Live from the Met

Franco Zeffirelli’s sumptuous production of Puccini’s final opera has been a Met favorite ever since its 1987 premiere run, captured in this telecast. James Levine brings out all the color and drama of the composer’s most ambitious score, leading a stellar cast: Plácido Domingo is Calàf, the unknown prince, Eva Marton sings the title role of the icy princess, Leona Mitchell is Liù, the innocent slave girl, and Paul Plishka plays Timur, Calàf’s father. Veteran tenor Hugues Cuénod, at 85, sings the ancient Emperor Altoum, in his Met debut. Performance date: April 4, 1987.

Otto Schenk’s brilliant production captures both the dark romanticism of the story as well as its fairy-tale magic. It is a superb setting for Neil Shicoff’s vivid portrayal of the tortured poet Hoffmann, as he recounts the loves of his life and the way he has been foiled by his nemesis—a marvelous James Morris in a tour-de-force performance of the opera’s four villains. Gwendolyn Bradley is the doll Olympia, Tatiana Troyanos sings the courtesan Giulietta, and Roberta Alexander portrays the innocent Antonia. Performance date: January 8, 1988.

Jessye Norman is a regal Ariadne, the mythological Greek heroine in this opera-within-an-opera, opposite the passionate Bacchus of the great James King. Kathleen Battle delivers the coloratura fireworks of Zerbinetta, the leader of a commedia dell’arte troupe that finds itself stranded on Ariadne’s island. Tatiana Troyanos and Franz Ferdinand Nentwig star as the young Composer and the Music Master in the opera’s prologue. James Levine brings out all the color and charm of Strauss’s brilliant chamber-sized score with its equal amounts of pathos and humor. Bodo Igesz’s production features sets by esteemed designer Oliver Messel. Performance date: March 12, 1988.