the color of tears
Just added to Google’s online archive of Life magazine photographs: over a hundred full-color images from the Old Met in the 1960s. Be prepared for a strong pang of nostalgia as you glimpse Richard Tucker, Leontyne Price, Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli, Anna Moffo, Zinka Milanov and many other greats of that regrettably bygone era. [Google Images]
That picture reminds me of a story an old coworker once told me. She was at the final dress rehearsal for the new Fanciulla, and when Richard Tucker came out with a cowboy hat on, the audience roared with laughter. I seem to remember she said he didn’t wear the hat in later performances, but I may be wrong.
Spectacular photos. I hope someone will download all of them and turn them into a slideshow with appropriate music. Love the one of Elizabeth Taylor and Eddy Fisher in Sherry’s.
Don’t miss the great photo of Zinka MICANOVA [sic] at
http://tinyurl.com/knfevq
These are some truly grand photos. Thanks, La Cieca.
What a great collection of pictures!!! It’s great to see most of them in COLOR for the first time!!! THANK YOU!!!
How Utterly AbFab.
Whatever were they thinking of, putting Leontyne in that red schmatta? She looks so good in her blue gown.
Anna Moffo looking absolutely gorgeous, as always.
Birgit looking Fierce.
Dorothy Kirsten’s marvelous bouffant, always a class act.
Zinka’s beatific troll of a smile over the rose rosse!
{Maybe some were borrowed for Leontyne’s hair?)
Wonderful to see Liz looking young and beautiful.
And I dunno, I think Richard Tucker is kinda cute with his Dick Johnson bandana.
Ah yes, those were the days my friends, and they are now ended.
Shout out to Mme. La Cieca for doing us this kindness.
Thank you for the reminders of past elegance. That’s what I wish I could see more of.
Unless I’m mistaken, these shots are from the farewell-to-the-old-house gala before the move from 39th St. to Lincoln Center. Surely it’s not Milanov’s farewell—unless she took her leave simultaneously? Was the Chenier finale part of the show? I always did think that Cecil Beaton Turandot was really fetching—very fairy tale.
hndymn, I just browsed through the first sheet of photos and no, there are not all from th elast night at the old Met. Price in the blue feathery thing is from closing night and Birgit in black with opera length
gloves was also from the gala. Albanese in the red number may have been from the gala. But many of the others were not; Price and Tucker in the Fanciulla scenes were from several seasons earlier.
Milanov’s official farewell was as Maddalena
in a performance of Chenier a few nights before the official last night at the Met but she and Tucker did the Chenier duet as their contribution to the gala, making it a kind of encore from Milanov’s actual farewell. The audience was frantic with enthusiasm.
I believe all the performers appeared in the gala in evening dress (except possibly for those that appeared in an Aida scene) so it’s a fair assumption that any of these
photos of performers in costume were from earlier performances.
Many are from the Old Met’s farewell performance but not all. Zinka and Tucker did the Andrea Chenier final duet at the gala but not in costume. Those pics are from Zinka’s final full performance of Maddalena. (Note that they are in costume. Also Merrill smiling out of character during the applause after La Mamma Morta.)
The Fanciulla pics must also be from the dress rehearsal or first performances in 1961.
The Turandot pics are also staged.
I actually have the Life issue on that gala. I guess I should consider it a collector’s item now.
Ah memories…