From Closing Night @ The Old Met

Leontyne Price (above) sang Leonora’s Act IV aria from Verdi’s IL TROVATORE at the gala performance which marked the closing of the Old Met on April 16th, 1966. The quality of this recording isn’t great, but the singing is:

Leontyne Price – TROVATORE aria – Old Met Closing Gala 1966

When I was working at Tower, it was rumored that a commercial recording of the entire Closing Night Gala was to be released, but then it was reported that one of the master tapes of the performance could not be located.

This plaque marked the spot where the Old Met stood, on 39th Street and Broadway:

As a teenager, I attended eight performances at the Old House before it was torn down; I actually saw Leontyne Price there, as Fiordiligi in COSI FAN TUTTE. My first performance in the House was a DON GIOVANNI with Teresa Stich-Randall, Lisa Della Casa, and Giorgio Tozzi; I saw FAUST twice, my first TURANDOT, a TROVATORE with Rita Gorr, Licia Albanese as Madama Butterfly, and a lovely ELISIR D’AMORE with Freni and Gedda.

The seats at the Old Met were pretty uncomfortable (limited leg-room) and, since it was known that the House would be closing in 1966, fans were stripping bits of velvet and even lighting fixtures to carry off as souvenirs. But it had a special atmosphere and it was nice to think of all the voices that had echoed there over the years.

In the late Summer of 1966, having graduated from high school, I made my first solo trip to New York City. Finally, I felt my life was beginning!