WEEKEND AT THE OPERA: February 21-22, 1969

In the decades since I started going to the opera, I've had some spectacular experiences at the Met. But one weekend always stands out: February 21 - 22, 1969 when I saw a perfect cast in my first FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN on Friday; my first RHEINGOLD (and my only Herbert von Karajan performance in the theatre) on Saturday afternoon; and the once-in-a-lifetime combination of Birgit Nilsson and Montserrat Caballe as Turandot and Liu in TURANDOT on Saturday night. It's pretty incredible to think it was almost 40 years ago - and even more incredible that the performances remain so vivid in my mind.

When I think back now about such monumental portrayals as Leonie Rysanek's Kaiserin in FRAU (above), I can't avoid a feeling of regret, both for myself  - that such breath-taking voices and personalities no longer seem to exist - and for the younger generations of opera-goers who only very rarely can experience performances of such majesty and intensity today. What I think possibly it comes down to is: singers like Rysanek, Irene Dalis, Christa Ludwig, Birgit Nilsson and Montserrat Caballe sang with complete generosity; they gave not only of their voices but of their very selves. Coached and supported by conductors like Karl Bohm and Herbert von Karajan, they were secure in what they were doing and unafraid to spend their voices lavishly. However, it was more than just the vocalism: you can listen to live recordings from this era and surely find flaws, but in the house the commitment and sheer passion of these singers swept away any misgivings. There is nothing comparable today to hearing the sound of a Rysanek or a Nilsson pouring out into the big hall. On this weekend, the five ladies mentioned and all their colleagues in all three operas generated the kind of audience fervor that simply is not found in opera houses today.

Moments like the scene above in FRAU, where Rysanek as the Empress dismisses her Nurse (Irene Dalis) have simply emblazoned themselves on the aural memory. In that split second before Leonie came soaring in on "...du taugst nicht zu mir!" ("You are not my kind!") you simply knew you were going to get hit by a thunderbolt. I can hear it today, forty years on...and more importantly, I can FEEL what it was like to experience it. Irene Dalis put her stamp on the Nurse's music - and persona - in definitive terms. Rysanek, who sang  this opera with every world-class Nurse during her career, once cited Irene's as the ideal.

It's hard to imagine what singers could ever surpass Christa Ludwig and Walter Berry (above) as the Dyer couple.  They cast a spell of rapture over the house with their big duet in Act III, but earlier Christa had reveled in the complete ease and clarity of her own voice as she swept into the soaring phrase "O welt in der welt, O traum in wachen!" ("Oh, world within the world, oh waking dream!") on first seeing the vision of the Young Man. There was a humanity in Walter Berry's sound that will always make him the Barak of the imagination.

James King (above), who sang the Emperor on Friday and Calaf in TURANDOT on Saturday night reportedly had to get a dispensation from Dr. Bohm to sing back-to-back performances. He sang with clarity and passion on both nights. I cannot think of a tenor today who could sing these two roles on consecutive evenings and make such a vocal and stylistic impression in very disimilar music.

Above: James King and Leonie Rysanek during the finale of FRAU.

Karajan's approach to RHEINGOLD was described by some as 'chamber music' and it surely had a great intimacy of feeling. I had the Solti recording at home and loved it, but inexperienced as I was in RING performances I could still feel Karajan's attention to detail in the clarity of the various orchestral voices which was so impressive, and that the singers were able to project easily into the house. The impressive singing and characterizations of Theo Adam (Wotan), Gerhard Stolze (Loge) and the fabulous Zoltan Kelemen (Alberich) would have been enough to guarantee a thrilling afternoon, but look at those names: Edda Moser, Donald Grobe, Talvela, Ridderbusch, Sherrill Milnes!

There was an added feeling of excitement among the fans in standing room (where I was) when Josephine Veasey bowed out as Fricka and was replaced by the then-unknown Anna Reynolds (below) who had been cast originally as a Rhinemaiden. She brought lyric dignity to her music...and a stately presence. A few seasons later I saw her as a sensational WALKURE Fricka.

And then there was the great audience favorite, Lili Chookasian (above) singing Erda. It was her scene with Wotan that perhaps was the most enthralling moment of the afternoon. Using her wonderfully weighted voice, Chookasian along with Theo Adam turned their encounter into one of those time-stands-still episodes. Since this first in-theatre experience with a RING opera, the Cycle has become a cornerstone of my musical world. I don't claim to begin to comprehend it, but simply to be moved and astonished by it on so many levels. I'm always grateful that my initiation was with such a memorable and satisfying performance.

Of course, there were enormous ovations after both FRAU and RHEINGOLD. In those days we thought nothing of screaming our heads off for twenty minutes at the end of an opera. Between the singers and the two great maestros, the audiences were whipped into a frenzy of acclamation. The performers bowed and bowed but the crowd would not let them go.

For all the magnificence of those Strauss and Wagner performances - and the wild reception accorded the participants - the Nilsson/Caballe TURANDOT possibly elicited an even more passionate response. I always loved Zubin Mehta's brilliantly colourful account of this score. James King and Bonaldo Giaiotti (Timur) received impressive volleys of applause all evening, but you would have to have been there to comprehend the madness which seized the crowd as Nilsson (above) and Caballe (below) - each in her own way - defined the term DIVA.

We were certainly expecting luminous Caballe pianissimi all evening but I think she surpassed herself, starting with the suspended B-flat on 'Perche un di...' in Act I which had the delicacy of moonlight. At the end of 'Signore ascolta' she produced a gossamer top B-flat and then swelled it to fortissimo in an unforgettable display of breath control and support.

In Act II, Nilsson was on a double-gold standard; she knew she'd have to give it her all on a night like this. But then, giving her all was what Birgit always did. She effortlessly dispatched her trademark trumpeting top notes that blazed into the house, driving the fans wild.

Finally in Act III came the long-anticipated scene in which princess and slave meet. Tortured to reveal the name of her beloved Prince, the steadfast Liu is silent. "What is the secret of your strength?" Turandot asks her. 'Principessa, l'amore!'  ("Princess, it is love!") Caballe replied and on "l'amore" she produced a breathtaking silvery pianissimo like a whisper. Astoundingly, Nilsson responded "L'amore?!" with a delicate pianissimo of her own. A silent thrill - a frisson - passed thru the house.

Dementia reigned at curtain call. Time and again the singers came forth. Many, many sets of solo bows. Each group call produced the delightful game of 'after you!' between the two sopranos, each offering to give precedence to the other.  At long last Nilsson and Caballe came out together, just the two of them. You'd have thought the house was going to simply cave in. Complete delirium. They embraced, and waved to the crowd; then they started to walk off. Suddenly the sound of the applause and screaming re-doubled. Nilsson and Caballe halted in their tracks, bowed deeply again to the house and to one another, then threw their arms around each other and walked off the stage.

Cecil Beaton costume sketch above. It just happened to be the 100th performance of Puccini's final opera by the Met:

Metropolitan Opera House
February 22, 1969

TURANDOT {100}

Turandot................Birgit Nilsson
Calàf...................James King
Liù.....................Montserrat Caballé
Timur...................Bonaldo Giaiotti
Ping....................Theodor Uppman
Pang....................Andrea Velis
Pong....................Charles Anthony
Emporer Altoum..........Mariano Caruso
Mandarin................Robert Goodloe
Prince of Persia........David Milnes [Last performance]
Servant.................Lance Westergard
Servant.................Lawrence Eddington
Servant.................Harry Jones
Executioner.............Phillip Rice
Executioner.............Donald Mahler
Executioner.............Howard Sayette

Conductor...............Zubin Mehta

Comments

[George Weinhouse MD]

Yes, . Those were the days! I remember that particular weekend--unbelievable casts for all three operas. I agree; Irene Dalis was the definitive NURSE, literally living the role. I had the privilege of knowing Miss Dalis personally and she is a warm and extremely generous human being,a truly wonderful person.
By the way, if I am not incorrect, Anna Reynolds played but the FRicka and the Rhinemaiden she was scheduled to sing (but only in the first scene) Someone else sang the last few lines.

[Philip]

Yes, I think it was Shirley Love who sang the offstage Rhinemaiden at the end...

[patty]

I have the privilege of playing in the opera orchestra of Opera San José, and to see Miss Dalis cheering her wonderful singers on. She is one wonderful woman, to be sure.

Such fun to read your blog. Thank you.

[Philip]

Thank you for writing, Patty...please tell Irene Dalis that she has lots of fans here in NYC!