I was already in the 13th year of my opera obsession when Sir Rudolf Bing stepped down as General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera. To honor him, a gala concert at the opera house took place on April 22nd, 1972. The singers who appeared were among my idols at the time….and they still are.
I’ve seen parts of this concert on video before, but the sound quality here is the best I’ve encountered. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the video quality.
Watch and listen here.
The program was a veritable parade of stars. Among the most notable moments, Franco Corelli was singing the only portion of Verdi’s OTELLO he ever sang on the Met stage: the Act I love duet. His Desdemona is the luscious Polish spinto, Teresa Zylis-Gara. And the luminous Spanish soprano Pilar Lorengar brought Marietta’s Lied from Korngold’s DIE TOTE STADT to new generations of opera lovers. The aria became a cult favorite, prompting the New York City Opera to mount the opera in 1975.
Oberon's Glade 