Razor-sharp

Bill Zakariasen in the Daily News:

Richard Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier” was revived at the Metropolitan Opera Thursday night with an almost completely new cast which included three debuts. The most important of the latter was Greek mezzo Agnes Baltsa in the trouser role of Octavian. Baltsa has been creating quite a commotion of late in Europe for her bright, clean sound and razor-sharp technique, to say nothing of her striking good looks and carriage. These qualities were abundant in her Met debut. Her voice, while not sounding particularly voluminous in this hall, easily filled it anyway and was noticeably successful (and never embarrassing in the least) in her characterization of a lovestruck adolescent, giving Octavian an intriguing touch of vulnerability.

Born on this day in 1930 Rosanna Carteri.

Birthday anniversaries of playwright Carlo Gozzi (1720), poet Heinrich Heine (1797), soprano Iva Pacetti (1898), conductor Jonel Perlea (1900), tenor Gosta Winbergh (1943) and baritone George Fortune (1931).