Andrea Velis Made Beppe Role Debut at Met Opera in Zeffirelli’s Cav Pag

Summary: Andrea Velis made his Beppe role debut at Met Opera in Zeffirelli’s Cav Pag, the Italian designer, director and producer’s third Met Opera staging.

Franco Zeffirelli designed costumes and sets for his new productions of Cav Pag (Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci), which debuted during Met Opera’s 1969-1970 season: Fondazione Franco Zeffirelli Onlus @fondazionefrancozeffirelli, via Facebook Jan. 8, 2019

Andrea Velis made his Beppe role debut at Met Opera in Zeffirelli’s Cav Pag, the Italian designer, director and producer’s third production at the opera house.

American operatic tenor Andrea Velis (June 7, 1932-Oct. 4, 1994) appeared as Beppe, a troupe actor, in the 1969-1970 Met Opera season’s new production of Pagliacci by Italian opera composer and librettist Ruggero Leoncavallo (April 23, 1857-Aug. 9, 1919). The tragic opera about cuckolded clown Canio was staged as the second opera in a double-header with Cavalleria Rusticana by Italian opera composer Pietro Mascagni (Dec. 7, 1863-Aug. 2, 1945). Italian designer, director and producer Franco Zeffirelli (Feb. 12, 1923-June 15, 2019) directed and designed costumes and sets for the double-header, popularly known as Cav Pag.

Zeffirelli debuted Cav Pag on Jan. 8, 1970. Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci each received 19 performances in the 1969-1970 season.

Andrea Velis sang Beppe in all 19 performances in the debut season. He also appeared as Beppe in the season’s concert-in-the-park performance on July 18.

Andrea Velis returned for three of the Metropolitan Opera’s 16 revivals of Zeffirelli’s Cav Pag productions. Cav Pag’s first revival took place in the next season, 1970-1971. Andrea Velis sang Beppe in the first two of the revival’s eight performances of Pagliacci.

Pagliacci’s second revival immediately succeeded the first revival. In the 1971-1972 season, Velis appeared in five of the second revival’s 14 performances.

No revival was offered in the 1972-1972 season. Velis did not appear in the third or fourth revivals, which were staged successively in seasons 1973-1974 and 1974-1975.

No Cav Pag revivals were offered in the 1975-1976 and 1976-1977 seasons.

Cav Pag’s fifth revival took place in the 1977-1978 season. Velis reprised Beppe for eight of the fifth revival’s 20 performances of Pagliacci.

Velis sang his last Beppe at the Metropolitan Opera on May 2, 1978. His last appearance as Beppe took place in the Civic Center in Atlanta, Georgia, during the opera company’s 1977-1978 tour. His last appearance as Beppe numbered as his 35th performance in the role at the Metropolitan Opera.

Velis’ role debut as Beppe marked his third role debut in a Met Opera production designed and directed by Franco Zeffirelli. His first two role debuts in the opera house’s Zeffirelli productions had been as Bardolfo and Mardian.

Velis sang Bardolfo in Zeffirelli’s new staging of Falstaff by 19th-century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901). Zeffirelli’s staging of Verdi’s third Shakespearean opera debuted March 6, 1964, during the 1963-1964 Met Opera season, as the Italian designer, director and producer’s first Met Opera production. Velis appeared as Falstaff’s friend in all 15 of the season’s performances.

By the time of his appearance as Beppe in the 1969-1970 season’s debut of Zeffirelli’s third Met Opera production, Andrea Velis had already appeared in all performances of the opera house’s three revivals of Falstaff. The first three revivals were staged in seasons 1964-1965, 1965-1966 and 1967-1968.

During the 1971-1972 season, Velis continued as Bardolfo for all nine performances of Falstaff’s fourth revival while also singing Beppe in five of the 14 performances of Pagliacci’s second revival. In the 1974-1975 season, Velis did not sing Beppe in Pagliacci’s fourth revival but did sing Bardolfo in all 13 performances of Falstaff’s fifth revival. His last appearance as Bardolfo occurred June 27, 1975, the fifth revival’s closing night.

Velis claimed his second role debut in a Zeffirelli production during the 1966-1967 season. He appeared as Mardian, Cleopatra’s chief eunuch, in all eight performances of the world premiere of Antony and Cleopatra by American 20-century composer Samuel Barber (March 9, 1910-Jan. 23, 1981). Zeffirelli’s production of Barber’s Met Opera-commissioned Shakespearean opera opened Sept. 16, 1966, as the inaugural opera at the Metropolitan Opera’s new location in Manhattan’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Velis had made his Met Opera debut Oct. 23, 1961, as Joe in the opera company’s 41st performance of La Fanciulla del West by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924). His last performance at the Metropolitan Opera took place Feb. 24, 1994, as Don Curzio in the opera company’s 346th performance of Le Nozze di Figaro by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791). His career at Met Opera had spanned 32 years 4 months.

The takeaway for Andrea Velis’ Beppe role debut at Met Opera in Zeffirelli’s Cav Pag is that the American operatic tenor’s appearance in the Italian designer, director and producer’s third new production at the Metropolitan Opera numbered as his third role debut in a Zeffirelli production at the opera house.

(below) Andrea Velis, as Beppo/Arlecchino, watches as Franco Zeffirelli demonstrates proper stabbing technique on Teresa Stratas, as Nedda/Colombina); (above right) Franco Zeffirelli with Cavalleria Rusticana singers Franco Corelli, Grace Bumbry, Frank Guarrera and conductor Leonard Bernstein: Sherrill Milnes @SherrillMilnes, via Facebook June 24, 2019

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Franco Zeffirelli designed costumes and sets for his new productions of Cav Pag (Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci), which debuted during Met Opera’s 1969-1970 season: Fondazione Franco Zeffirelli Onlus @fondazionefrancozeffirelli, via Facebook Jan. 8, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/fondazionefrancozeffirelli/posts/788432971492183

(below) Andrea Velis, as Beppo/Arlecchino, watches as Franco Zeffirelli demonstrates proper stabbing technique on Teresa Stratas, as Nedda/Colombina); (above right) Franco Zeffirelli with Cavalleria Rusticana singers Franco Corelli, Grace Bumbry, Frank Guarrera and conductor Leonard Bernstein: Sherrill Milnes @SherrillMilnes, via Facebook June 24, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/SherrillMilnes/posts/2244764739106315

For further information:

“Andrea Velis: Last Performance.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 315490 Le Nozze di Figaro {346} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/24/1994.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=315490

“Debuts: Andrea Velis, Henry Butler, Gerald L. Ritholz.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 189000 New production La Fanciulla del West {41} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/23/1961.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=189000

“Debuts: Luigi Alva, Leonard Bernstein, Franco Zeffirelli.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 197440 New Production Falstaff {67} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/6/1964.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=197440

Fondazione Franco Zeffirelli Onlus @fondazionefrancozeffirelli. “All’alba del 1970, l’8 gennaio di 49 anni fa, Franco Zeffirelli va in scena a New York con ‘Pagliacci' di Leoncavallo in occasione dell’inaugurazione del Metropolitan Opera House. Il grande successo dell’Opera segna per il Maestro una svolta decisiva per la sua vita professionale e privata: 'Avevo percepito, con la prima di Cavalleria e Pagliacci al Met, che gli anni Settanta avrebbero portato con loro una completa ripresa della mia buona sorte . . .’ FZ.” Facebook. Jan. 8, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/fondazionefrancozeffirelli/posts/788432971492183

Marriner, Derdriu. "Antony and Cleopatra Was Franco Zeffirelli’s Second Met Opera Production." Earth and Space News. Monday, June 15, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/06/antony-and-cleopatra-was-franco.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Cav Pag Was Franco Zeffirelli’s Third Met Opera Production.” Earth and Space News. Monday, June 22, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/06/cav-pag-was-franco-zeffirellis-third.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Cav Pag Is Jan. 13, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Jan. 8, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/cavpag-is-jan-13-2018-met-opera.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Franco Zeffirelli Made His Met Opera Debut in Staging Verdi’s Falstaff." Earth and Space News. Monday, June 1, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/06/franco-zeffirelli-made-his-met-opera.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Grace Bumbry Made Santuzza Role Debut at Met Opera in Zeffirelli’s Cav Pag." Earth and Space News. Monday, June 29, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/06/grace-bumbry-made-santuzza-role-debut.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Luigi Alva Made Met Opera Debut in Zeffirelli’s Falstaff Production." Earth and Space News. Monday, June 8, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/06/luigi-alva-made-met-opera-debut-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Only Two of 11 Zeffirelli Productions Are Still Revived at Met Opera." Earth and Space News. Monday, May 25, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/05/only-two-of-11-zeffirelli-productions.html

“New Productions: Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: New Productions Cavalleria Rusticana {441} Pagliacci {481} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/8/1970.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=220100

Sherrill Milnes @SherrillMilnes. "In memory of the great Franco Zeffirelli, I wanted to share a few photos and an article from the Milnes archives. This is from our performance of Pagliacci at the The Metropolitan Opera with Teresa Stratas, Richard Tucker with Franco directing. He will be missed. #SVFPagliacci." Facebook. June 24, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/SherrillMilnes/posts/2244764739106315