In attempting to get a little bit of everything onto my Mixcloud page, I realized that I inadvertently neglected some essentials: 1) Leyla Gencer 2) La Gioconda.

So I’m especially pleased to post this 1967 performance from the San Francisco Opera, the cast of which includes a young mezzo named Grace Bumbry, and the great Maureen Forrester in the opera’s most important role: La Cieca. The conductor, Giuseppe Patanè, was famous for yelling back to a Met audience which morphed into an unruly mob at a performance of the very same opera 15 years later, “Have respect for Ponchielli,” when Carlo Bini had to step mid-performance into Plácido Domingo’s boots and found they produced a nasty screech (Patanè then cancelled after Act III and didn’t return till after Bini was gone). Hopefully, Renato Cioni will prove less provocative.

La Gioconda – Leyla Gencer
Enzo – Renato Cioni
Barnaba – Chester Ludgin
Laura – Grace Bumbry
Alvise – Ara Berberian
La Cieca – Maureen Forrester
Zuàne – Allan Monk
Un Cantore – John Beauchamp
Isèpo – David Clements
Un Pilota – Richard Styles
Conductor Giuseppe Patanè
San Francisco Opera

Listen to this performance.