It had to end, this flood of free live streamed operas, as the Metropolitan Opera bravely returns to live theatre. All good things come to a (probable) end. Thankyou, to the Met; what an amazing privilege we've had, for 70 weeks, a different fine opera every night.
So here are the last free offerings. Dates are Melbourne time. As Melbourne is back in lockdown, I've listed below the last operas of their Puccini week, to fill your suddenly emptied diary. And then the final week of 'viewers' choices'.
Friday, July 16
Starring Hui He, Elizabeth DeShong, Bruce Sledge, and Paulo Szot, conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi. Production by Anthony Minghella. From November 9, 2019.
Anthony Minghella’s production (his only one of an opera) was revived after 10 years, and reviews approved.
Watch it for the music and visual images, Limelight advised. Or 'If you feel in the need a good cry, and who doesn’t now and then' - Huffington Post. Or just for the extraordinary artistry of scene, costume, and - novel then - puppetry.
Saturday, July 17 Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West Starring Barbara Daniels, Plácido Domingo, and Sherrill Milnes, conducted by Leonard Slatkin. Production by Giancarlo Del Monaco. From April 8, 1992.
Somehow the outlaw Dick in this oddly wild west Puccini gem doesn't seem likely to fit Domingo, but he played the part, with and without mustache, in several famous productions.
Here (without mustache), and the production and singing are reputedly splendid. 'Domingo repeated his familiar interpretation of the outlaw-hero, brooding ardently, flirting ardently, suffering ardently, singing ardently. He has few if any rivals in this role.' A great review here, concluding 'Perhaps Del Monaco has given us the ultimate oxymoron: a thinking person’s “Fanciulla del West.”'
Sunday, July 18 Puccini’s La Rondine Starring Angela Gheorghiu, Lisette Oropesa, Roberto Alagna, Marius Brenciu, and Samuel Ramey, conducted by Marco Armiliato. Production by Nicolas Joël. From January 10, 2009.
Monday, July 19 Puccini’s Turandot Starring Nina Stemme, Anita Hartig, Marco Berti, and Alexander Tsymbalyuk, conducted by Paolo Carignani. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From January 30, 2016.
And then - it's the 71st and final week of the Met's free livestreams of their productions, one every day through Covid crises. Our grateful thanks for these operas that lit our lockdowns.
Final Week: Viewers’ Choice
Tuesday, July 20 Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro Starring Renée Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Susanne Mentzer, Dwayne Croft, and Bryn Terfel, conducted by James Levine. Production by Jonathan Miller. From November 11, 1998.
If I'd voted for the Viewers' Choice, it might have been for this one - it's the Marriage of Figaro production I have most enjoyed - and it's for the acting as much as for the splendid singing. Here's the wonderful duet , “Sull’aria”, as those two remarkable women create the letter, setting the plot to trip up the Count. And Bryn Terfel is having a ball and singing it splendidly!!!
Wednesday, July 21 Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci Starring Tatiana Troyanos, Jean Kraft, Plácido Domingo, and Vern Shinall; Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, and Allan Monk, conducted by James Levine. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From April 5, 1978.
Thursday, July 22 Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles Starring Diana Damrau, Matthew Polenzani, Mariusz Kwiecień, and Nicolas Testé, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. Production by Penny Woolcock. From January 16, 2016.
Friday, July 23 Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann Starring Erin Morley, Hibla Gerzmava, Kate Lindsey, Christine Rice, Vittorio Grigolo, and Thomas Hampson, conducted by Yves Abel. Production by Bartlett Sher. From January 31, 2015.
Saturday, July 24 Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment Starring Natalie Dessay, Felicity Palmer, Juan Diego Flórez, and Alessandro Corbelli, conducted by Marco Armiliato. Production by Laurent Pelly. From April 26, 2008.
If I had voted for the funniest production this week, it would have been this one.
Dessay's portrayal of down to earth Marie is hilarious and truly memorable - and Flórez as the gormless local with the flawless 9 high C's has been a staple of favourite clips in our class for a year. (He broke the Met rule about encores!) Here he is at ROH ... Here's the finale.
Sunday, July 25 Verdi’s Il Trovatore Starring Anna Netrebko, Dolora Zajick, Yonghoon Lee, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, conducted by Marco Armiliato. Production by David McVicar. From October 3, 2015.
Monday, July 26 Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Kathleen Kim, Stephanie Blythe, Marcelo Álvarez, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, conducted by Fabio Luisi. Production by David Alden. From December 8, 2012.
Lyn, 16th July, 2021.