Egyptian-born soprano Amina Edris (above, photo by Capucine de Chocqueuse) sings “Dis-moi que je suis belle” from Massenet’s Thaïs at a concert in Prague with the Prague Philharmonia, conducted by Lukasz Borowicz.
Watch and listen here.
Ms. Edris will be making her Metropolitan Opera debut in April 2025 as Mimi in La Boheme.
Teresa Stratas and Placido Domingo are Mimi and Rodolfo in a scene from Act I of Puccini’s LA BOHEME from a 1970 televised Gala Performance given at Sadlers Wells in London. Sir Charles Mackerras conducts.
Watch and listen here.
Teresa Stratas and Placido Domingo are Mimi and Rodolfo in a scene from Act I of Puccini’s LA BOHEME from a 1970 televised Gala Performance given at Sadlers Wells in London. Sir Charles Mackerras conducts.
Watch and listen here.
Above: Maria Agresta and Charles Castronovo in LA BOHEME; a MetOpera photo
Saturday January 22md, 2022 matinee – This performance had its ups and downs, The conducting of Carlo Rizzi was hit-or-miss; he sometimes allowed the orchestra to swamp the singers. But I did like his speedy take on the first several minutes of the Cafe Momus scene.
Charles Castronovo repeated his very persuasive Rodolfo from the November run. His singing is emotional without straying from the notes, and he has both power and subtlety in perfect measure. His Mimi this afternoon, Maria Agresta, sounded sadly out-of-sorts, her vibrato prominent, and her highest notes not entirely comfortable. Offsetting these reservations was her congenial phrasing and some lovely piano effects.
Lucas Meachem (above) was a magnificent Marcello, making every phrase count. The voice is large and warm, and he handily dominated the ensemble ‘reprise’ of the “Musetta Waltz” theme in Act II. His duet with Ms. Agresta in Act III was impressively sung. Gabriella Reyes screeched and shrilled Musetta’s lines at first, but settled in for a nice rendering of the Waltz; I feel that she might be better cast as Mimi.
Alexander Birch Elliott was a fine Schaunard, despite having to cope with lacklustre conducting from Mr. Rizzi. I liked Peter Kellner’s Colline very much, too, but the thought of enduring a second Gelb intermission caused me to head home without hearing his “Vecchia zimara“.
The House was substantially full, and there was surprise applause after the Bohemians dismissed Benoit in Act I. Lots of noisy chatter from the ceiling lighting bay during Act I was distracting, and the interminable first intermission simply killed whatever dramatic impetus the opera had going.
Metropolitan Opera House
Janaury 22nd, 2022 matinee
LA BOHÈME
Giacomo Puccini
Mimì....................Maria Agresta
Rodolfo.................Charles Castronovo
Musetta.................Gabriella Reyes
Marcello................Lucas Meachem
Schaunard...............Alexander Birch Elliot
Colline.................Peter Kellner
Benoit..................Donald Maxwell
Alcindoro...............Donald Maxwell
Parpignol...............Gregory Warren
Sergeant................Jonathan Scott
Officer.................Ned Hanlon
Conductor...............Carlo Rizzi
~ Oberon
Jolanda Meneguzzer (above) and Costanzo Gero in a scene from Act I of Puccini’s LA BOHEME. The recording is from 1970, with the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Firenze conducted by Erasmo Ghiglia. Listen here.
Ms. Meneguzzer is a singer whose name I had often heard in my earlier days of operatic obsession, but I’d never heard the voice til now. Born in Cantù, Italy, around 1930, she studied in Florence and made her operatic debut in 1957 in Monteverdi’s L’ORFEO at the Maggio Musicale. Her career centered mainly in Italy, but she made her American debut San Francisco as Maria in FIGLIA DEL REGIMENTO in 1962, and she appeared briefly at The Met during the 1963-1964 season as Musetta and Gilda.
Jolanda Meneguzzer sings Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate here…
…and a sampling of her Musetta:
Jolanda Meneguzzer – Musetta’s Waltz – with Scotto-Poggi-Gobbi
Ms. Meneguzzer passed away in June 2020, at the age of 90.
Teresa Stratas and Vasile Moldoveanu sing the love duet that ends Act I of Puccini’s LA BOHEME.
Listen here.
Teresa Stratas and Vasile Moldoveanu sing the love duet that ends Act I of Puccini’s LA BOHEME.
Listen here.
Nadine Sierra sang Mimi’s narrative “Mi chiamano Mimí” from LA BOHEME for the Metropolitan Opera’s At-Home Gala on April 25th, 2020. Watch and listen here.
Nadine Sierra sang Mimi’s narrative “Mi chiamano Mimí” from LA BOHEME for the Metropolitan Opera’s At-Home Gala on April 25th, 2020. Watch and listen here.
Above: Gianni Raimondi as Rodolfo in LA BOHEME
Tenor Gianni Raimondi was born at Bologna in 1923. He made his operatic debut in 1947 as the Duke in RIGOLETTO and was soon singing in opera houses throughout Italy. His career expanded to Nice, Marseille, Monte Carlo, Paris, London…
…and La Scala, where, in 1956, Mr. Raimondi made his debut in Luchino Visconti now-legendary production of LA TRAVIATA starring Maria Callas.
Callas and Raimondi (above) reunited the following year as Anna and Percy in Donizetti’s ANNA BOLENA. 1957 also marked the tenor’s debut at Vienna, where he was to appear regularly for twenty seasons.
In 1963, the Vienna State Opera’s production of LA BOHEME, under the direction of Herbert von Karajan, was filmed for posterity; Mirella Freni and Gianni Raimondi appeared as Mimi and Rodolfo. The performance is available on DVD.
Having debuted at San Francisco (1957) and the Teatro Colon (1959), Mr. Raimondi made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Rodolfo in BOHEME in 1965, opposite Ms. Freni.
Above: Freni and Raimondi in BOHEME
BOHEME was the only opera I saw Raimondi in at The Met. The performance was in September 1968, and his Mimi was Teresa Stratas; they were among the most moving of all the many interpreters of these roles I have seen thru the decades. My diary says the tenor was “…terrific…great upper range…beautiful portrayal…”
Mr. Raimondi remained at the Met until 1969; his other roles there were Pinkerton, Donizetti’s Edgardo, Faust, the Duke of Mantua, and Mario Cavaradossi. In 1968, the tenor joined Regine Crespin and Gabriel Bacquier in a thrilling broadcast performance of TOSCA, with Zubin Mehta conducting.
In the 1970s, Raimondi took on the spinto tenor roles in NORMA, I MASNADIERI, I VESPRI SIVILIANI, and SIMON BOCCANEGRA.
Following his retirement from the stage, the tenor lived in his villa by the sea at Riccione. He passed away in 2008.
Here is a collection of arias sung by Gianni Raimondi…some of these take a few seconds to start:
Gianni Raimondi – GIOCONDA aria
Gianni Raimondi – Recondita armonia ~ TOSCA
Gianni Raimondi ~ Nessun dorma – TURANDOT
~ Oberon
Oberon's Glade 