Aida, Metropolitan Opera 1949

Ljuba Welitsch

Just under an hour of this Aida is posted here, concentrating on the artistry of the Bulgarian soprano Ljuba Welitsch. Welitsch had made her met debut a few days before this broadcast as Salome, creating an overnight sensation in New York. Her strong powerful voice and excellent acting made a significant impression, and while reviews of her Aida were not quite so positive, with some thinking her fiery nature less suited to the character of Aida, this recording shows her to have a real command of the part. The extracts clearly focus on her, with others only featuring when she does. A complete broadcast of the opera with Welistch and Vinay exists from the following season.

Metropolitan Opera House
February 19, 1949 Matinee Broadcast


AIDA
Giuseppe Verdi--Antonio Ghislanzoni

Aida....................Ljuba Welitsch
Radamès.................Frederick Jagel
Amneris.................Margaret Harshaw
Amonasro................Frank Guarrera
Ramfis..................Jerome Hines
King....................Philip Kinsman
Messenger...............Paul Franke
Priestess...............Thelma Votipka
Dance...................Lorraine Ammerman
Dance...................Barbara Hausler
Dance...................Audrey Keane
Dance...................Elissa Minet
Dance...................Leon Varkas

Conductor...............Emil Cooper
https://rapidshare.com/files/3951712808/1949Aida.mp3

Carmen Metropolitan Opera 1938

Metropolitan Opera House
March 19, 1938 Matinee Broadcast


CARMEN  
Carmen..................Bruna Castagna
Don José................René Maison
Micaela.................Susanne Fisher
Escamillo...............John Brownlee
Frasquita...............Thelma Votipka
Mercédès................Helen Olheim
Remendado...............Giordano Paltrinieri
Dancaïre................George Cehanovsky
Zuniga..................Norman Cordon
Moralès.................Wilfred Engelman

Conductor...............Gennaro Papi

Bruna Castagna as Carmen

About 25 minutes of extracts from Acts 1 and 2 exist from this broadcast, apparently recorded off-air for Norman Cordon. They capture something of the Carmen of Italian Mezzo Bruna Castagna. Castanga was perhaps the leading mezzo at the Met between 1934 and 1945, singing all the major leading roles (Carmen, Dalilah and Amneris) as well as the key supporting roles in operas such as Norma, Ballo in Maschera and Trovatore. I don't think any other live recordings exist of her as Carmen, and one contemporary review described her Carmen as "potentially charming. She has both temperament and artistic tact. She has a remarkable voice, sensuously beautiful, voluptuous, richly expressive: and last night she made it serve again and again the purposes of the music and the play. She is already a better Carmen than Miss Ponselle; and, if she takes herself in hand and passes the pastry shops with a stonily averted face, she may easily become irresistible."




https://rapidshare.com/files/4097306837/1938Carmen.mp3

Walkure Act 2, San Francisco 1936

Reiner, Melchior and Flagstad backstage at the War Memorial Opera House during this performance

 The San Francisco Opera achieved something remarkable with this broadcast, as it is the only recording to feature two of the greatest sopranos of age, Flagstad and Lehmann, on the same stage. Despite them signing many times together, this was only time microphones captured Lehmann's justifiably famous Sieglinde alongside Flagstad's unparalleled Brunnhilde. When the cast is augmented by the likes of Melchior and Schorr, respectively the world's best Siegmund and Wotan, it was truly a memorable night.  Although cuts were used in performance, the NBC also annoyingly cut off the last minute or so to make way for the next scheduled programme. You can hear the music continuing behind the announcer and one can't help wondering why they didn't cut some of the announcements at the start and have more music, but we have to live with it.


Wagner: Die Walküre
San Francisco Opera
Friday, November 13 1936

Conductor, Fritz Reiner

Brünnhilde Kirsten Flagstad
Sieglinde Lotte Lehmann
Fricka Kathryn Meisle
Siegmund Lauritz Melchior
Wotan Friedrich Schorr
https://rapidshare.com/files/374889232/1936WalkureSFAct2.mp3