Liebe Grüße aus dem Grünen Hügel! Well, the steamer trunks arrived (one never knows when a summer fur may be required), but my hat has gone missing. And so has Verdi! Last week was Puccini, Offenbach, and more Puccini, and now I am drowning in Wagner. So let’s all listen to the American debut of Ghena Dimitrova in this 1981 performance of Ernani from Dallas.  

This is Dimitrova before she became pigeonholed into all those Turandots and Abigailles. The sound of the voice may surprise you if you only know her from her later work. Also of note are the superb Matteo Manuguerra as Don Carlo and the indefatigable Paul Pishka as de Silva. As for the Ernani… well, some of you were around for those infamous Met performances of La Gioconda in 1982 in which a certain Carlo Bini caused a revolt when he replaced Plácido Domingo as Enzo mid-performance. Here we have Bini in all his glory, shortly before the end of his career of 31 performances with the Met.

Giuseppe Verdi: Ernani

Dallas Opera
Nicola Rescigno, conductor
18 December 1981

Ernani – Carlo Bini
Elvira – Ghena Dimitrova
Don Carlo – Matteo Manuguerra
Don Ruy Gomez de Silva – Paul Plishka

Dedicated to Ghena Dimitrova: 6 May 1941 – 11 June 2005