Martinelli Gala @ The Old Met ~ 1963

I had never previously heard this gala concert honoring the 50th anniversary of the Metropolitan Opera debut of the great Italian tenor Giovanni Martinelli (above). Parts of it had sometimes cropped up on reel-to-reel trade lists back in the day, but invariably in poor sound. The present recording, which just popped up on YouTube, seems to have been made via the Met’s house wire.

Listen here.

The date is significant because two days later, John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. And a week later, I attended my first performances at the Old Met.