Live from the Met

Otto Schenk’s opulent production, conducted masterfully by Christian Thielemann, provides a perfect setting for Strauss’s bittersweet comedy of true love and mistaken identity. The great Kiri Te Kanawa is radiant as Arabella, the daughter of an impoverished aristocrat who must marry a wealthy man to save her family. Wolfgang Brendel sings Mandryka, the landowner from the provinces who wins her over with his honesty and genuine charm in the midst of Viennese society. Marie McLaughlin is Zdenka, Arabella’s younger sister, whose well-meaning actions cause all kinds of misunderstandings, and David Kuebler sings Matteo, Arabella’s suitor, who realizes he is really in love with Zdenka. Helga Dernesch and Donald McIntyre are Arabella’s parents, the Count and Countess Waldner, and Natalie Dessay, in her Met debut role, sings the Fiakermilli. Performance date: November 3, 1994.

With Cio-Cio-San, the young Japanese geisha at the heart of his Madama Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini created one of the most commanding soprano roles in the operatic repertoire. In this telecast from the Live from Met series, acclaimed American soprano Catherine Malfitano rises to the challenges, traversing a wide emotional range and delivering a vocal performance that is as dramatic as it is beautiful. Tenor Richard Leech is Lt. Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, the callous American sailor who takes advantage of Cio-Cio-San’s trusting naiveté, with baritone Dwayne Croft as the stern yet compassionate U.S. consul Sharpless. Daniele Gatti takes the podium to conduct Giancarlo Del Monaco’s production, with its picturesque depiction of turn-of-the-century Japan. Performance date: December 21, 1994.

Verdi’s monumental score is fully the equal of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy—and both demand great actors. This is one performance where both playwright and composer are well served. Plácido Domingo’s Otello is one of the glories of the operatic world, beautifully sung and so commandingly acted that audiences are devastated by the end. Renée Fleming’s ravishingly beautiful Desdemona is deeply moving, and as Iago, James Morris is as beguiling as he is menacing. Under James Levine’s conducting the Met orchestra and chorus are vital characters in the drama. Performance date: October 13, 1995.

The Met celebrated the silver anniversary of James Levine's arrival with fifty-eight soloists contributing to a gala that lasted from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m. the following morning. They performed on three sets: an Ezio Frigerio design for Act One of Francesca da Rimini, a gift of Mrs Donald D. Harrington; a Günther Schneider-Siemssen design for Act Two of Arabella, a gift in part of Mrs Michael Falk; and a Schneider-Siemssen design for Act Three of Tannhäuser, a gift of the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation and of the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Performance date: April 27, 1996.