Cav Pag Aired Thursday, Jan. 13, 1910, as Second Met Broadcast

Summary: Cav Pag aired Thursday, Jan. 13, 1910, as the second Met broadcast of a Met Opera presentation that was heard live, as the performance occurred.

Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso sang Pagliacci's Canio in the second Met broadcast, Thursday, Jan. 13, 1910: Isaac Bell @IsaacBellSeries, via Twitter Jan. 13, 2017

Cav Pag aired Thursday, Jan. 13, 1910, as the second Met broadcast of a Met Opera presentation that was transmitted live, immediately as the performance was taking place, to distant listeners.

The Metropolitan Opera Archives Database (MetOpera Database) identifies the double-billed Thursday, Jan. 13, 1910, performance of Cav Pag, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, and the preceding evening performance, Wednesday, Jan. 12, of Tosca's Acts II and III as ". . . subjects of early experiments with broadcasting from the Metropolitan Opera House." MetOpera Database labels Tosca by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924) as the "first Met broadcast." MetOpera Database recognizes the CavPag performance as the "second Met broadcast."

Cavalleria Rusticana by Italian opera composer Pietro Mascagni (Dec. 7, 1863-Aug. 2, 1945) received 18 performances in the 1909-1910 season. Pagliacci by Italian opera composer and librettist Ruggero Leoncavallo (April 23, 1857-Aug. 9, 1919) received 27 performances. The season's first Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci performance took place Wednesday, Nov. 24, 1909, at the Metropolitan Opera House. The season's last three performances of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci were held in Paris, France, at Théatre du Chatelet on Monday, May 23; Friday, May 27; and Wednesday, June 22.

The second Met broadcast took place at the Metropolitan Opera House during the season's sixth Cavalleria Rusticana performance and seventh Pagliacci performance. The Thursday, Jan. 13, CavPag presentation numbered as the opera house's 118th Cavalleria Rusticana performance and 91st Pagliacci performance.

Egisto Tango (Nov. 13, 1873-Oct. 5, 1951) conducted the second Met broadcast's presentation. He had also conducted the first Met broadcast. The Italian conductor had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Nov. 16, 1909, in the opera house's fourth performance of Werther by French Romantic Era composer Jules Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912).

The Cav Pag productions were directed by Jules Speck, Met Opera's stage manager for French and Italian operas from 1908 to 1917. The French stage manager had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Nov. 14, 1908, in the opera company's 256th performance of Faust by French composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893).

Emmy Destinn (Feb. 26, 1878-Jan. 28, 1930), stage name of Emílie Pavlína Věnceslava Kittlová, sang Cavalleria Rusticana's Santuzza in the second Met broadcast. The Czech operatic soprano had made her Met Opera debut Monday, Nov. 16, 1908, in the title role in the opera company's 126th performance of Aida by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Riccardo Martin (Nov. 18, 1874-Aug. 11, 1952) sang the second Met broadcast's Turiddu. He had sung the first Met broadcast's Cavaradossi. The American tenor had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Nov. 20, 1907, as Faust in the opera company's 15th performance of Mefistofele by Italian composer and librettist Arrigo Boito (Feb. 24, 1842-June 10, 1918).

Jeanne Maubourg (Nov. 10, 1873-May 9, 1953) sang the second Met broadcast's Lola. The Belgian mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Tuesday, Dec. 14, 1909, as Mlle. Lange in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of La Fille de Madame Angot by French operetta and comic opera composer Alexandre Charles Lecocq (June 3, 1832-Oct. 24, 1918).

Dinh Gilly (July 19, 1877-May 19, 1940) sang the second Met broadcast's Alfio. The French-Algerian operatic baritone had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Nov. 16, 1909, as Albert in the opera company's fourth performance of Massenet's Werther.

Marie Mattfeld (1870-1927) sang the second Met broadcast's Mamma Lucia. The American mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Wednesday, April 11, 1906, in the title trouser role of Hänsel in the opera company's 16th performance of Hänsel und Gretel by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck (Sept. 1, 1854-Sept. 27, 1921).

The second Met broadcast's performance of Pagliacci featured Bella Alten (June 30, 1877-Dec. 31, 1962) as Nedda. The Polish operatic soprano had made her Met Opera debut Wednesday, Nov. 30, 1904, in the trouser role of Cherubino in the opera company's 37th performance of Le Nozze di Figaro by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Enrico Caruso (Feb. 25, 1873-Aug. 2, 1921) sang the second Met broadcast's Canio. The Italian operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Nov. 23, 1903, as the Duke of Mantua in the opera company's 35th performance of Verdi's Rigoletto.

Pasquale Amato (March 21, 1878-Aug. 12, 1942) sang the second Met broadcast's Tonio. He had sung the first Met broadcast's Scarpia. The Italian operatic baritone had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Nov. 20, 1908, as Germont in the opera company's 67th performance of Verdi's La Traviata.

Dinh Gilly sang the second Met broadcast's Silvio. He thereby joined conductor Egisto Tango in the distinction of performing in both of the second Met broadcast's operas.

Angelo Badà (May 27, 1876-March 23, 1941) sang the second Met broadcast's Beppe. The Italian operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Nov. 16, 1908, as the Messenger in the opera company's 126th performance of Verdi's Aida.

MetOpera Database credits Lee de Forest (Aug. 26, 1873-June 30, 1961) with accomplishing the back-to-back first and second Met broadcasts. The American inventor and radio pioneer's wireless telephony relied upon a rooftop transmitter at the opera house and wireless installations to broadcast Tosca and Cav Pag to the listening audience's telephone receivers.

Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana received its Metropolitan Opera premiere Friday, Dec. 4, 1891, in Chicago, Illinois, during the opera company's 1891-1892 tour. Met Opera offered eight performances during the opera's premiere season.

Leoncavallo's Pagliacci received its Metropolitan Opera premiere Monday, Dec. 11, 1893, at the Metropolitan Opera House. Met Opera held 10 performances during the opera's premiere season.

The takeaways for airing Cav Pag Thursday, Jan. 13, 1910, as the second Met broadcast are that the double-billed presentation immediately followed the preceding evening's first Met broadcast; that conductor Egisto Tango, Cavalleria Rusticana's Riccardo Martin and Pagliacci's Pasquale Amato had also participated in the first Met broadcast; and that conductor Egisto Tango and Dinh Gilly (Cavalleria Rusticana's Alfio, Pagliacci's Silvio) hold the distinction of performing in both of the second Met broadcast's operas.

Czech operatic soprano Emmy Destinn sang Cavalleria Rusticana's Santuzza in the second Met broadcast, Thursday, Jan. 13, 1910; photo ca. April 27, 1909, by Edward F. Foley, New York; Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington DC: No known restrictions, via LOC Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC)

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso sang Pagliacci's Canio in the second Met broadcast, Thursday, Jan. 13, 1910: Isaac Bell @IsaacBellSeries, via Twitter Jan. 13, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/IsaacBellSeries/status/820000173690589184

Czech operatic soprano Emmy Destinn sang Cavalleria Rusticana's Santuzza in the second Met broadcast, Thursday, Jan. 13, 1910; photo ca. April 27, 1909, by Edward F. Foley, New York; Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington DC: No known restrictions, via LOC Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) @ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006677770/

For further information:

Arakelyan, Ashot. "Emmy Destinn (1878-1930): Odeon Recordings CD." Forgotten Opera Singers. Oct. 5, 2019.
Available @ https://historicaloperarecordings.blogspot.com/2019/10/emmy-destinn-1878-1930-odeon-recordings.html

Arakelyan, Ashot. "Riccardo Martin (Tenor) (Hopkinsville, KY 1874 -- New York 1952)." Forgotten Opera Singers. April 23, 2012.
Available @ http://forgottenoperasingers.blogspot.com/2012/04/riccardo-martin-hopkinsville-ky-1874.html

"Debut: Bella Alten." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 34080 Le Nozze di Figaro {37} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/30/1904.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=37620

"Debut: Marie Mattfeld." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 37620 Hänsel und Gretel {16} Pagliacci {57} St. Louis, Missouri: 04/11/1906.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=37620

"Debut: Pasquale Amato." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 42050 La Traviata {67} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/20/1908.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=42050

"Debuts: Adamo Didur, . . . Jules Speck." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 42000 Faust {256} Academy of Music, New York, Brooklyn: 11/14/1908.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=42000

"Debuts: Anne Girerd, Fyodor Chaliapin, Riccardo Martin, Giuseppe Tecchi, A. Edel." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 40010 New production Mefistofele {15} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/20/1907.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=40010

"Debuts: Edmond Clément, . . . Egisto Tango, Kurt Stern." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 45060 New production Werther {4} New York, Manhattan, New Theatre: 11/16/1909.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=45060

"Debuts: Emmy Destinn, Giulio Rossi, Angelo Badà, Lenora Sparkes, Gina Torriani, Arturo Toscanini, Mario Sala, Angels." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 42010 New Production Aida {126} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/16/1908. Opening Night {24} Giulio Gatti-Casazza, General Manager.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=42010

"Debuts: Enrico Caruso, Ellen Förnsen, Arturo Vigna, Karl Schroeder, Baruch & Co." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 32000 New production Rigoletto {35} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/23/1903. (Opening Night {19} Heinrich Conried, General Manager.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=32000

"Debuts: Jeanne Maubourg, Marie Dutilloy, Cecile Roma, Lambert Rouvroy." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 45560 Metropolitan Opera Premiere La Fille de Madame Angot {1} New York, Manhattan, New Theatre: 12/14/1909.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=45560

"First Met Broadcast: Tosca Acts II, III." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 46140 Tosca {66} Broadcast ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 01/12/1910. Broadcast First Met Broadcast (Acts II, III).
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=46140

Isaac Bell @IsaacBellSeries. "I remember today in 1910 at MET #opera in NY 1st public radio broadcast.My friend Enrico Caruso starred that night in Pagliacci! #historical." Twitter. Jan. 13, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/IsaacBellSeries/status/820000173690589184

Marriner, Derdriu. "Queena Mario Sang Gretel in Met Opera's First Broadcast, Dec. 25, 1931." Earth and Space News. Monday, May 24, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/05/queena-mario-sang-gretel-in-met-operas.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Tosca's Last Two Acts Jan. 12, 1910, Aired as First Met Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, Oct. 4, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/10/toscas-last-two-acts-jan-12-1910-aired.html

"Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Cavalleria Rusticana." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 10150 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Cavalleria Rusticana {1} La Traviata: Act I. Chicago, Illinois: 12/4/1891.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=10150

"Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Pagliacci." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 11620 New Production / Met Premiere Orfeo ed Euridice {10} Pagliacci {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/11/1893.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=11620

"Second Met Broadcast: Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 46150 Cavalleria Rusticana {118} Pagliacci {91} Broadcast ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 01/13/1910. Broadcast Second Met Broadcast.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=46150