Search - Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Richard [1] Strauss :: Metropolitan Opera Gala Honoring Sir Rudolf Bing [Highlights]

A VERY SPECIAL EVENING AT THE MET

Operaman! | Chicago, IL United States | 04/05/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The 1972 Gala that honored the retirement of the late Sir Rudolf Bing was one of the first big international opera galas of note. I was a mere high schooler when highlights of the gala were aired on television, hosted by Rise Stevens. An LP of highlights was released (a slew of copies were produced domestically with a defect on the second side that had to be recalled). Shortly after this DGG announced a SECOND LP of highlights that would include additional items, including Dorothy Kirsten, Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti and others from the same gala. It never materialized.



When DGG announced the CD version, I was ever hopeful those unreleased items would finally see the light of day. Sadly, that's not the case. What we have left is a mixed bag. Arroyo expressive but unsteady, a young Domingo with Caballe sounding undermiked, Nilsson ripping the roof off, Price skipping the recitative and not in best voice, Tucker and Merrill trying to outshout each other, Resnik hamming it up, Zylis-Gara and Corelli's only evidence of Otello on record with the fans ruining the beautiful orchestral ending of the duet. Despite all my negatives, this CD is evidence of a very special evening in New York when the operatic lights shone a lot brighter than they do now, the likes of which will never be seen or heard again. It would get five stars if the missing items had been included."

Where's the rest of it?

Robert B. | Midwest USA | 08/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"To DG--Please release on CD the rest of this Gala. On DVD, at least the portion that was televised. I always want more whenever I hear this one. It was one of the outstanding nights at the Met during the Bing era."