggioni’s graceful direction strikes a perfect balance” (New York Magazine)
“Levine's version of Luisa Miller consistently demonstrates his Verdian mastery, and not just in the best-known masterpieces…Not only in Levine's conducting but also in the sets and costumes of Nathanial Merrill's production the attractive rustic element of the piece is effectively brought out.” (Penguin Guide)
This was the very first “Live from the Met” telecast, and its availability on DVD will no doubt give rise to intense nostalgia, as it did for me. (How young everyone looked!) There’s an authentic sense of occasion to this performance. It’s one thing to play to a packed house, another to play to a nationwide television audience, and with so many eyes upon them, everyone involved in this Bohème rose to the occasion. It’s by no means a perfect evening—what performance ever is?—but it’s a treasurable one for anyone who cares about this opera, the Met, or the principal singers.
All the throbbing eroticism—and ultimate heartbreak—of Puccini’s youthful score is unleashed by James Levine and his top-flight cast. Plácido Domingo is Des Grieux, the handsome, headstrong young aristocrat who falls head over heels for the enticing, impetuous Manon Lescaut (Renata Scotto). Manon returns his love, but her obsession with luxury ruins them both. Gian Carlo Menotti’s opulent production, with sets and costumes by Desmond Heeley, superbly captures the colorful world of 18th century France.
James Levine presides brilliantly over the vast musical forces required for Verdi's epic portrait of the Spain of Phillip II, a world in which an individual's choices change the course of nations. Originally telecast in 1980, this famous production frames a superb union of symphonic grandeur and extraordinary vocal artistry within a beautiful setting that captured all the magnificence - and all the terror - of a tumultuous epoch.