Meme chanson, meme refrain
La Cieca is indebted to those Wellsungs for this idea:Â what’s your birth opera? Or, in other words, which opera (and cast, if applicable) was the Met performing on the day you were born? (You get this information, of course, from the Met Archives Database.)
Unfortunately, La Cieca, being a Leo, was born outside the regular Met season. So, for the purposes of this meme, she’ll look to the the Salzburg Festival for her birth opera:
Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni: Cesare Siepi; Donna Anna: Elisabeth Grümmer; Don Ottavio: Anton Dermota; Donna Elvira: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf; Leoporello: Otto Edelmann; Il Commendatore: Dezsö Ernster; Masetto: Walter Berry; Zerlina: Erna Berger. Wilhelm Furtwängler; Wiener Philharmoniker.)
 What’s your birth opera?
Lulu, with Tata Troyanos as Geschwitz, and Jimmy at the stick.
Spookily accurate. Love the leading lady, but if only MacNeil had been available….
LUISA MILLER
Luisa……………….Montserrat Caballé
Rodolfo……………..John Alexander
Miller………………Sherrill Milnes
Count Walter…………Jerome Hines
Wurm………………..Ezio Flagello
Federica…………….Louise Pearl
Laura……………….Nancy Williams
Peasant……………..Lou Marcella
Conductor……………Thomas Schippers
Too early for the MET season to begin, it was San Francisco Opera on tour in Los Angeles at the Shrive Auditorium, November 3, 1949
Ashton — Francesco Valentino
Lucia — Lily Pons (who else?)
Edgar — Ferrucio Tagliavini
Conductor, Gaetano Merola
I get 2 (assuming the broadcast was live)
December 7, 1968 Matinee Broadcast
RIGOLETTO {469}
Giuseppe Verdi–Francesco Maria Piave
Rigoletto……………Robert Merrill
Gilda……………….Anna Moffo
Duke of Mantua……….Carlo Bergonzi
Maddalena……………Shirley Love
Sparafucile………….Raymond Michalski
Monterone……………Justino DÃaz
Borsa……………….Gabor Carelli
Marullo……………..Gene Boucher
Count Ceprano………..Paul Plishka
Countess Ceprano……..Loretta Di Franco
Giovanna…………….Carlotta Ordassy
Page………………..Judith Forst
Guard……………….Paul De Paola
Conductor……………Fausto Cleva
******************
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE {219}
Roméo……………….Franco Corelli
Juliette…………….Mirella Freni
Frère Laurent………..John Macurdy
Stéphano…………….Marcia Baldwin
Mercutio…………….William Walker
Benvolio…………….Andrea Velis
Gertrude…………….Shirley Love
Capulet……………..Clifford Harvuot
Tybalt………………Charles Anthony
Pâris……………….Gene Boucher
Grégorio…………….Lorenzo Alvary
Duke of Verona……….Paul Plishka
Conductor……………Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
I was born on a Saturday, so I get two for the price of one!
Traviata: Tebaldi/Campora/Warren/Cleva
&
Cav/Pag: Milanov/Elias/Regal/Baum/Merrill/Guarrera/Adler
My 2nd opera at the MET was Cav/Pag (Trovatore the day before was the 1st):
Mignon Dunn was supposed to have sung Santuzza, Vickers was supposed to have sung Canio (win some / lose some !):
instead I had Bumbry/Mauro/Patane
I was not living in the NY Metro area at either time, that came later!
Looking around, I find that San Francisco had a performance on my b’day (10/23/57)
Aida, with Leontyne Price in only her second performance of the title role. Amneris (my favorite opera character was the somewhat less iconic Claramae Turner) Radames some guy named Tobin , Merrill as Amonasro with Molinari-Pradelli conducting.
I’ll take that.
I’m out of luck. I was born during the 1980 strike.
I like mine a lot – Der Rosenkavalier conducted by Karl Boehm, with Evelyn Lear, Christa Ludwig, Judith Raskin, Walter Berry.
WAAAY older than the rest of you. And it was telecast! And very appropriate, for many reasons.
DER ROSENKAVALIER {129}
R. Strauss-Hofmannsthal
Octavian…………………Risë Stevens
Princess von Werdenberg……Eleanor Steber
Baron Ochs……………….Emanuel List
Sophie…………………..Erna Berger [Debut]
Faninal………………….Hugh Thompson
Annina…………………..Martha Lipton
Valzacchi………………..Peter Klein [Debut]
Italian Singer……………Giuseppe Di Stefano
Marianne…………………Thelma Votipka
Mahomet………………….Peggy Smithers
Princess’ Major-domo………Emery Darcy
Orphan…………………..Paula Lenchner
Orphan…………………..Maxine Stellman
Orphan…………………..Thelma Altman
Milliner…………………Lois Hunt [Debut]
Animal Vendor…………….Leslie Chabay
Hairdresser………………Matthew Vittucci
Notary…………………..Gerhard Pechner
Leopold………………….Ludwig Burgstaller
Faninal’s Major-domo………Paul Franke
Innkeeper………………..Leslie Chabay
Police Commissioner……….Lorenzo Alvary
Conductor………………..Fritz Reiner
Director…………………Herbert Graf
Set designer……………..Hans Kautsky
Costume designer………….Alfred Roller
No one could possibly have a less impressive performance on their birthdate than I:
Metropolitan Opera House
October 3, 1974
MADAMA BUTTERFLY {558}
Cio-Cio-San………….Enriqueta Tarrés
Pinkerton……………Harry Theyard
Suzuki………………Jean Kraft
Sharpless……………John Reardon
Goro………………..Robert Schmorr
Bonze……………….Andrij Dobriansky
Yamadori…………….Russell Christopher
Dolore………………Gina Puleo
Kate Pinkerton……….Alma Jean Smith
Commissioner…………Arthur Thompson
Registrar……………Kun Yul Yoo
Conductor……………Richard Woitach
I mean, honestly, when Jean Kraft (fine comprimaria as she was) is the only name I can recognise, it’s too depressing. It think I’m going to pretend that there was no Met performance on that day and look at another company’s schedule.