Anna Reynolds was my first RHEINGOLD Fricka; at The Met’s Saturday matinee performance of February 22nd, 1969, conducted by Herbert von Karajan, Ms. Reynolds replaced the scheduled Josephine Veasey in the role of Wotan’s wife and made a memorable impression on me. I sent Anna Reynolds a fan letter a couple of days later, and received the above photo from her soon after. Read about that spectacular February weekend here.
In 1975, I had the good fortune to see Ms. Reynolds again on The Met stage as the WALKURE Fricka; she was superb. For years, I owned an LP of the mezzo-soprano singing Schumann songs; her interpretation of Mondnacht remains a favorite, though the LP has long since vanished.
Among the hundreds of items I was able to rescue from my old cassettes – converting them to MP3s – this recording of Anna Reynolds singing Berlioz’ La Captive from a 1969 BBC broadcast is particularly dear to me.
Licia Albanese learned Tatyana’s Letter Scene from EUGENE ONEGIN in Russian at the request of Leopold Stokowski especially for this recording. Albanese reportedly coached the aria with baritone George Cehanovsky, a Met comprimario stalwart who was married to Elisabeth Rethberg.
In the year 2000, I saw Shostakovich’s LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK for the first time; the Met was presenting a grandiose musical performance which offset the somewhat overly-funny staging. Gergiev’s conducting, the superb orchestra, and an extraordinary cast assured that the opera would be thrilling. The cartoonish aspects of the staging were valid: it’s both over-the top and tongue-in-cheek. It was one of the most entertaining nights at the Met ever! The fact that a bit more darkness might have been to the good didn’t detract from a magnificent evening of music and theatre.
Catherine Malfitano (photo above) continued her string of Met triumphs in the singing-actress category with her powerful portrayal of Katerina. In a peroxide-blonde wig and oozing lethargic sex appeal at every moment, La Malfitano used her powerful, sometimes ravaged – but always expressive – voice to vivid effect. She swept thru the vast range of emotions and plugged into the vulnerable quality of her voice to insure sympathy for the character: a woman who has lost everything (if an unhappy marriage, bullying father-in-law, and desperate boredom count as things of value). In the harsh severity of the death march to Siberia, this Katerina was living proof of the theory that we don’t know when we are well-off. Ms. Malfitano’s huge success was thoroughly deserved.
Sergei Koptchak’s magnificent Boris was utterly “real”, and his slime-infested vocalism so natural and apt. Mark Baker and Vladimir Galouzine were powerful vocal forces, and Galouzine proved himself an appealingly dastardly actor. Victoria Livengood sang her music in an awesome chest register, and was the perfect cheap slut. Vladimir Ognovenko’s big sound and easy stage presence made his Police Sergeant a gem, especially when he started ‘hoofing’ it with a chorus-line of cops.
Excellent bassos Grigori Karasev (hilarious as the Priest) and Gennady Bezzubenkov (moving as the Old Convict who leads the final ‘hymn’) – and a brilliant bit from Dennis Peterson as the shabby peasant who lives in a junk heap – were further attractions of the evening, whilst Bernard Fitch and Janet Hopkins (as teacher and cook) each made their mark. The chorus were really into the action, and the evening swept by with an exhilarating force.
Joining my friend Paul in a backstage visit to his friend, Vicky Livengood, I greeted her with “Great chest!” to which she replied “Which one?”
Anja Silja celebrated her 85th birthday on April 18th, 2025.She had made her operatic debut 70 years earlier, as Rosina in BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA. In 1980, I saw her in a riveting performance of Alban Berg’s WOZZECK at The Met, with Jose van Dam in the title-role and James Levine on the podium.The production was issued on DVD and is very much worth watching…if you can find it.
Read Bruce Duffie’s 1996 interview with the German diva here.
A performance of Gluck’s ORFEO ED EURIDCE given in 2023 at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice, in a production by Pier Luigi Pizzi, conducted by Ottavio Dantone.
Principal cast: Orfeo – Cecilia Molinari; Euridice – Mary Bevan; Amore – Silvia Frigato
Gertrud Rünger (1899-1965) sang both mezzo-soprano and dramatic soprano roles during her career. She began as a choral singer, moving on to solo roles in smaller German houses in 1923.
In 1930, she joined the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera, and in 1934 came to the Berlin Staatsoper. She sang Verdi’s mezzo roles in German, and developed a reputation as a Wagnerian soprano, singing in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Dresden, and Munich.
Ms. Rünger sang the Nurse in FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN at the Salzburg Festival in 1932-1933, and later appeared there as Klytemnestra and as Beethoven’s Leonore. She sang briefly at The Met in 1937, as the WALKURE and GOTTERDAMMERUNG Brunnhildes, Fricka in RHEINGOLD, and as Ortrud opposite Kirsten Flagstad’s Elsa.
Designated as Kammersängerin, Gertrud Rünger continued to perform into the 1950s, whilst also teaching voice. She passed away at Berlin in 1965.
Dwayne Croft as Donner summons the mists as Wagner’s DAS RHEINGOLD draws to its finish. I vividly recall how thrilling this was in the House as the baritone strode up the inclined stage and deployed his powerful voice into the great cavern of The Met.
The performance dates from 2010 and is conducted by James Levine.
Dmitry Hvorostovsky sings Rachmaninov’s In The Silence of the Secret Night from a 1990 recital. This was not long after he had won the 1989 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.
Oberon's Glade 