Above: Montserrat Caballé
On April 22nd, 1972, fifty years ago today, a matinee of Verdi's DON CARLO was the final opera performance of Sir Rudolf Bing's reign at The Metropolitan Opera. That evening, a gala concert featuring many great artists of the day paid tribute to the departing general manager.
I attended the matinee, and I tried to get a ticket for the evening's farewell concert, but none were to be had. Here's what I wrote in my diary about the afternoon's DON CARLO:
"In spite of a few shortcomings, this was for the most part a superb and highly enjoyable performance; the opera itself is magnificent. Francesco Molinari-Pradelli's conducting was dutiful, and not very inspired. I found myself wishing for a different maestro.
All the singers were perfectly suited to their roles. Two fine tenors - Leo Goeke as Count Lerma and Rod MacWherter as the Herald - sounded wonderful in their brief musical moments. Lucine Amara and Frederica von Stade graciously took on small roles in honor of Mr. Bing: Ms. Amara repeated her 1950 Met debut role as the Celestial Voice to lovely effect, whilst Ms. von Stade stepped back from such roles as Nicklausse, Hansel, and Cherubino to make a sensational Theobald, the queen's page. What a voice this mezzo has, and how boyish and alert her acting was! Paul Plishka was amply resonant as the mysterious Friar (aka Charles V).
John Macurdy sang very well as the Grand Inquisitor, joining the great Cesare Siepi's Philip II to make the confrontation of church and state a chilling scene. The Siepi voice remains impressive, giving us a wonderfully personal "Ella giammai m'amo"; his acting and bearing left nothing to be desired. Bravo!
Grace Bumbry as Eboli gave one of the finest performances I have heard from her. A couple of snags in the Canzone del Velo were quickly forgotten as she swept thru the fiery Garden Scene trio and on to a striking "O don fatale" which elicited great applause. Bumbry looks sensational onstage, though her acting is sometimes mannered.
Franco Corelli did not seem as vocally secure in the title-role as is the 1970 performances with Raina Kabaivanska, but still quite exciting. His singing was sustained and well-modulated, and of course he looks great onstage, though as an actor he sometimes went overboard. Still, Corelli always ignites the crowd. Sherrill Milnes sounded better today than he did earlier in the season; his Posa is a masculine, commanding figure, and he makes you care about the character's fate.
Standing head and shoulders vocally above her colleagues, Montserrat Caballé was a sublime Elisabetta. Her regal bearing and innate sense of nobility made her physical stature irrelevant: she in unquestionably a queen in every sense of the word. She looked magnificent in the costumes, especially the rich red gown of the Auto da Fé scene. Ms. Caballé's singing was thrilling from first note to last, and it is a pleasure to watch her sing: she expends no evident effort, whether producing an ensemble-topping forte or a shimmering pianissimo. Her farewell to the Countess of Aremberg (both verses) was a poised moment of poetic beauty. All afternoon, the diva seemed to inspire her colleagues, especially in the Closet Scene quartet which was a highlight of the performance. And in the great aria "Tu che le vanita", Ms. Caballé rose to spectacular heights, pouring out the queen's despair rich-toned phrases, and weaving in uncanny pianissimi of spine-tingling delicacy. The aria won a huge ovation. And then La Caballé ended the evening by holding the opera's final note FOREVER! Her Elisabetta ranks with the greatest operatic interpretations I have experienced to date. Bravississima!!!"
Montserrat Caballé's sensationally sustained final note at this performance is preserved on this recording of the opera's ending from the broadcast: Cesare Siepi is Philip II, John Macurdy is the Grand Inquisitor, Placido Domingo is Don Carlo, and Paul Plishka's is the Voice of Charles V. Listen here.
~ Oberon