Met Opera First Performed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in April 1913

Summary: The Metropolitan Opera first performed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony Sunday, April 13, 1913, as last of the 1912-1913 season's 22 Sunday night concerts.

German concert and operatic German lyric coloratura soprano Frieda Hempel sang the soprano role in the Metropolitan Opera's first performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, which was held at the Metropolitan Opera House April 13, 1913, as the last of the 1912-1913 season's 22 Sunday Night Concerts; undated portrait of animal lover Frieda Hempel with her Pomeranian, Pitti, in H.C. Lahee, The Grand Opera Singers of To-Day (1922), opposite page 456: Internet Archive Book Images, Public Domain, via Flickr

The Metropolitan Opera's first performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 took place Sunday, April 13, 1913, as the last of 22 Sunday night concerts held in the Metropolitan Opera House in the opera company's 1912-1913 season.

Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Opus 125, by German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven (bapt. Dec. 17, 1770-March 26, 1827) received two performances in the 1912-1913 season. The symphony's first Met Opera performance took place as a night concert Sunday, April 13, 1913. The second performance was offered as a matinee performance on Friday, April 18.

Arturo Toscanini (March 25, 1867-Jan. 16, 1957) conducted the Ninth Symphony's debut and second performances. The Parma, Emilia-Romagna region-born Italian conductor had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Nov. 16, 1908, in the opera company's 126th performance of Aida by 19th-century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901). The maestro held his position as Met Opera's conductor for seven seasons. He made his last appearance as Met Opera's conductor on Wednesday, April 14, 1915, in the opera company's 11th performance of Iris by Italian opera composer Pietro Mascagni (Dec. 7, 1863-Aug. 2, 1945).

Italian maestro Arturo Toscanini conducted the Metropolitan Opera's first performance of Beethoven's Sympony No. 9 in D Minor, which took place in the opera company's April 13, 1913, Sunday Night Concert; (top left to right) cantabile, cadenza; (center left to right) allegro agitato; (bottom left to right) sostenuto, maestoso; "Characteristic Poses of Toscanini While Conducting," drawn by American illustrator and painter Arthur I. (Ignatius) Keller (July 4, 1867-Dec. 2, 1924), engraved by R. Varley, in Max Smith, "Toscanini at the Baton," The Century Magazine, vol. LXXXV, no. 5 (March 1913): 700: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony transforms from an orchestral work into a work for chorus and four vocal soloists in the fourth, final movement. Beethoven set the symphony's vocal portion to an adaptation of "An die Freude" ("Ode to Joy"), a lyric poem written in 1785 by 18th-century German physician, philosopher and poet Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (Nov. 10, 1759-May 9, 1805).

Frieda Hempel (June 26, 1885-Oct. 7, 1955) appeared as the symphony's soprano. The German Frieda Hempel (26 June 1885 – 7 October 1955). The German concert and operatic lyric coloratura soprano had made her Met Opera debut Friday, Dec. 27, 1912, as Marguerite de Valois in the opera company's 120th performance of Les Huguenots by German Jewish opera composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (Sep. 5, 1791-May 2, 1864)..

American contralto Louise Homer sang the mezzo-soprano role in the Metropolitan Opera's debut performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, held Sunday, April 13, 1913, as the 1912-1913 season's 22nd and last Sunday Night Concert; 1909 portrait of Louise Homer by Bain News Service, George Grantham Bain Collection Library of Congress, Washington DC: No known copyright restrictions, via Library of Congress (LOC) Prints & Photographs Online (PPOC)

Louise Homer (Louise Dilworth Beatty; April 30, 1871-May 6, 1947) appeared as the symphony's mezzo-soprano. The American operatic contralto had made her Met Opera debut Wednesday, Nov. 14, 1900, as Amneris in the opera house's 55th performance of Aida by 19th-century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Carl Jörn (also Karl Jörn; Jan. 5, 1873-Dec. 19, 1947) appeared as the symphony's tenor. The German-American operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Jan. 22, 1909, as Walther von Stolzing in the opera company's 96th performance of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by 19th-century German composer and librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

German-American operatic tenor Carl (also Karl) Jörn sang the tenor role in the Metropolitan Opera's first performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, held Sunday, April 13, 1913, as the 1912-1913 season's 22nd and last Sunday Night Concert; portrait of Carl Jörn with a camera, ca. 1920-1925 by Bain News Service, George Grantham Bain Collection Library of Congress, Washington DC: No known copyright restrictions, via Library of Congress (LOC) Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC)

Putnam Griswold (Dec. 23, 1875-Feb. 26, 1914) appeared as the symphony's bass. The American operatic bass had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Nov. 23, 1911, as Hagen in the opera company's 72nd performance of Wagner's Götterdämmerung.

The April 13, 1913, Sunday Night Concert's program opened with Richard Wagner's Eine Faust Ouvertüre (Faust Ouverture). Wagner originally completed the piece in 1840 as the first movement of a Faust Symphony, but he revised the work in 1855 as a single-movement concert overture. Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks), Opus 28, a tone poem by German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sep. 8, 1949), followed Wagner's Faust Overture. Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D Minor closed the three-piece concert.

The Metropolitan Opera's 1912-1913 season featured 22 Sunday night concerts. The concerts were held at the Metropolitan Opera House on 22 successive Sunday evenings, beginning with the First Sunday Concert on Sunday, Nov. 17, 1912, and finishing with the Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D Minor Concert on Sunday, April 13, 1913. The first 20 concerts were identified sequentially as First Sunday Concert through Twentieth Sunday Concert in the Metropolitan Opera Archives (MetOpera Database). The 21st concert, offered Sunday, April 6, was entitled Wagner Concert.

Met Opera's Feb. 24, 2024, Saturday radio matinee airs at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time as "Mozart and Beethoven in Concert at the Met," under the conductorship of Met Opera's maestro,Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The Saturday broadcast plays the performance of Mozart's Requiem from Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, and the finale of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 from Monday, March 14, 2022.

"Listeners' Choice: Great Met Broadcasts" airs March 2 at 1:00 p.m. as the 2023-2024 season's 13th Saturday matinee radio broadcast. The Saturday, March 2, radio matinee is scheduled to play a TBA (to be announced) opera.

Verdi's La Forza del Destino broadcasts Saturday, March 9, at 12:00 p.m. noon as the 2023-2024 season's 14th Saturday radio matinee. A new production of Verdi's fate-themed opera under the directorship of Polish opera, theatre and film director Mariusz Treliński (born March 28, 1962) debuts in the 2023-2024 season.

American operatic bass Putnam Griswold sang the bass role in the Metropolitan Opera's first performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, held April 13, 1913, as the last of the 1912-1913 season's 22 Sunday Night Concerts; portrait of Putnam Griswold, ca. 1912, by Mishkin Studio, New York, in opposite page 340: Internet Archive Book Images, Public Domain, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

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

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

German concert and operatic German lyric coloratura soprano Frieda Hempel sang the soprano role in the Metropolitan Opera's first performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, which was held at the Metropolitan Opera House April 13, 1913, as the last of the 1912-1913 season's 22 Sunday Night Concerts; undated portrait of animal lover Frieda Hempel with her Pomeranian, Pitti, in H.C. Lahee, The Grand Opera Singers of To-Day (1922), opposite page 456: Internet Archive Book Images, Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14595165340/; via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/grandoperasinger02lahe/page/n568/mode/1up; No known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frieda_Hempel_(with_autograph).jpg

Italian maestro Arturo Toscanini conducted the Metropolitan Opera's first performance of Beethoven's Sympony No. 9 in D Minor, which took place in the opera company's April 13, 1913, Sunday Night Concert; (top left to right) cantabile, cadenza; (center left to right) allegro agitato; (bottom left to right) sostenuto, maestoso; "Characteristic Poses of Toscanini While Conducting," drawn by American illustrator and painter Arthur I. (Ignatius) Keller (July 4, 1867-Dec. 2, 1924), engraved by R. Varley, in Max Smith, "Toscanini at the Baton," The Century Magazine, vol. LXXXV, no. 5 (March 1913): 700: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/centuryillustra01conggoog/page/700/mode/1up

American contralto Louise Homer sang the mezzo-soprano role in the Metropolitan Opera's debut performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, held Sunday, April 13, 1913, as the 1912-1913 season's 22nd and last Sunday Night Concert; 1909 portrait of Louise Homer by Bain News Service, George Grantham Bain Collection Library of Congress, Washington DC: No known copyright restrictions, via Library of Congress (LOC) Prints & Photographs Online (PPOC) @ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2014681848/; No known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louise_Homer_LCCN2014681848.jpg

German-American operatic tenor Carl (also Karl) Jörn sang the tenor role in the Metropolitan Opera's first performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, held Sunday, April 13, 1913, as the 1912-1913 season's 22nd and last Sunday Night Concert; portrait of Carl Jörn with a camera, ca. 1920-1925 by Bain News Service, George Grantham Bain Collection Library of Congress, Washington DC: No known copyright restrictions, via Library of Congress (LOC) Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) @ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2014713576/

American operatic bass Putnam Griswold sang the bass role in the Metropolitan Opera's first performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, held April 13, 1913, as the last of the 1912-1913 season's 22 Sunday Night Concerts; portrait of Putnam Griswold, ca. 1912, by Mishkin Studio, New York, in H.C. Lahee, The Grand Opera Singers of To-Day (1922), opposite page 340: Internet Archive Book Images, Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14778712591/; via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/grandoperasinger02lahe/page/n418/mode/1up; No known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Putnam_Griswold_by_Herman_Mishkin.jpg

For further information:

Arakelyan, Ashot. "Karl Jörn (Tenor) (Riga, Latvia 1873 - Denver, Colorado 1947)." Forgotten Opera Singers. May 23, 2015.
Available @ https://forgottenoperasingers.blogspot.com/2015/05/karl-jorn-tenor-riga-latvia-1873-denver.html

Burgwyn, Diana. "The Wonderful World of Opera Dogs: Frieda Hempel -- Opera Star & Dogcatcher." OperaWire. June 23, 2021.
Available @ https://operawire.com/the-wonderful-world-of-opera-dogs-frieda-hempel-opera-star-dogcatcher/

"Concert: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor." MetOpera Database > [Met Concert or Gala] CID: 54693 Concert Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor Metropolitan Opera House, Sun, April 13, 1913 Concert Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor (1) Metropolitan Opera House April 13, 1913.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0362031

"Concert: Beethooven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor." MetOpera Database > [Met Concert or Gala] CID: 54699 Concert Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, April 18, 1913 Matinee Concert Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor (2) Metropolitan Opera House April 18, 1913 Matinee.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0362037

"Debut: Arturo Toscanini, Emmy Destinn, Giulio Rossi, Angelo Badà, Lenora Sparkes, Gina Torriani, Mario Sala, Angelo Parravicini." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 42010 Opening Night {24}, New Production, General Manager: Giulio Gatti-Casazza Aida Metropolitan Opera House, Mon, November 16, 1908. Debut: Arturo Toscanini, Emmy Destinn, Giulio Rossi, Angelo Badà, Lenora Sparkes, Gina Torriani, Mario Sala, Angelo Parravicini. Aida (126) Giuseppe Verdi / Antonio Ghislanzoni.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0360836

"Debut: Carl Jörn, Erik Schubert, Arthur Triebner, Josef Sundermann." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 42870 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, January 22, 1909. Debut: Carl Jörn, Erik Schubert, Arthur Triebner, Josef Sundermann. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (96) Richard Wagner / Richard Wagner.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0360922

"Debut: Frieda Hempel, Eva Swain." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 54556 Les Huguenots Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, December 27, 1912. Debut: Frieda Hempel, Eva Swain. In Italian. Les Huguenots (120) Giacomo Meyerbeer / Eugène Scribe / Émile Deschamps.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0361894

"Debut: Louise Homer." MetOpera Database > [Met Tour] CID: 25050 Aida San Francisco, California, Wed, November 14, 1900. Debut: Louise Homer. Aida (55) Giuseppe Verdi / Antonio Ghislanzoni.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0359374

"Debut: Louise Homer." MetOpera Database > Met Performance] CID: 25050 Aida {55} San Francisco, California: 11/14/1900.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=25050

"Debut: Putnam Griswold." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 52100 Götterdämmerung Metropolitan Opera House, Thu, November 23, 1911. Debut: Putnam Griswold. Götterdämmerung (72) Richard Wagner / Richard Wagner.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0361636

"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

Lahee, Henry C. (Charles). "Frieda Hempel." Pages 456-459. The Grand Opera Singers of To-day: An Account of the Leading Operatic Stars Who Have Sung During Recent Years, Together With a Sketch of the Chief Operatic Enterprises. Chapter I: The Metropolitan Opera Company 1912-1922, pages 455-497. Boston [MA]: The Page Company, MDCCCCXXII [1922].
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/grandoperasinger02lahe/page/456/mode/1up

Lahee, Henry C. (Charles). "Putnam Griswold." Pages 339-340. The Grand Opera Singers of To-day: An Account of the Leading Operatic Stars Who Have Sung During Recent Years, Together With a Sketch of the Chief Operatic Enterprises. Chapter IV The Metropolitan Opera-House Under Gatti-Casazza and Dippel, pages 260-356. Boston [MA]: The Page Company, MDCCCCXXII [1922].
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/grandoperasinger02lahe/page/339/mode/1up

"Last Performance: Arturo Toscanini." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 59870 Iris Metropolitan Opera House, Wed, April 14, 1915. Iris (11) Pietro Mascagni / Luigi Illica.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0362443

Marriner, Derdriu. "Fidelio Is April 1, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, March 27, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/03/fidelio-is-april-1-2017-metropolitan.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Calendars 2023-2024 Season Operas Sep. 26 Through June 8." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 18, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-calendars-2023-2024-season.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Newly Stages Carmen and La Forza del Destino in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 11, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-newly-stages-carmen-and-la.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "The Metropolitan Opera Performs 18 Operas in the 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 21, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-metropolitan-opera-performs-18.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Metropolitan Opera Revives 12 Productions in 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 28, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/metropolitan-opera-revives-12.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Saturday Matinee Broadcasts Include Six Special Programs in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 27, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/saturday-matinee-broadcasts-include-six.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Scotti, Sembrich, Caruso, Homer Sang Last Rigoletto Together April 1905." Earth and Space News. Monday, April 5, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/04/scotti-sembrich-caruso-homer-sang-last.html

The Metropolitan Opera. "The Metropolitan Opera announces its 2023–24 season, with the most new works in the company’s modern history." The Metropolitan Opera > About > Press Releases. Feb. 22, 2023.
Available @ https://www.metopera.org/about/press-releases/the-metropolitan-opera-announces-its-202324-season-with-the-most-new-works-in-the-companys-modern-history/

The New York Times. "Putnam Griswold, Opera Singer, Dead; American Basso of Metropolitan Succumbs 16 Days - After Appendictis Operation. Decorated by the Kaiser. Considered by German Critics the Greatest Foreign Interpreter of Wagnerian Roles." The New York Times. Feb. 27, 1914.
Available @ https://www.nytimes.com/1914/02/27/archives/putnam-griswold-opera-singer-dead-american-basso-of-metropolitan.html

Pogue, David; and Scott Peck. "Understanding the Classical Music Concert Program." Classical Music For Dummies. 3rd Edition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2022.
Available @ https://www.dummies.com/article/academics-the-arts/music/general-music/understanding-the-classical-music-concert-program-141998/

Smith, Max. "Toscanini at the Baton." The Century Magazine, vol. LXXXV, no. 5 (March 1913): 691-701.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/centuryillustra01conggoog/page/691/mode/1up
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=DhoMAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA691

Saturday Matinee Feb. 10, 2024, Airs Great Love Duets as Met Valentines

Summary: The Saturday matinee broadcast Feb. 10, 2024, retrieves "romantic moments" in archival performances for Great Love Duets as Valentines From the Met.

Met Opera's Saturday matinee broadcast on Feb. 10, 2024, featuring a program of "Valentines From the Met: Great Love Duets," opens with a duet from Act I of Rinaldo, composed in 1711 by German Baroque composer George Frideric Handel; miniature portrait of George Frideric Handel, attributed ca. 1710 to Jakob Christoph Platzer, court painter in Passau, Lower Bavaria, southeastern Germany; black-and-white 1939 photograph by Halle photographer Gerhard Roth; stolen 1948 from Händel-Haus, Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, east central Germany: CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

The Metropolitan Opera's Saturday matinee broadcast on Feb. 10, 2024, airs Valentines From the Met: Great Love Duets, a celebration of Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, with replays of "Romantic moments in memorable performances from the Met's radio archives."

The pre-Valentine's Day celebration features romantic duets from 10 operas by 10 composers. The pre-taped compilation broadcast revives performances between 1937 and 2020.

The program comprises two parts. Each half comprises five selections.

"Scherzano sul tuo volto" from Act One of Rinaldo, an Italian opera set in Jerusalem during the First Crusade (Aug. 15, 1096-Aug. 12, 1099) by German-British baroque composer George Frideric Handel (Feb. 23, 1685-April 14, 1759) opens the first half. A 1984 performance under the conductorship of Canadian conductor and pianist Mario Bernardi (Aug. 20, 1930-June 2, 2013) presents American mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne (born Jan. 16, 1934) in the titular trouser role of Rinaldo and American soprano Benita Valente (born Oct. 19, 1934) as Almirena.

"Ah, perdona al primo affetto" from Act One of La Clemenza di Tito by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791) airs as the second duet. American mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey (born 1980) and English lyric soprano Lucy Crowe (born 1978) are paired in the trouser role of Annio and as Servilia, respectively, in a 2012 performance under the conductorship of British conductor, harpsichordist and Baroque interpreter Harry Bicket (born 1961).

"Verranno a te sull'aure" excerpts from Act One of Lucia di Lammermoor by Italian opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848). French-American operatic lyric coloratura soprano Lily Pons (Alice Joséphine Pons; April 12, 1898-Feb. 13, 1976) and American tenor Frederick Jagel (June 10, 1897-July 5, 1982) sing Lucia and Edgardo di Ravenswood, respectively, in a 1937 performance conducted by Italian operatic conductor Gennaro Papi (Jan. 21, 1885-Nov. 29, 1941).

Faust by French composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893) provides the Act Three excerpt. Swedish operatic tenor Nicolai Gedda Harry Gustaf Nikolai Gädda; July 11, 1925-Jan. 8, 2017) in the title role and French-Canadian operatic lyric soprano Colette Boky (Marie-Rose Élisabeth Giroux; June 4, 1935) as Marguerite appear in a 1972 performance conducted by French conductor Roberto Benzi (Dec. 12, 1937).

Act Two of Tristan und Isolde by 19th-century German composer and librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883) closes the program's first half. Katarina Dalayman joins Gary Lehman in a 2008 performance conducted by Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim (born Nov. 15, 1942).

The second half of Met Opera's Valentine's Day celebration on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024, opens with an excerpt from Act One of Verdi's Otello; in December 1886, 19th-century opera composer Giuseppe Verdi completed Otello, which premiered Feb. 5, 1887, at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Lombardy region, northwestern Italy; portrait of Giuseppe Verdi painted by Italian genre and portrait painter Giovanni Boldini (Dec. 31, 1842-Jan. 11, 1931) end of 1885 to beginning of 1886, at Boldoni's Parisian studio, Place Pigalle no. 11, while Verdi was composing Otello; Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome, Lazio region, west central Italy; collection Casa Verdi (Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, "rest home for musicians"), ground floor ricostituito Museo Verdi, Milan: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The program's second half opens with “Già nella notte densa” from Act One of Otello by 19th century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901). Austrian conductor and composer Fritz Stiedry (Oct. 11, 1883-Aug. 8, 1968) conducts a 1952 performance with Chilean operatic tenor Ramón Vinay (Aug. 31, 1911-Jan. 4, 1996) in the title role and American operatic soprano Eleanor Steber (July 17, 1914-Oct. 3, 1990) as Desdemona.

Act One of Tosca by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924) segues as the second half's second duet. American spinto soprano Leontyne Price (Mary Violet Leontyne Price; born Feb. 10, 1927) in the title role and Italian tenor Franco Corelli (April 8, 1921-Oct. 29, 2003) as Cavaradossi appear in a 1962 performance conducted by Austrian-born Jewish American chorus master and conductor Kurt Adler (March 1, 1907-Sept. 21, 1977).

The second half's third duet extracts from Act Three of Rusalka by Czech composer Antonín Leopold Dvořák (Sept. 8, 1841-May 1, 1904). Slovak lyric soprano Gabriela Beňačková (born 25 March 1947) in the title role and Canadian dramatic tenor Ben Heppner (Thomas Bernard Heppner; born Jan. 14, 1956) as the Prince appear with American operatic and symphonic conductor John Fiore (born 1960) in a 1993 performance.

Presentation of the Rose represents romantic moments from Der Rosenkavalier by German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sep. 8, 1949). German conductor Fritz Busch (March 13, 1890-Sep. 14, 1951) conducts a 1946 performance that brings together American operatic mezzo-soprano Risë Stevens (June 11, 1913-March 20, 2013) in the trouser role of Octavian and American operatic soprano Eleanor Steber (July 17, 1914-Oct. 3, 1990) as Sophie.

"Bess, you is my woman now" closes Met Opera's Great Love Duets as the second half's fifth selection and as the program's 10th offering. The duet comes from Act Two of Porgy and Bess by the Gershwins, American composer and pianist George Gershwin (Sept. 26, 1898-July 11, 1937) and his older brother, American lyricist Ira Gershwin (Dec. 6, 1896-Aug. 17, 1983), and American librettist and writer Edwin DuBose Heyward (Aug. 31, 1885-June 16, 1940). American operatic bass-baritone Eric Owens (born July 11, 1970) and American soprano Angel Blue (born May 3, 1984) appear in the title roles with American conductor David Robertson (born July 19, 1958) in a 2020 performance.

The 2023-2024 Met Opera season's Saturday matinee broadcasts continue Feb. 17, 2024, with Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera. The season's 11th Saturday matinee broadcast airs at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Met Opera's Saturday matinee broadcast on Feb. 10, 2024, entitled "Valentines From the Met: Great Love Duets," closes with a duet from Act Two of Porgy and Bess, the Charleston, South Carolina waterfront-set opera composed by American composer and pianist George Gershwin in 1935; ca. 1935 portrait of George Gershwin by Russian-American photographer Herman Mishkin (March 1870-Feb. 6, 1948): Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

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

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

Met Opera's Saturday matinee broadcast on Feb. 10, 2024, featuring a program of "Valentines From the Met: Great Love Duets," opens with a duet from Act I of Rinaldo, composed in 1711 by German Baroque composer George Frideric Handel; miniature portrait of George Frideric Handel, attributed ca. 1710 to Jakob Christoph Platzer, court painter in Passau, Lower Bavaria, southeastern Germany; black-and-white 1939 photograph by Halle photographer Gerhard Roth; stolen 1948 from Händel-Haus, Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, east central Germany: CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Georg_Friedrich_Händel_as_a_young_man.jpg; via museum-digital sachsen-anhalt @ https://st.museum-digital.de/singleimage.php?objektnum=2297&imagenr=2951

The second half of Met Opera's Valentine's Day celebration on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024, opens with an excerpt from Act One of Verdi's Otello; in December 1886, 19th-century opera composer Giuseppe Verdi completed Otello, which premiered Feb. 5, 1887, at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Lombardy region, northwestern Italy; portrait of Giuseppe Verdi painted by Italian genre and portrait painter Giovanni Boldini (Dec. 31, 1842-Jan. 11, 1931) end of 1885 to beginning of 1886, at Boldoni's Parisian studio, Place Pigalle no. 11, while Verdi was composing Otello; Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome, Lazio region, west central Italy; collection Casa Verdi (Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, "rest home for musicians"), ground floor ricostituito Museo Verdi, Milan: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Giuseppe_Verdi_by_Giovanni_Boldini.jpg; CC BY 4.0, via Catalogo generale dei Beni Culturali @ https://catalogo.beniculturali.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/0300183868

Met Opera's Saturday matinee broadcast on Feb. 10, 2024, entitled "Valentines From the Met: Great Love Duets," closes with a duet from Act Two of Porgy and Bess, the Charleston, South Carolina waterfront-set opera composed by American composer and pianist George Gershwin in 1935; ca. 1935 portrait of George Gershwin by Russian-American photographer Herman Mishkin (March 1870-Feb. 6, 1948): Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Gershwin-signed.jpg

For further information:

Catalogo Generale dei Beni Culturali. "Ritratto di Giuseppe Verdi. ritratto di Giuseppe Verdi DIPINTO, 1886-1886 Boldini Giovanni (1842/ 1931)." Catalogo generale dei Beni Culturali > Catalogo > Beni Storici e Artistici.
Available via Catalogo generale dei Beni Culturali @ https://catalogo.beniculturali.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/0300183868

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Calendars 2023-2024 Season Operas Sep. 26 Through June 8." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 18, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-calendars-2023-2024-season.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Newly Stages Carmen and La Forza del Destino in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 11, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-newly-stages-carmen-and-la.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "The Metropolitan Opera Performs 18 Operas in the 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 21, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-metropolitan-opera-performs-18.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Metropolitan Opera Revives 12 Productions in 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 28, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/metropolitan-opera-revives-12.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Saturday Matinee Broadcasts Include Six Special Programs in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 27, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/saturday-matinee-broadcasts-include-six.html

Marx, Jans Joachim. "On the authenticity of Christoph Platzer’s Handel portrait (c.1710)." Early Music, vol. 45, issue 3 (August 2017): 459–465.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/26546466
Available via Oxford Academic @ https://academic.oup.com/em/article-abstract/45/3/459/4430448

Nabucco Is the Jan. 6, 2024, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: Nabucco is the Jan. 6, 2024, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as fifth of the 2023-2024 season's 27 Saturday matinee radio broadcasts.

Milanese maestro Daniele Callegari conducts all 14 performances of the sixth revival of Elijah Moshinsky's production of Verdi's Nabucco in the 2023-2024 season; photo by Roberto Ricci: Operawire, via Facebook Sep. 28, 2023

Nabucco is the Jan. 6, 2024, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time as the fifth of the 2023-2024 season's lineup of 27 Saturday matinee radio broadcasts.

Nabucco by 19th-century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901) receives 14 performances in the 2023-2024 season. The Verdian opera opened Thursday, Sep. 28, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The second through sixth performances took place Sunday matinee, Oct. 1, at 3:00 p.m.; Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday matinee, Oct. 7, at 1:00 p.m.; Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 14, at 8:00 p.m.; and Friday, Dec. 29, at 7:00 p.m.

The season's seventh through 14th, closing performances are scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 2, at 7:30 p.m.; the Saturday matinee radio broadcast, Jan. 6, at 1:00 p.m.; Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 13, at 8:00 p.m.; Thursday, Jan. 18, at 8:00 p.m.; Sunday matinee, Jan. 21, at 3:00 p.m.; and Friday, Jan. 26, at 8:00 p.m.

The opera's 14 performances mark the sixth revival of the new 2000-2001 production debuted Thursday, March 8, 2001, by Elijah Moshinsky (Jan. 8, 1946-Jan. 14, 2021). The Australian opera director had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Feb. 4, 1980, in the opera company's 153rd performance of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera.

Daniele Callegari conducts all 14th performances in the 2023-2024 season. The Milanese maestro had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Sep. 24, 2008, in the opera company's 283rd performance of La Gioconda by 19th-century Italian opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli (Aug. 31, 1834-Jan. 16, 1886).

George Gagnidze sings the title role in all 14 performances. The Georgian operatic baritone had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009, in the title role in the opera company’s 817th performance of Verdi's Rigoletto.

Liudmyla Monastyrska appears in all 14 performances as Abigaille, who discovers that she is not of royal birth; loses in love to her rival, a true princess, Fenena; and who self-poisons in repentance for her vendetta against Fenena. Her appearances as Abigaille in the 2023-2024 season mark Liudmyla Monastyrska's second reprisal of the role that she had added to her Met Opera portfolio during the Moshinsky production's fifth revival in the 2016-2017 season. The Ukrainian spinto soprano had made her Met Opera debut Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, in the title role in the opera company's 1,123rd performance of Verdi's Aida.

Maria Barakova appears in all 14 performances as Princess Fenena, reciprocally loved by Ismaele, nephew of the King of Jerusalem. The Russian mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Thursday, Sep. 29, 2022, as Sonyetka in the opera company's 22nd performance of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Russian composer, librettist and pianist Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (Russian: Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович; Sep. 25, 1906-Aug. 9, 1975). Her appearances as Princess Fenena add a second role to Maria Barakova's Met Opera portfolio.

South Korean baritone-turned-tenor SeokJong Baek made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Sep. 28, 2023, as Ismaele in the opera company's sixth revival of Australian opera director Elijah Moshinsky's 2000-2001 new production of Verdi's Nabucco; selfie by SeokJong Baek outside of the Metropolitan Opera House at Upper West Side of Manhattan's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex, known as Lincoln Center: SeokJong Baek seokjong.baek, via Instagram Sep. 13, 2023

SeokJong Baek sings Ismaele in Nabucco's first through fourth and sixth through 14th performances, including the Saturday matinee radio broadcast on Jan. 6, 2024. The South Korean tenor's appearance as Ismaele in the 2023-2024 season's opening performance of Nabucco, Thursday, Sep. 28, marked his Met Opera debut.

SeokJong Baek shares Ismaele with Rafael Davila, who sings the role in the fifth performance, Wednesday, Oct. 11. The Puerto Rican tenor had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, as Don José in the opera company's 1,002nd performance of Carmen by French Romantic Era composer Georges Bizet (Oct. 25, 1838-June 3, 1875).

Dmitry Belosselskiy sings Zaccaria, High Priest of the Jews, in all 14 performances. His appearances as Zaccaria in the 2023-2024 season mark Dmitry Belosselskiy's second reprisal of the role in which he had made his Met Opera debut, during the fourth revival's ninth performance. The Ukrainian bass had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011, in the opera company's 54th performance of Verdi's Babylon- and Jerusalem-set opera.

The production team for Elijah Moshinsky's directorship of Nabucco comprised John Napier, set designer; Andreane Neofitou, costume designer; and Howard Harrison, lighting designer. English costume and set designer John Napier (born March 1, 1944) and Cyprus-born, London-raised costume designer Andreane Neofitou had made their Met Opera debuts in the new production's debut Thursday, March 8, 2001. British lighting designer Howard Harrison had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Jan. 11, 1996, in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of The Makropulos Case, composed by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854-Aug. 12, 1928) and directed by Elijah Moshinsky.

Puccini's La Bohème airs Jan. 13 as the 2023-2024 season's sixth Saturday matinee radio broadcast. Met Opera's 38th revival of Tuscan film, opera and television director and producer Franco Zeffirelli's 1981-1982 new production airs at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

image of SeokJong Baek sitting comfortably on the red-carpeted, two-wing cantilever staircase in the Metropolitan Opera House Lobby on Wednesday, Sep. 13, 2023, by New York-based Bangladeshi photographer Amir Hamja for "A Singer Arrives at the Met, After a Detour," published by David Belcher, reporting from The New York Times Seoul Office, South Korea, in Sep. 25, 2023, issue of The New York Times: SeokJong Baek seokjong.baek, via Instagram Sep. 26, 2023

Acknowledgment

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

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

Milanese maestro Daniele Callegari conducts all 14 performances of the sixth revival of Elijah Moshinsky's production of Verdi's Nabucco in the 2023-2024 season; photo by Roberto Ricci: Operawire, via Facebook Sep. 28, 2023, @ https://www.facebook.com/operawire/posts/pfbid0128TNrea4MqDAvLUkQG2FKZ9cdijyp13UUmj5CWQMnCjzzRgWmPCdgUevcDTt7KBl

South Korean baritone-turned-tenor SeokJong Baek made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Sep. 28, 2023, as Ismaele in the opera company's sixth revival of Australian opera director Elijah Moshinsky's 2000-2001 new production of Verdi's Nabucco; selfie by SeokJong Baek outside of the Metropolitan Opera House at Upper West Side of Manhattan's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex, known as Lincoln Center: SeokJong Baek seokjong.baek, via Instagram Sep. 13, 2023, @ https://www.instagram.com/p/CxJ-34gsFsw/

image of SeokJong Baek sitting comfortably on the red-carpeted, two-wing cantilever staircase in the Metropolitan Opera House Lobby on Wednesday, Sep. 13, 2023, by New York-based Bangladeshi photographer Amir Hamja for "A Singer Arrives at the Met, After a Detour," published by David Belcher, reporting from The New York Times Seoul Office, South Korea, in Sep. 25, 2023, issue of The New York Times: SeokJong Baek seokjong.baek, via Instagram Sep. 26, 2023, @ https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxqjhepx5hs/

For further information:

Belcher, David. "A Singer Arrives at the Met, After a Detour." The New York Times > Arts > Music. Sep. 25, 2023.
Available via The New York Times @ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/arts/music/opera-seokjong-baek-tenor.html

"Debut: Clémentine Margaine, Rafael Davila." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356599 Carmen Metropolitan Opera House, Thu, January 19, 2017. Debut: Clémentine Margaine, Rafael Davila. Carmen (1002) Georges Bizet / Henri Meilhac/Ludovic Halévy.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0386097

"Debut: Daniele Callegari, Orlin Anastassov." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352574 La Gioconda Metropolitan Opera House, Wed, September 24, 2008 Broadcast. Debut: Daniele Callegari, Orlin Anastassov. La Gioconda (283) Amilcare Ponchielli / Arrigo Boito.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0384068

"Debut: Dmitry Belosselskiy." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354136 Nabucco Metropolitan Opera House, Sat, November 5, 2011. Debut: Dmitry Belosselskiy. Nabucco (54) Giuseppe Verdi / Temistocle Solera.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0384821

"Debut: Dmitry Belosselskiy." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354136 Nabucco {54} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/05/2011. (Debut: Dmitry Belosselskiy) Metropolitan Opera House November 5, 2011.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354136

"Debut: Elijah Moshinsky." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 260380 New Production Un Ballo in Maschera Metropolitan Opera House, Mon, February 4, 1980. Debut: Elijah Moshinsky. Un Ballo in Maschera (153) Giuseppe Verdi / Antonio Somma.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0377057

"Debut: Elijah Moshinsky." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 260380 New Production Un Ballo in Maschera {153} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/4/1980. (Debut: Elijah Moshinsky Review). Metropolitan Opera House February 4, 1980 Benefit sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera Guild for the production funds New Production.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=260380

"Debut: George Gagnidze." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352823 Rigoletto Metropolitan Opera House, Tue, January 27, 2009. Debut: George Gagnidze. Rigoletto (817) Giuseppe Verdi / Francesco Maria Piave.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0384182

“Debut: George Gagnidze.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352823 Rigoletto {817} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/27/2009.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352823

"Debut: Keri-Lynn Wilson, Svetlana Sozdateleva, Goran Jurić, Alexey Shishlyaev, Maria Barakova, Irina Rindzuner." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 3547698 Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Metropolitan Opera House, Thu, September 29, 2022 Broadcast. Debut: Keri-Lynn Wilson, Svetlana Sozdateleva, Goran Jurić, Alexey Shishlyaev, Maria Barakova, Irina Rindzuner. Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (22) Dmitri Shostakovich / Alexander Preis.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0387166

"Debut: Liudmyla Monastyrska, Miklós Sebestyén." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354672 Aida Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, November 23, 2012 Broadcast. Debut: Liudmyla Monastyrska, Miklós Sebestyén. Aida (1123) Giuseppe Verdi / Antonio Ghislanzoni.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0385091

"Debut: SeokJong Baek." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357876 Nabucco Metropolitan Opera House, Thu, September 28, 2023. Debut: SeokJong Baek. Nabucco (66) Giuseppe Verdi / Temistocle Solera.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0387296

“Debuts: Clémentine Margaine, Rafael Davila, Shirin Eskandani.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356599 Carmen {1002} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/19/2017.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356599

"Debuts: Keri-Lynn Wilson, Svetlana Sozdateleva, Goran Jurić, Alexey Shishlyaev, Maria Barakova, Irina Rindzuner." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357698 Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk {22} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/29/2022, Broadcast (Debuts: Keri-Lynn Wilson, Svetlana Sozdateleva, Goran Jurić, Alexey Shishlyaev, Maria Barakova, Irina Rindzuner Broadcast) Metropolitan Opera House September 29, 2022.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357698

"Debuts: Liudmyla Monastyrska, Miklós Sebestyén." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354672 Aida {1123} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/23/2012.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354672

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Calendars 2023-2024 Season Operas Sep. 26 Through June 8." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 18, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-calendars-2023-2024-season.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Debuted Moshinsky's Staging of Verdi's Nabucco March 8, 2001." Earth and Space News. Monday, Oct. 9, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/met-opera-debuted-moshinskys-staging-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Newly Stages Carmen and La Forza del Destino in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 11, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-newly-stages-carmen-and-la.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "The Metropolitan Opera Performs 18 Operas in the 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 21, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-metropolitan-opera-performs-18.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Metropolitan Opera Premiered Verdi's Nabucco Monday, Oct. 24, 1960." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 25, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/metropolitan-opera-premiered-verdis.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Metropolitan Opera Revives 12 Productions in 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 28, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/metropolitan-opera-revives-12.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Moshinsky's Staging of Verdi's Nabucco Had First Met Revival 2002-2003." Earth and Space News. Monday, Oct. 16, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/moshinskys-staging-of-verdis-nabucco.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Moshinsky's Staging of Verdi's Nabucco Had Fifth Met Revival 2016-2017." Monday, Nov. 13, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/moshinskys-staging-of-verdis-nabucco_01007684146.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Moshinsky's Staging of Verdi's Nabucco Had Fourth Met Revival 2011-2012." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 6, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/moshinskys-staging-of-verdis-nabucco.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Moshinsky's Staging of Verdi's Nabucco Had Second Met Revival 2003-2004." Earth and Space News. Monday, Oct. 23, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/moshinskys-staging-of-verdis-nabucco_01050611079.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Moshinsky's Staging of Verdi's Nabucco Had Third Met Revival 2004-2005." Earth and Space News. Monday, Oct. 30, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/moshinskys-staging-of-verdis-nabucco_059206376.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Nabucco Is the Jan. 7, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, Jan. 2, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/nabucco-is-jan-7-2017-metropolitan.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Saturday Matinee Broadcasts Include Six Special Programs in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 27, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/saturday-matinee-broadcasts-include-six.html

Met Opera Chorus. "The chorus is gearing up for its third opening of the week: Verdi’s early masterpiece, #Nabucco. It features the chorus famously in the highly personal meditation “Va, pensiero” (“Go, thought, on wings of gold”). We applaud our fine cast, featuring George Gagnidze and Liudmyla Monastyrska as Nabucco and Abigaile. Help us cheer for tenor SeokJong Baek, making his #MetOperaDebut tonight in the role of Ismaele. Toi toi toi, everyone!" Facebook. Sep. 28, 2023.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOperaChorus/posts/pfbid024SEcKGqah1xLre1Am9vGoHc3GkuGwwx1qFJ8mLn4zuQeVohjDjwkGU3QYcz3BEbFl

The Metropolitan Opera. "The Metropolitan Opera announces its 2023–24 season, with the most new works in the company’s modern history." The Metropolitan Opera > About > Press Releases. Feb. 22, 2023.
Available @ https://www.metopera.org/about/press-releases/the-metropolitan-opera-announces-its-202324-season-with-the-most-new-works-in-the-companys-modern-history/

Operawire. "Q & A: Daniele Callegari on His Conducting Career & Approach to Verdi’s ‘Nabucco’." Facebook. Sep. 28, 2023.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/operawire/posts/pfbid0128TNrea4MqDAvLUkQG2FKZ9cdijyp13UUmj5CWQMnCjzzRgWmPCdgUevcDTt7KBl

Rose, Scott. "Q & A: Daniele Callegari on His Conducting Career & Approach to Verdi’s ‘Nabucco.'" Operawir > Interviews. Sep. 28, 2023.
Available via Operawire @ https://operawire.com/q-a-daniele-callegari-on-his-conducting-career-approach-to-verdis-nabucco/

Salazar, Francisco. "Metropolitan Opera 2023-24 Review: Nabucco." Operawire. Oct. 5, 2023.
Available via Operawire @ https://operawire.com/metropolitan-opera-2023-24-review-nabucco/

Tannhäuser Is the Dec. 23, 2023, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: Tannhäuser is the Dec. 23, 2023, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as third of the 2023-2024 season's 27 Saturday matinee radio broadcasts.

Relaxation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for Edinburghian Scottish conductor Sir Donald Runnicles prior to a 2023-2024 season that includes conductorship of the 10th revival of Otto Schenk's 1977-1978 production of Wagner's Tannhäuser at Met Opera: Sir Donald Runnicles, via Facebook July 21, 2023

Tannhäuser is the Dec. 23, 2023, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time as the third of the 2023-2024 season's lineup of 27 Saturday matinee radio broadcasts.

Tannhäuser, fully titled as Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg ("Tannhäuser and the Minnesängers' Contest at Wartburg"), by 19th-century German composer and librettist Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883) receives eight performances in the 2023-2024 season. The Wagnerian opera opened Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The second through sixth performances took place Sunday matinee, Dec. 3, at 2:00 p.m.; Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 9, at 7:00 p.m.; Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 16, at 7:00 p.m. The season's last two performances of Tannhäuser are scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 19, at 7:00 p.m., and Saturday matinee, Dec. 23, at 1:00 p.m.

Sir Donald Runnicles conducts all eight performances in the 2023-2024 season. The Scottish conductor had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, April 7, 1998, in Lulu by Austrian composer Alban Berg (Feb. 9, 1885-Dec. 24, 1935).

Elza van den Heever appears as Elisabeth, Landgraf Hermann's niece who is caught in a triangle formed by minstrel Tannhäuser's fascination with Venus the Goddess of Love and his love for Elisabeth. The South African soprano had made her Met Opera debut Monday, Dec. 31, 2012, as Elisabetta in the opera company’s premiere of Maria Stuarda by 19th-century Italian bel canto opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848).

Ekaterina Gubanova sings Venus, who wants to keep Tannhäuser in her underground realm but finally allows the minstrel to return to the human world. The Russian mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Monday, Dec. 10, 2007, as Hélène Bezubenkov in the opera company's 11th performance of War and Peace by Russian-Soviet composer, conductor and pianist Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (April 23, 1891-March 5, 1953).

Andreas Schager appears in the title role as Tannhäuser the minstrel who is conflicted by impulses toward Venus the Goddess of Love in Venusberg and Elisabeth in Wartburg. The Austrian operatic tenor’s Met Opera debut had taken place Saturday, April 27, 2019, as Siegfried in the opera company's performance of Wagner's Götterdämmerung.

Christian Gerhaher sings minstrel Wolfram, who competes with Tannhäuser in Wartburg Castle's Hall of Song. The German baritone reprises the role in which he had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022.

Georg Zeppenfeld appears as Landgraf Hermann, whose niece Elizabeth redemptively loves Tannhäuser. The German operatic bass had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009, as Sarastro in the opera company's 393rd performance of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

The opera's eight performances mark the 10th revival of the new 1977-1978 production debuted Thursday, Dec. 22, 1977, by Austrian opera and theater director Otto Schenk. The Austrian opera and theater director had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Oct. 4, 1968, in the opera company's 490th performance of Puccini's Tosca.

Schenk's production team comprises Günther Schneider-Siemssen (June 7, 1926-June 2, 2015), set designer, Patricia Zipprodt, costume desinger; Gil Wechsler (born Feb. 5, 1942), lighting designer; and Canadian choreographer and Metropolitan Opera Ballet director Norbert Vesak (Oct. 22, 1936-Oct. 2, 1990), choreographer. German-born Austrian scenic designer Günther Schneider-Siemssen had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Nov. 21, 1967, in the opera company's 400th performance of Wagner's Die Walküre. American costume designer Patricia Zipprodt (Feb. 24, 1925-July 17, 1999) had made her Met Opera debut Thursday, Dec. 22, 1977, in Schenk's new production of Tannhäuser. American theatrical lighting designer Gil Wechsler 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). Norbert Vesak directed the Metropolitan Opera Ballet from 1976 to 1980, according to Vesak's obituary, "Norbert Vesak, 53, Former Chief Of the Met Opera Ballet, Is Dead," published Oct. 5, 1990, by The New York Times dance critic Jack Anderson (June 15, 1935-Oct. 20, 2023). Vesak's first choreography at Met Opera, Esclarmonde by French Romantic Era composer Jules Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912), debuted in the opera's Metropolitan Opera premiere Friday, Nov. 19, 1976, according to the Metropolitan Opera Archive Database (MetOpera Database).

Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro airs Dec. 30 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time as the 2023-2024 season's fourth Saturday matinee radio broadcast. The matinee broadcasts a throwback performance from Saturday, April 7, 1956, in honor of the centenaries of Italian bass Cesare Siepi (Feb. 10, 1923-July 5, 2010), who appears as Figaro, and Catalan Spanish operatic lyric soprano Victoria de los Angeles (Victoria de los Ángeles López García; Nov. 1, 1923-Jan. 15, 2005), who sings Countess Almaviva.

Sir Donald Runnicles' global music career mixes conductorships at prestigious opera houses, such as Met Opera's Lincoln Center, with an annual summer commitment since 2005 as Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF); the "sights and sounds" of the festival and of its setting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, have spellbound, renewed and restored the Edinburghian Scottish conductor, according to his attestation on the "About" page of the festival's website (https://gtmf.org/donald-runnicles/): Grand Teton Music Festival, via Facebook July 12, 2023

Acknowledgment

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

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

Relaxation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for Edinburghian Scottish conductor Sir Donald Runnicles prior to a 2023-2024 season that includes conductorship of the 10th revival of Otto Schenk's 1977-1978 production of Wagner's Tannhäuser at Met Opera: Sir Donald Runnicles, via Facebook July 21, 2023, @ https://www.facebook.com/DonaldRunnicles/posts/pfbid021bwUC9cWarK5YEXNvYwSMnRsbddvtTJ9UiXF5ypLQsrwoeyQvLtBD7qonawFSDdSl

Sir Donald Runnicles' global music career mixes conductorships at prestigious opera houses, such as Met Opera's Lincoln Center, with an annual summer commitment since 2005 as Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF); the "sights and sounds" of the festival and of its setting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, have spellbound, renewed and restored the Edinburghian Scottish conductor, according to his attestation on the "About" page of the festival's website (https://gtmf.org/donald-runnicles/): Grand Teton Music Festival, via Facebook July 12, 2023, @ https://www.facebook.com/GrandTetonMusicFestival/posts/pfbid0sm5cFGnHmQZDd77oVmaQwZKCk7KasrZtHCuXskhzTgqqjsf81d6SPj6fADkZSnG2

For further information:

"Choreographer Norbert Vesak." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 247420 Metropolitan Opera Premiere, New Production Esclarmonde Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, November 19, 1976. Debut: Clifford Grant, Lotfi Mansouri. Esclarmonde (1) Jules Massenet / Alfred Blau/Louis Ferdinand de Gramont.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0376183

"Debut: Bernd Weikl, Kathleen Battle, Mark Freiman, Gerard Hecht, Daniel Tramontozzi, Patricia Zipprodt." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 251780 New Production Tannhäuser Metropolitan Opera House, Thu, December 22, 1977. Debut: Bernd Weikl, Kathleen Battle, Mark Freiman, Gerard Hecht, Daniel Tramontozzi, Patricia Zipprodt. Tannhäuser (393) Richard Wagner / Richard Wagner.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0376468

“Debut: Donald Runnicles.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID:292020 Lulu {23} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/7/1988.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=292020

“Debut: Elza van den Heever.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354759 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Maria Stuarda {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/31/2012.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354759

"Debut: Otto Schenk." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 216180 New production Tosca {490} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/4/1968.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=216180

"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: Aleksei Markov, Marina Poplavskaya, Keith Jameson, Ekaterina Gubanova, Vitaliy Bilyy, Alexander Morozov, Todd Thomas, Lucas Meachem, Jennifer Zetlan, Samuel Dylan Rosner, Jeffrey Roger, Scott Graham, Michael Gomborone, Ashley Kohl." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352228 War and Peace {11} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/10/2007. Sirius Broadcast live. Streamed at metopera.org.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=314310

“Debuts: Bernard Labadie, Matthias Klink, Jamie Barton, Georg Zeppenfeld.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353076 Die Zauberflöte {393} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/23/2009.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=353076

"Debuts: Gundula Janowitz, Karl Ridderbusch, Phyllis Brill, Rosalind Hupp, Barbro Ericson, Gwendolyn Killebrew, Herbert Von Karajan, Günther Schneider-Siemssen, George Wakhevitch." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 212640 New production Die Walküre {400} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/21/1967.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=212640

Grand Teton Music Festival. "I attest to having fallen completely under the spell of the sights and sounds of the Grand Teton Music Festival and of this natural paradise. I return to Jackson and am restored and renewed.” GTMF > About.
Available via GTMF @ https://gtmf.org/donald-runnicles/

Grand Teton Music Festival. "Our Board of Directors is pleased to announce the extension of Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles’ contract, previously effective through 2026, now effective through 2029. This brings his tenure with the Festival to 23 years. After conducting an extensive strategic vision project, the community of musicians, staff, and audience members have time and time again expressed gratitude for Maestro Runnicles’ stewardship. We are delighted that with his guidance, GTMF will continue to bring world-class music experiences to the Jackson Hole community!" Facebook. July 12, 2023.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/GrandTetonMusicFestival/posts/pfbid0sm5cFGnHmQZDd77oVmaQwZKCk7KasrZtHCuXskhzTgqqjsf81d6SPj6fADkZSnG2l

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Calendars 2023-2024 Season Operas Sep. 26 Through June 8." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 18, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-calendars-2023-2024-season.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Newly Stages Carmen and La Forza del Destino in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 11, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-newly-stages-carmen-and-la.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "The Metropolitan Opera Performs 18 Operas in the 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 21, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-metropolitan-opera-performs-18.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Metropolitan Opera Revives 12 Productions in 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 28, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/metropolitan-opera-revives-12.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Saturday Matinee Broadcasts Include Six Special Programs in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 27, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/saturday-matinee-broadcasts-include-six.html

The Metropolitan Opera. "The Metropolitan Opera announces its 2023–24 season, with the most new works in the company’s modern history." The Metropolitan Opera > About > Press Releases. Feb. 22, 2023.
Available @ https://www.metopera.org/about/press-releases/the-metropolitan-opera-announces-its-202324-season-with-the-most-new-works-in-the-companys-modern-history/

Sir Donald Runnicles. "Just another day in Jackson Hole." Facebook. July 21, 2023.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/DonaldRunnicles/posts/pfbid021bwUC9cWarK5YEXNvYwSMnRsbddvtTJ9UiXF5ypLQsrwoeyQvLtBD7qonawFSDdSl