The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991

Home \| Movies By Year \| Movies from 1991
The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991 Buy The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991 now from Amazon First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article 'The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991' was a four-hour concert staged by the Metropolitan Opera on 23 September 1991 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its opening night in its second home at Lincoln Center. It was televised by Cablevision, and issued by Deutsche Grammophon on Laserdisc and VHS videocassette in 1992 and on DVD in 2010. Background Originally based in a theatre on the junction of Broadway and 39th Street in New York City, the Metropolitan Opera began performing in its second home at Lincoln Center in 1966, starting the second phase of its life with the premire of an opera commissioned for the occasion, Samuel Barber's 'Antony and Cleopatra'. The Met celebrated the silver anniversary of that event with a gala that lasted for some four hours. The event began with Luciano Pavarotti, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Leo Nucci, Cheryl Studer and Birgitta Svendn in the last act of Otto Schenk's production of 'Rigoletto', a staging in which Pavarotti had appeared at its first outing two years earlier. Plcido Domingo, Charles Anthony, Dwayne Croft, Justino Daz, Mirella Freni and Paul Plishka followed in the third act of Franco Zeffirelli's production of 'Otello'. Hermann Prey, Croft, Barbara Daniels, Andrij Dobriansky and Anne Sofie von Otter concluded the gala in a performance of an abridged version of the second act of Schenk's production of 'Die Fledermaus', deploying the theatre's revolving stage and incorporating eleven items sung by guests at Prince Orlofsky's party. The original stage productions were supported by the Gramma Fisher Foundation of Marshalltown, Iowa, with supplementary help from Mr and Mrs Paul M. Montrone for 'Rigoletto', from Mrs John D. Rockefeller for 'Otello' and from Mrs Donald D. Harrington for 'Die Fledermaus'. The revival of 'Rigoletto' was supported by the Edith C. Blum Foundation. The television broadcast of the gala was supported by the Texaco Philanthropic Foundation, Inc., the National Endowment For the Arts and the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation. The gala was jointly produced by the Metropolitan Opera, Cablevision, NBC, PolyGram and MAX Japan.'The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991', conducted by James Levine, Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4582, 2010 DVD chapter listing DVD 1 * 1 (3:06) Before the performance: a glimpse behind the scenes * 2 (1:24) The National Anthem 'Giuseppe Verdi' (1813-1901) 'Rigoletto' (Venice, 1851), with a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave (1810-1876), after 'Le roi s'amuse' ("The king amuses himself", Paris, 1832) by Victor Hugo (18021885). Presented in a stage production by Otto Schenk (b. 1930), with set and costume design by Zack Brown, lighting design by Gil Wechsler and stage direction by Sharon Thomas. Featuring 'Luciano Pavarotti' as the Duke of Mantua, 'Cheryl Studer' as Gilda, the Duke's daughter, 'Leo Nucci' as Rigoletto, the Duke's court jester, 'Nicolai Ghiaurov' as Sparafucile, a brigand, and 'Birgitta Svendn' as Maddalena, Sparafucile's daughter. 'Act Three' * 3 (2:43) "E l'ami?" - "Sempre" (Rigoletto, Gilda, Duke, Sparafucile) * 4 (3:06) "La donna mobile" (Duke, Sparafucile, Rigoletto) * 5 (1:33) "Un d, se ben rammentomi" (Duke, Gilda, Maddalena, Rigoletto) * 6 (4:27) "Bella figlia dell'amore" (Duke, Maddalena, Gilda, Rigoletto) * 7 (4:08) "M'odi! Ritorna a casa" (Rigoletto, Gilda, Sparafucile, Duke, Maddalena) * 8 (5:58) " amabile invero tal giovinotto" (Maddalena, Sparafucile, Gilda) * 9 (4:33) "Della vendetta alfin giunge l'istante!" (Rigoletto, Sparafucile, Duke) 10 (1:42) "Chi mai, chi qui in sua vece?" (Rigoletto, Gilda) 11 (7:42) "V'ho ingannato... Colpevole fui" (Gilda, Rigoletto) 'Giuseppe Verdi' 'Otello' (Milan, 1887), with a libretto by Arrigo Boito (1842-1918), after 'The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice' (?1603) by William Shakespeare (1564-1616). Presented in a stage production and set designed by Franco Zeffirelli (1923-2019), with costume design by Peter J. Hall (1926-2010), lighting design by Gil Wechsler and stage direction by Fabrizio Melano. Featuring 'Plcido Domingo' as Otello, a Moor, commander-in-chief of the Venetian fleet, 'Mirella Freni' as Desedemona, Otello's wife, 'Justino Daz' as Iago, an ensign, 'Sondra Kelly' as Emilia, Iago's wife, 'Uwe Heilmann' as Cassio, a platoon leader, 'Paul Plishka' as Lodovico, ambassador of the Venetian republic, 'Charles Anthony' as Roderigo, a Venetian gentleman, and 'Dwayne Croft' as a herald. 'Act Three' 12 (3:11) "La vedetta del porto ha segnelato" (A herald, Otello, Iago) 13 (4:54) "Dio ti giocondi, o sposo" (Desdemona, Otello) 14 (5:34) "Esterrefatta fisso" (Desdemona, Otello) 15 (4:09) "Dio! Mi potevi scagliar tutti i mali" (Otello, Iago) 16 (5:22) "Vieni, l'aula deserta" (Iago, Cassio, Otello) 17 (1:47) "Come l'uccider?" (Otello, Iago, Chorus) 18 (2:57) "Il doge ed il senato salutano l'eroe" (Lodovico, Otello, Desdemona, Emilia, Iago, Roderigo, Cassio, Chorus) 19 (1:52) "Messeri! Il doge..." (Otello, Roderigo, Iago, Cassio, Lodovico) 20 (6:08) "A terra! S, nel livido fango" (Desdemona, Emilia, Cassio, Roderigo, Lodovico, Chorus, Iago) 21 (5:49) "Fuggite! Tutti fuggite Otello!" (Otello, Chorus, Iago) DVD 2 'Johann Strauss II' (1825-1899) 'Die Fledermaus' ("The flittermouse", Vienna, 1874), with a libretto by Karl Haffner (1804-1876) and Richard Gene (1823-1895), after 'Le rveillon' ("The supper party", Paris, 1872) by Henri Meilhac (1830-1897) and Ludovic Halvy (1839-1908), after 'Das Gefngnis' ("The prison", Berlin, 1851) by Julius Roderich Benedix (1811-1873), and with dialogue by Paul Mills adapted from that written by Otto Schenk and translated by Marcel Prawy (1911-2003). Presented in a stage production by Otto Schenk, with set design by Gnther Schneider-Siemssen (1926-2015), costume design by Peter J. Hall, lighting design by Gil Wechsler and stage direction by Paul Mills. Featuring 'Hermann Prey' as Gabriel von Eisenstein, a wealthy gentleman of leisure, 'Barbara Daniels' as Rosalinde, Eisenstein's wife, 'Barbara Kilduff' as Adele, Rosalinde's chambermaid, 'Grace Millo' as Ida, Adele's sister, 'Anne Sofie von Otter' as Prince Orlofsky, a wealthy Russian, 'Andrij Dobriansky' as Ivan, Orlofsky's servant, 'Dwayne Croft' as Dr Falke, a notary, and Gottfried Hornik as Frank, a prison governor. 'Act Two' * 1 (2:39) "Ein Souper heut uns winkt" (Chorus) * 2 (2:11) Dialogue * 3 (2:53) "Ich lade gern mir Gste ein" (Orlofsky) * 4 (0:39) Dialogue * 5 (1:07) "Ach, meine Herr'n und Damen" (Orlofsky, Falke, Adele, Eisenstein, Chorus) * 6 (3:40) Adele's Laughing Song: "Mein Herr Marquis" (Adele, ensemble) * 7 (3:28) Dialogue * 8 (4:36) Watch duet: "Dieser Anstand, so manierlich" (Eisenstein, Rosalinde) * 9 (1:06) Dialogue 10 (5:04) Csrds: "Klnge der Heimat" (Rosalinde) 11 (1:37) Dialogue Party guests' sequence 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart' (1756-1791) 'Die Zauberflte' ("The magic flute", K. 620, Vienna, 1791), with a libretto by Emmanuel Schikaneder (1751-1812) 12 (5:58) Aria (Papageno): "Ein Mdchen oder Weibchen" ('Hermann Prey') 'Jacques Offenbach' (1819-1880) 'La Grande-Duchesse de Grolstein' (Paris, 1887), with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halvy 13 (4:53) Aria (La Grande-Duchesse): "Ah! Que j'aime les militaires" ('Frederica von Stade') 'Gioachino Rossini' (1792-1868) 'Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione' ("The barber of Seville, or The useless precaution", Rome, 1816), with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini (1784-1831), after 'Le barbier de Sville' (Paris, 1775) by Pierre Beaumarchais (1732-1799) 14 (5:19) Aria (Figaro): "Largo al factotum" ('Thomas Hampson') 'Ambroise Thomas' (1811-1896) 'Mignon' (Paris, 1866), with a libretto by Jules Barbier (1825-1901) and Michel Carr (1821-1872), after 'Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre' ("Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship", 1795-1796) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) 15 (6:52) Aria (Philine): "Je suis Titania" ('June Anderson') 'Leonard Bernstein' (1918-1990) 'West Side Story' (New York City, 1957), with a book by Arthur Laurents (1917-2011) and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (b. 1930), after 'Romeo and Juliet' ('circa' 1595-1597) by William Shakespeare 16 (3:28) Song (Tony): "Maria" ('Sherrill Milnes') 'Umberto Giordano' (1867-1948) 'Andrea Chnier' (Milan, 1896), with a libretto by Luigi Illica (1857-1919), based on the life of Andr Chnier (1762-1794) 17 (6:55) Aria (Maddalena): "La mamma morta" ('Aprile Millo') 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart' 'Il dissoluto punito, ossia Il Don Giovanni' ("The rake punished, or Don Giovanni", K. 527, Prague, 1787), with a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte (1749-1838), after 'El burlador de Seville y convivado de piedra' ("The trickster of Seville and the stone guest", ?1616) by Tirso de Molina (1579-1648) 18 (6:10) Catalogue aria (Leporello): "Madamina, il catalogo questo" ('Ferruccio Furlanetto') 'Gaetano Donizetti' (1797-1848) 'Linda di Chamounix' (Vienna, 1842), with a libretto by Gaetano Rossi (1774-1855) 19 (7:31) Aria (Linda): "O luce di quest'anima" ('Kathleen Battle') 'Mitch Leigh' (1928-2014) 'Man of La Mancha' (New York City, 1965), with a book by Dale Wasserman (1914-2008) and lyrics by Joe Darion (1917-2001), after Wasserman's teleplay 'I, Don Quixote' (1959), after 'El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha' ("The ingenious gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha", 1605-1615) by Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) 20 (4:23) Song (Don Quixote): "The impossible dream" ('Samuel Ramey') 'Francesco Cilea' (1866-1950) 'Adriana Lecouvreur' (Milan, 1902), with a libretto by Arturo Colautti (1851-1914), after 'Adrienne Lecouvreur' (1849) by Eugne Scribe (1791-1861) and Ernest Legouv (1807-1903) 21 (5:25) Aria (Adriana): "Io son l'umile ancella" ('Mirella Freni') 'Giacomo Puccini' (1858-1924) 'La Bohme' ("The Bohemian", Turin, 1896), with a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa (1847-1906), after 'Scnes de la vie de bohme' ("Scenes of Bohemian life", 1851) by Henri Murger (1822-1861) 22 (6:45) Duet (Marcello and Rodolfo): "In un coup?... O Mimi, tu pi non torni" ('Luciano Pavarotti' and 'Plcido Domingo') 'Johann Strauss II' 'Die Fledermaus' (resumed) 23 (4:20) Champagne song: "Champagner hats verschuldet" (All) 24 (0:26) Closing credits Personnel Artists June Anderson (b. 1952), soprano * Charles Anthony (1929-2012), tenor * Kathleen Battle (b. 1948), soprano * Dwayne Croft, baritone * Barbara Daniels, soprano * Justino Daz (b. 1940), bass-baritone * Andrij Dobriansky (1930-2012), bass-baritone * Plcido Domingo (b. 1941), tenor * Mirella Freni (1935-2020), soprano * Ferruccio Furlanetto (b. 1949), bass * Nicolai Ghiaurov (1929-2004), bass * Thomas Hampson (b. 1955), baritone * Uwe Heilmann (b. 1960), tenor * Gottfried Hornik (b. 1940), baritone * Sondra Kelly, mezzo-soprano * Barbara Kilduff, soprano * Aprile Millo (b. 1958), soprano * Grace Millo, soprano * Sherrill Milnes (b. 1935), baritone * Leo Nucci (b. 1942), baritone * Anne Sofie von Otter (b. 1955), mezzo-soprano * Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007), tenor * Paul Plishka (b. 1941), bass * Hermann Prey (1929-1998), baritone * Samuel Ramey (b. 1942), bass * Frederica von Stade (b. 1945), mezzo-soprano * Cheryl Studer (b. 1955), soprano * Birgitta Svendn (b. 1952), mezzo-soprano * Metropolitan Opera Ballet * Diana Levy, ballet mistress * Metropolitan Opera Chorus * Raymond Hughes, chorus master * Gildo di Nunzio, stage band conductor ('Otello') * Metropolitan Opera Orchestra * Raymond Gniewek (b. 1931), concertmaster * James Levine (19432021), conductor Metropolitan Opera personnel * Joan Dornemann, musical preparation * Jane Klaviter, musical preparation and prompter * David Kneuss, executive stage manager * Stephen A. Brown, stage manager * Thomas H. Connell III, stage manager * Gary Dietrich, stage manager * William McCourt, stage manager * Raymond Menard, stage manager * Scott Moon, stage manager * Stephen Diaz, master carpenter * Sander Hacker, master electrician * Edward McConway, properties master * Magda Szayer, wig and hair stylist * Victor Callegari, make-up artist * Millicent Hacker, wardrobe mistress * Richard Wagner, costume shop head Broadcast personnel * Peter Gelb (b. 1953), executive producer * Brian Large (b. 1939), director * Joseph Angotti, producer * Louisa Briccetti, producer * Daniel Anker, coordination producer * Suzanne Gooch, associate producer * Carol Stowe, associate director * Mark Schubin, engineer-in-charge * Jay David Saks, audio producer * Alan Adelman, lighting design * Tony Pascento, lighting associate * Ron Washburn, senior technician * Emmett Loughran, technical director * Bill King, audio supervisor * Mel Becker, audio engineer * Tom Carroll, audio engineer * Paul Cohen, audio engineer * Louise de la Fuente, audio engineer * Jim Jordan, audio engineer * Kathleen King, audio engineer * Larry Loewinger, audio engineer * Peter Miller, audio engineer * Blake Norton, audio engineer * Bruce Shapiro, audio engineer * Michael Shoskes, audio engineer * Suzanne Sousa, audio engineer * Robert M. Tannenbaum, audio engineer * Elaine Warner, audio engineer * Susan Noll, video engineer * Matty Randazzo, video engineer * Paul Ranieri, video engineer * William Steinberg, video engineer * William Akerlund, camera operator * Miguel Armstrong, camera operator * Juan Barrera, camera operator * Jim Covello, camera operator * John Feher, camera operator * Manny Gutierrez, camera operator * Charlie Huntley, camera operator * Tom Hurwitz, camera operator * Don Lenzer, camera operator * Mike Lieberman, camera operator * Ed Marritz, camera operator * Alain Onesto, camera operator * Jake Ostroff, camera operator * Bob Richman, camera operator * David Smith, camera operator * Larry Solomon, camera operator * Alan Buchner, videotape engineer * Jack Roche, videotape engineer * Barry Fialk, Chyron engineer * Bruce Balton, crane technician * Rob Balton, crane technician * Ernie Jew, remote camera technician * Terence Benson, television stage manager * Margi Kerns, television stage manager * Uwe Lehmann, television stage manager * Hank Niemark, television stage manager * James O'Gorman, television stage manager * Karen McLaughlin, music associate * Susan Erben, producer's assistant * Rae M. Cazzola, production secretary * Juan Pablo Gamboa, production assistant * Jessica Ruskin, production assistant * Olga Losada, camera script * Peter Dahlstrom, Unitel mobile video * Dan Doolan, Unitel mobile video * Michael R. Jones, Unitel mobile video * Phil Gitomer, remote recording services * David Hewitt, remote recording services * Vin Gizzi, audio post-production * Gary Bradley, editor * Pat Jaffe, opening segment producer * Susan Greene, executive in charge DVD production personnel * Burkhard Bartsch, project manager * Veronika Holek, project coordinator * Harald Gericke, producer, Platin Media Productions, Langenhagen * Daniel Kemper, authoring, encoding and AMSI surround sound engineer, Platin Media Productions * Michaela Jrgens, screen design, Platin Media Productions * Monica Ling, subtitles * Eva Reisinger, booklet editor, Texthouse * Merle Kersten, art direction, Texthouse Critical reception Reviews Edward Rothstein reviewed the gala in 'The New York Times' on 25 September 1991. The Met's first night at Lincoln Center, he recalled, had been an utter catastrophe, and the gala celebrating its silver anniversary in its second theatre had begun with disappointments just as discouraging as those of the premire of Barber's 'Antony and Cleopatra' in 1966. The third act of 'Rigoletto' began the concert with "a nearly funereal mood, and not quite the one anybody had in mind". Luciano Pavarotti's "groping make-out scene" with the injudiciously cast Birgitta Svendn was unfortunate, and his singing did not show him at his best. His voice sounded constricted, and a histrionic laugh could not conceal that a climactic note had cracked. An excerpt "drained of human characters, offering pasteboard roles and posing voices" was partly redeemed by the force and personality of Nicolai Ghiaurov as Sparafucile. Matters improved with the third act of 'Otello', but only marginally. Justino Daz was "curiously insubstantial" as Iago, and Plcido Domingo "stolid" as the Moor of Venice. Mirella Freni exhibited her ability to sing high notes very loudly. Conducting, James Levine "seemed to treat the music as a collection of fragments designed for glitter and response ... belting out exclamations with little thought for proportion and sense and drama". One began to question whether the idea of turning bleeding chunks of operas into showcases for celebrities might not be essentially misconceived. But the feeling of the evening lifted abruptly with the second act of 'Die Fledermaus'. Hermann Prey's "winsome" Eisenstein and Barbara Daniels's "brash" Rosalinde introduced "a party that became a triumphant homage to the powers of the voice", as the tradition of interpolating guest appearances into Orlofsky's festivity was honoured in "one of the most exquisitely refined and extravagant assemblages of vocal artistry" in the Met's entire 108-year history. Hermann Prey evoked memories of his 1966 Met Papageno with an aria that brought the bird-catcher to life with expressive artlessness. Thomas Hampson won an overwhelming ovation with the energy, accuracy and supernatural acting of his "Largo al factotum". Kathleen Battle combined delicately engraved phrasing and a tone of sensuous velvet in "O luce di quest'anima". Frederica von Stade was charming and kindly in "Ah! Que j'aime les militaires". Broadway was acknowledged by Sherrill Milnes in "Maria" and by Samuel Ramey in "The impossible dream". Ferruccio Furlanetto, currently starring at the Met as Don Giovanni, contributed Leporello's catalogue of his master's conquests. June Anderson was immaculate and celestial in "Je suis Titania". Aprile Millo was suitably overcome by emotion in "La mamma morta". Mirella Freni was forcefully eloquent in "Io son l'umile ancella". And Pavarotti and Domingo joined forces in a duet from 'La Bohme', "clowning with scarves, clasping shoulders and hands and showing a subtle but good-hearted rivalry in their singing and bows". All in all, despite its moments of strain and its lapses into vanity, the gala was "a grand-scale tribute to a great opera company", and one was left admiring the gifts of the evening's soloists and Levine's manifest affection for them. The gala was also reviewed by Martin Bernheimer in 'The Los Angeles Times', by Peter G. Davis in 'New York Magazine'Davis, Peter G.: 'New York', 7 October 1991 and by Tim Page in 'Newsday'. It was also discussed in 'Opera News','Opera News', Vol. 56, No. 3, September 1991 'Opernwelt','Opernwelt', Vol. 33, 1992, p. 43 'Stereo Review''Stereo Review', Vol. 57, 1992, p. 11 and in Dantia Gould's 'The pay-per-view explosion' (1991).Gould, Dantia: 'The pay-per-view explosion', QV Publishing, 1991, p. 32 Accolades The gala was recognized three times in the Primetime Emmy Awards for 1992. Brian Large won an award for Outstanding Individual Achievement - Classical Music/Dance Programming - Directing, and Plcido Domingo and Kathleen Battle both won awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement - Classical Music/Dance Programming - Performance. Broadcast and home media history The gala was broadcast live on Cablevision pay-per-view television on 23 September 1991. Deutsche Grammophon issued the gala in several formats, all with 4:3 NTSC colour video: a 181-minute pair of CLV (constant linear velocity) Laserdiscs (catalogue number 072-528-1) released in 1992,'The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991', conducted by James Levine, Deutsche Grammophon LD, 072-528-1, 1992 a 167-minute VHS videocassette (catalogue number 072-528-3) also released in 1992'The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991', conducted by James Levine, Deutsche Grammophon VHS, 072-528-3, 1992 and a 179-minute pair of Region 0 DVDs (catalogue number 00440-073-4582) released in 2010. The DVDs have audio in both lossless PCM stereo and an ersatz 5.1 channel DTS surround sound upmix synthesized with the AMSI II (Ambient Surround Imaging) technology created by Emil Berliner Studios. They have subtitles in Chinese, English, French, German and Spanish, and - although only for items sung in that language - Italian, and are accompanied by a 24-page booklet with four photographs and an essay by Richard Evidon in English, French and German. Gallery of artists File:Charles Anthony 1974.JPG\|Charles Anthony File:Kathleen Battle.jpg\|Kathleen Battle File:Concierto de Plcido Domingo con motivo del Ao Jubilar Mariano (7-06-2019) 06 (cropped).jpg\|Plcido Domingo File:Mirella Freni 1970.jpg\|Mirella Freni File:ThomasHampson.jpg\|Thomas Hampson File:Rigoletto en el Colon.jpg\|Sherrill Milnes File:Leo nucci.jpg\|Leo Nucci File:Anne Sofie von Otter 2011-10-13 002.jpg\|Anne Sofie von Otter File:Luciano Pavarotti (cropped).jpg\|Luciano Pavarotti File:Frederica von Stade.jpg\|Frederica von Stade File:Birgitta Svendn-2.jpg\|Birgitta Svendn File:James Levine 2013.jpg\|James Levine See also * The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala * James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala References Category:1991 classical albums Category:1991 television films Category:1991 films Category:Classical video albums Category:Deutsche Grammophon albums Category:Events in New York City Category:Live classical albums Category:Metropolitan Opera Category:Opera recordings
Buy The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991 now from Amazon <-- Return to movies from 1991 This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1095500636.