Hot pants explosion

On this day in 1976 mezzo-soprano Tatiana Troyanos made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Octavian.

Speight Jenkins in the New York Post:

The star of the show was Miss Troyanos. The most aristocratic Octavian at the Met in years, she splendidly acted a girl playing a boy (and sometimes playing at being a girl), Never did she overdo; she looked handsome (not beautiful); she moved gracefully; and her hauteur could have only belonged to someone in the nobility.

Vocally, the role seemed perfect for her. She has a large, warming lyric mezzo-soprano with perfect control and an even, balanced sound throughout. She knew exactly how much sound to put out to fit into Levine’s conception, and her singing of the Trio and the final duet was perfection itself.