On this day in 1986 baritone Thomas Hampson made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Count Almaviva.
Bill Zakariasen in the New York Daily News:
Debuting baritone Thomas Hampson was outstanding as the Count-he’s very tall and handsome, a fine actor, and his good-sized voice was handled with an adroit technique that made child’s play of the role’s demands.
Born on this day in 1835 composer Camille Saint-Saens.
Dan Soda (Windy City Operaman) is a Chicago native whose first visit to opera was at age 17 and Massenet’s Werther with Troyanos and Kraus. Nothing was ever the same. Opera and concert performances, recordings and video are an obsession. He prepares Parterre Box’s daily birthday and anniversary tributes. He also enjoys concerts, live theater and movies.
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
