Episode 53: 1962-1963

Leonie Rysanek

The 1962-1963 Metropolitan Opera season found Alfred Hubay adding to his responsibilities, not only the role of House Manager,, but it marked the beginning of 38 years of appearances on the Texaco Opera Quiz. Other highlights of the season include a Met premiere and new production of Ariadne auf Naxos with Leonie Rysanek, Jess Thomas and Kerstin Meyer, the last minute change of an opera for the broadcast, the debut of Régine Crespin as the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, the debut of Lorin Maazel conducting Don Giovanni, the debut of Rita Gorr as Amneris in Aida, the house debut of conductor Ernest Ansermet in Pelléas et Mélisande with Anna Moffo and Nicolai Gedda and particular performances of Birgit Nilsson, Giulietta Simionato and Cornell MacNeil (Part 3 of 3).
(Recorded 11 May 2012)

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Episode 54: 1963-1964

Birgit Nilsson

The 1963-1964 season of the Metropolitan Opera was full of highlights and traumas according to Alfred Hubay. Some of those include a new production of Aida by Robert O’Hearn and Nathaniel Merrill with Birgit Nilsson under the baton of Georg Solti, new ticket pricing, a new production of Manon with Anna Moffo and Nicolai Gedda, the death of Fritz Reiner a week before the opening of his Götterdämmerung, a new production and US premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Last Savage with George London, Roberta Peters, Nicolai Gedda and Lili Chookasian directed by the composer and celebrating Shakespeare’s 400th birthday with a new production of Falstaff with Anselmo Colzani, Gabriella Tucci, Luigi Alva, Judith Raskin and Regina Resnik with the debuts of conductor Leonard Bernstein and director/designer Franco zeffirelli (Part 1 of 3).
(Recorded 25 May 2012)

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Episode 55: 1963-1964

Leonie Rysanek

The 1963-1964 season of the Metropolitan Opera was full of highlights and traumas according to Alfred Hubay. Some of those include continuing the Shakespeare celebration with Otello and Macbeth, the tragedy of November 22, the debut of Giuseppe de Luca’s godchild, Nicoletta Panni as Mimi, death threats and crank phone calls protesting against Leonie Rysanek which resulted in standing room tickets not being sold for her Otello broadcast and a revival of Eugene Onegin with William Dooley, Jess Thomas and Leontyne Price (Part 2 of 3).
(Recorded 25 May 2012)

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Episode 56: 1963-1964

Renata Tebaldi

The 1963-1964 season of the Metropolitan Opera was full of highlights and traumas according to Alfred Hubay. Some of those include the calming down of the standee situation, the Milanov claque against Kurt Baum, the return of Renata Tebaldi in La boheme with Sandor Konya, a post-season two week offering for the World’s Fair, Joan Sutherland’s first Met Violetta and the 50th Anniversary Gala for Giovanni Martinelli (Part 3 of 3).
(Recorded 25 May 2012)

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