La Favorita March 11, 1978, Airing Is March 4, 2023, Saturday Airing

Summary: Donizetti's La Favorita March 11, 1978, airing is March 4, 2023, Saturday matinee airing, broadcast as the Listeners' Choice for the 2022-2023 season.

Shirley Verrett as Leonora, title role of Donizetti's La Favorita, borrowed as a new 1977-1978 Met Opera production from San Francisco Opera; set designer Mingo Cho Lee and costume designer Jane Greenwood: Shirley Verrett -- a fan contribution, via Facebook Jan. 20, 2013

Donizetti's La Favorita March 11, 1978, airing is the March 4, 2023, Saturday matinee airing, broadcast at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, as the Listeners' Choice and as the second of two archival broadcasts revived for the 2022-2023 Met Opera season's Saturday matinee opera broadcasts.

Jesús López-Cobos (Feb. 25, 1940-March 2, 2018) conducted the first eight performances, including the Saturday, March 11, radio matinee, of La Favorita. The Spanish conductor had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Feb. 4, 1978, in the opera company's 33rd performance of Adriana Lecouvreur by Italian composer Francesco Cilea (July 23, 1866-Nov. 20, 1950).

Shirley Verrett (May 31, 1931-Nov. 5, 2010) appeared in the first seven performances, including the Saturday, March 11, radio matinee, in the title role of Leonora, favorite mistress of Alfonso XI (Aug. 13, 1311-March 26, 1350), King of Castile and León. The American mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Saturday, Sep. 21, 1968, in the title role of Carmen in the opera company's 641st performance of Carmen by French Romantic Era composer Georges Bizet (Oct. 25, 1838-June 3, 1875).

Luciano Pavarotti (Oct. 12, 1935-Sep. 6, 2007) appeared in the first six performances, including the Saturday, March 11, radio matinee, as Fernando, whose love for Leonora places him in a love triangle and inspires his departure from and return to monastic orders. The Italian operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Nov. 23, 1968, as Rodolfo in the opera company's 680th performance of La Bohème by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Sherrill Milnes (born Jan. 10, 1935) appeared in the first eight performances, including the Saturday, March 11, radio matinee, as Alfonso, whose discovery of Leonora's preference for Fernando impels him to withdraw from the love triangle by ordering the lovers' immediate marriage. The American dramatic baritone had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Dec. 22, 1965, as Valentin in the opera company’s 594th performance of Faust by 19th century French composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893).

Bonaldo Giaiotti (Dec. 25, 1932-June 12, 2018) appeared in the first eight performances, including the Saturday, March 11, radio matinee, as Baldassare, superior of the Monastery of Saint James and father of Alfonso's wife, the Queen of Castile. The Italian operatic bass had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Oct. 24, 1960, as the High Priest in the opera company's Metropolitan Opera premiere of Nabucco by 19th-century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Alma Jean Smith appeared in all 15 performances as Inès, Leonora's confidante, whose arrest prevents delivery of a critical confessory message from Leonora to Fernando. The American soprano had made her Met Opera debut Wednesday, Sep. 18, 1974, as Kate Pinkerton in the opera company's 556th performance of Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

John Carpenter appeared in the first 13 and the 15th, closing performances as courtier Don Gasparo, who listens to King Alfonso's praise of monk-turned commissioned militarian Fernando's brave significance in winning Alcazar from the Moors and who later has responsibility for reporting discovery of a letter indicating the king's favorite mistress has a lover. The American tenor had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Oct. 13, 1976, as Vogelgesang in the opera company's 360th performance of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by German Romantic era composer and librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

Sherrill Milnes, costumed by Jane Greenwood, as Alfonso in Donizetti's La Favorita, debuting as a new 1977-1978 Met Opera production that was borrowed from the owning company, San Francisco Opera: Sherrill Milnes la leggenda, via Facebook March 11, 2022

Italian composer Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848) set La Favorite (The Favorite) to a French-language libretto by French librettist, playwright and theater manager Alphonse Royer (Sep. 10, 1803-April 11, 1875) and Belgian librettist, playwright and libretto translator Gustave Vaëz (born Jean-Nicolas-Gustave Van Nieuwen-Huysen; Dec. 6, 1812-March 12, 1862). Royer and Vaëz based their libretto upon Les Amans malheureux, ou le Comte de Comminge, a three-act play by French playwright, poet and novelist François-Thomas-Marie de Baculard d'Arnaud (Sep. 15, 1718-Nov. 9, 1805).

La Favorite premiered Wednesday, Dec. 2, 1840, at l'Académie Royale de Musique, 12 de la rue Le Peletier. The building in the ninth Parisian arrondissement (Paris 9e; le 9e arrondissement de Paris), on the Seine River's right bank (la rive droite de la Seine), housed the opera company from Thursday, Aug. 16, 1821, to Tuesday, Oct. 28, 1873.

A controversy over the opera's first Italian libretto occasioned two Italian-language premieres. Francesco Iannetti's Italian-language libretto premiered June 1842 as Leonora di Guzman at the Teatro Nuovo, Via dei Livello, in Padua, Veneto region, northeastern Italy. Calisto Bassi's (1800-1860) Italian libretto, titled La Favorita, premiered in autumn 1843 at Teatro alla Scala, Piazza della Scala, in Milan, Lombardy region, north central Italy.

The Metropolitan Opera Premiere of La Favorita took place Friday, Nov. 29, 1895, at the opera company's first house, located at 1411 Broadway, between 39th and 40th streets, in Midtown Manhattan's Garment District. The Italian-language opera received two performances in the 1895-1896 season.

In the next season, 1896-1897, La Favorita received two performances at Met Opera. The season's two performances of La Favorita were offered Saturday, Nov. 21, 1896, and Saturday, Nov. 28, 1896.

After one season's absence, La Favorita was performed in the 1898-1899 season. The season's solitary performance of La Favorita took place Saturday, Jan. 7, 1899.

The 19th century closed and the 20th century opened without performances of La Favorita. The opera was deactivated for six successive seasons, 1899-1900 through 1904-1905.

La Favorita reappeared in the 1905-1906 Met Opera season for five performances. The first (Wednesday, Nov. 29, 1905) and third through fifth (Monday, Dec. 11; Saturday, Dec. 23; Friday, Dec. 29) performances were held at the opera house. The second performance took place Tuesday, Dec. 5, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the opera company's 1905-1906 tour. After its fifth, closing performance in the 1905-1906 season, La Favorita disappeared from Met Opera's active repertoire for seven and one-fifth decades.

After an absence of seven and one-fifth decades, La Favorita appeared on the 1977-1978 season's roster. The new production received 15 performances. The Metropolitan Opera house at 30 Lincoln Center Plaza on Manhattan's Upper West Side was the venue for the opera's first eight performances (Tuesday, Feb. 21, 1978; Saturday, Feb. 25; Wednesday, March 1; Tuesday, March 7; Saturday, March 11; Wednesday, March 15; Monday, March 20; Thursday, March 23).

The season's last seven performances of La Favorita were offered as part of the opera company's 1977-1978 tour. The ninth performance, Thursday, April 20, took place at Cleveland Public Auditorum in Cleveland, Ohio. The 10th performance, Thursday, April 27, was offered at Hynes Civic Auditorium in Boston, Massachusetts. The 11th performance, Thursday, May 4, was held at the Civic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The State Fair Music Hall in Dallas, Texas, was the venue for the 12th performance, Friday, May 12. The 13th performance, Thursday, May 18, took place at Northrup Auditorium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 14th performance, Thursday, May 25, was offered at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan. The opera's 15th, closing performance, Friday, June 9, was held at Wolf Trap Farm Park in Vienna, Virginia.

The 1977-1978 Met Opera season's presentation of La Favorita was staged as a new production that was borrowed from the San Francisco Opera. As the owning opera company, the San Francisco Opera specifically had planned the production's design for sharing with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Met Opera, as noted by the Metropolitan Opera Archives Database (MetOpera Database) for the opera's debut Tuesday, Feb. 21, 1978.

Patrick Tavernia directed the new production. The opera stage director had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Oct. 25, 1960, as the stage director in the opera company's 94th performance of Puccini's Manon Lescaut.

La Favorita's sets were designed by Ming Cho Lee (Oct. 3, 1930-Oct. 23, 2020). The Chinese-American theatrical set designer had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Feb. 17, 1973, in the United States premiere of Syllabaire pour Phèdre by 20th-century French composer Maurice Ohana (June 12, 1913-Nov. 13, 1992).

La Favorita's costumes were designed by Jane Greenwood (born 30 April 1934). The British costume designer had made her Met Opera debut, alongside Ming Cho Lee, on Saturday, Feb. 17, 1973, in the United States premiere of Ohana's Syllabaire pour Phèdre.

Lighting was designed by Gil Wechsler (born Feb. 5, 1942). The American theatrical lighting designer had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Jan. 18, 1977, in the opera company's 74th performance of Le Prophète by German Jewish opera composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (Sep. 5, 1791-May 2, 1864).

The opera's choreography was designed by Thomas Pazik (1940-1993). The American choreographer had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Nov. 9, 1977, in the opera company's 636th performance of Verdi's La Traviata.

The 2022-2023 Met Opera season's airing of the opera company's archival broadcast performance of La Favorita from the 1977-1978 season numbers as the second of two archival radio broadcasts selected as special features in the 2022-2023 season's lineup of Saturday matinee broadcasts. The season's first special archival feature, the Feb. 7, 1970, performance of Cav Pag, aired Feb. 11, 2023, in commemoration of Franco Zeffirelli's birthday. La Favorita aired as a Listener's Choice special feature.

The 2022-2023 Met Opera season's lineup of Saturday matinee broadcasts continues Saturday, March 11, with Verdi's La Traviata. The bittersweet romantic tragedy of Violetta Valéry and Alfredo Germont airs at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Met Opera's 1977-1978 season debuted La Favorita as a new production, directed by Patrick Tavernia and owned by the San Francisco Opera Company; the fifth of the opera's 15 performances aired March 11, 1978, as a Saturday matinee broadcast; Patrick Tavernia's production team comprised set designer Mingo Cho Lee, costume designer Jane Greenwood, lighting designer Gil Wechsler and choreographer Thomas Pazik; photos by Beth Bergman 1978, Act III by Ron Sherl/San Francisco Opera: Sherrill Milnes la leggenda, via Facebook March 11, 2022

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Shirley Verrett as Leonora, title role of Donizetti's La Favorita, borrowed as a new 1977-1978 Met Opera production from San Francisco Opera; set designer Mingo Cho Lee and costume designer Jane Greenwood: Shirley Verrett -- a fan contribution, via Facebook Jan. 20, 2013, @ https://www.facebook.com/112495038817061/posts/443709469028948/

Sherrill Milnes, costumed by Jane Greenwood, as Alfonso in Donizetti's La Favorita, debuting as a new 1977-1978 Met Opera production that was borrowed from the owning company, San Francisco Opera: Sherrill Milnes la leggenda, via Facebook March 11, 2022, @ https://www.facebook.com/shmilnes/posts/1054187875441945/

Met Opera's 1977-1978 season debuted La Favorita as a new production, directed by Patrick Tavernia and owned by the San Francisco Opera Company; the fifth of the opera's 15 performances aired March 11, 1978, as a Saturday matinee broadcast; Patrick Tavernia's production team comprised set designer Mingo Cho Lee, costume designer Jane Greenwood, lighting designer Gil Wechsler and choreographer Thomas Pazik; photos by Beth Bergman 1978, Act III by Ron Sherl/San Francisco Opera: Sherrill Milnes la leggenda, via Facebook March 11, 2022, @ https://www.facebook.com/shmilnes/posts/582266122634125/

For further information:

"Debut: Alma Jean Smith." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 239010 Madama Butterfly {556} Cleveland, Ohio: 09/18/1974. (Debut: Alma Jean Smith). Cleveland, Ohio. September 18, 1974.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=239010

"Debut: Raimund Herincx, Gil Wechsler, Stuart Sebastian." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 248030 New production Le Prophète {74} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/18/1977.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=248030

"Debuts: Gerd Brenneis, Dieter Weller, Peter Meven, John Carpenter." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 247040 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg {360} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/13/1976. (Debuts: Gerd Brenneis, Dieter Weller, Peter Meven, John Carpenter). Metropolitan Opera House. October 13, 1976.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=247040

"Debut: Jesús López-Cobos." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 252250 Adriana Lecouvreur {33} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/4/1978. (Debut: Jesús López-Cobos Review). Metropolitan Opera House. February 4, 1978.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=252250

"Debut: Luciano Pavarotti." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 216690 La Bohème {680} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/23/1968. (Debut: Luciano Pavarotti Review). Metropolitan Opera House. November 23, 1968 Matinee.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=216690

"Debut: Shirley Verrett." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 216060 Carmen {641} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/21/1968. (Debut: Shirley Verrett Review). Metropolitan Opera House. September 21, 1968.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=216060

"Debuts: Bonaldo Giaiotti, Günther Rennert." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 186000 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Nabucco {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/24/1960. (Metropolitan Opera Premiere) (Opening Night {76} Rudolf Bing, General Manager. Debuts: Bonaldo Giaiotti, Günther Rennert Review). Metropolitan Opera House. October 24, 1960 {76}.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=186000

"Debuts: Cynthia Barnett, Richard Dufallo, Ming Cho Lee, Jane Greenwood, Shirley Prendergast, Susan Belling, Elaine Bonazzi, Barbara Hoffman, Barbara Martin, Margery Ryan, David Britton, Gary Burgess, Phillip Otto, Richard Tanner." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 232560 United States Premiere (Syllabaire pour Phèdre). Metropolitan Opera Premiere (Dido and Aeneas). Syllabaire pour Phèdre {1} Dido and Aeneas {1} Vivian Beaumont Theater, Forum, New York 02/17/1973. (Metropolitan Opera Premiere) (Debuts: Cynthia Barnett, Richard Dufallo, Ming Cho Lee, Jane Greenwood, Shirley Prendergast, Susan Belling, Elaine Bonazzi, Barbara Hoffman, Barbara Martin, Margery Ryan, David Britton, Gary Burgess, Phillip Otto, Richard Tanner). New York Vivian Beaumont Theater Forum. February 17, 1973. Benefit sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera Guild for the Mini-Met United States Premiere.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=232560

"Debuts: John Hanriot, Igor Plekhanov, Thomas Pazik." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 251310 La Traviata {636} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/9/1977. (Debuts: John Hanriot, Igor Plekhanov, Thomas Pazik). Metropolitan Opera House. November 9, 1977.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=251310

"Debuts: Meredith Parsons, Patrick Tavernia." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 186010 Manon Lescaut {94} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/25/1960 (Debuts: Meredith Parsons, Patrick Tavernia Review). Metropolitan Opera House. October 25, 1960.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=186010

"Debuts: Montserrat Caballé, Sherrill Milnes." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 204850 Faust {594} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/22/1965. (Debuts: Montserrat Caballé, Sherrill Milnes Review). Metropolitan Opera House. December 22, 1965.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=204850

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cav Pag Feb. 7, 1970, Broadcast Is Feb. 11, 2023, Saturday Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, Feb. 6, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/02/cav-pag-feb-7-1970-broadcast-is-feb-11.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Macbeth Feb. 3, 1973, Broadcast Is Feb. 4, 2023, Saturday Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, Jan.30, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/macbeth-feb-3-1973-broadcast-is-feb-4.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Otello Was Franco Zeffirelli’s Fourth Met Opera Production." Earth and Space News. Monday, July 13, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/07/otello-was-franco-zeffirellis-fourth.html

The Metropolitan Opera. "Broadcast of March 11. Sponsored by Texaco Over the Texaco-Metropolitan Opera Radio Network at 2:00 PM. Donizetti La Favorita." Metropolitan Opera Archives Database > La Favorita > March 11, 1978 > Opera News.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/ONFavorita1978.jpg

"Metropolitan Opera Premiere: La Favorita." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 15590 Metropolitan Opera Premiere La Favorita {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/29/1895. (Metropolitan Opera Premiere) (Debut: Giuseppe Cremonini Review). Metropolitan Opera House. November 29, 1895. Metropolitan Opera Premiere. In Italian.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=15590

"New Production: La Favorita." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 252410 New production La Favorita {11} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/21/1978. (Reviews) Metropolitan Opera House February 21, 1978. Benefit sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera Guild for the production funds. In Italian. New production.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=252410

Sherrill Milnes la leggenda. "11 marzo 1978 Met Broadcast." Facebook. March 11, 2022.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/shmilnes/photos/pb.100070735997425.-2207520000./1054174338776632/
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/shmilnes/posts/582266122634125/

Sherrill Milnes la leggenda. "La Favorita." Facebook. March 11, 2022.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/shmilnes/photos/pb.100070735997425.-2207520000./1054187875441945/
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/shmilnes/posts/1054187875441945/

Shirley Verrett -- a fan contribution. "La Favorita, Met 1978." Jan. 20, 2013.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/112495038817061/photos/pb.100083274702150.-2207520000./443709469028948/
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/112495038817061/posts/443709469028948/