Live from the Met

Franco Zeffirelli uses his unique theatrical magic on Mozart’s dark opera about the legendary lover, Don Giovanni. The result is a thrilling production that underlines the dramatic flair of Mozart’s passionate score. Under James Levine’s stylish leadership, the cast delivers brilliantly: Bryn Terfel is Don Giovanni, the man who dares to be himself and pays the ultimate price. Renée Fleming, Solveig Kringelborn, and Hei-Kyung Hong are the women he pursues, and Ferruccio Furlanetto is Leporello, the Don’s servant and alter ego. Performance date: October 12, 2000.

The smooth, polished sound of James Levine´s Metropolitan Opera Orchestra makes for meditative listening - at some point even approximating the effect of a sleeping pill. Beautiful, it most certainly is. Engaged and passionate, it most certainly is not. And with this score, it really does make all the difference. Just listen to Daniel Barenboim to appreciate exactly what James Levine lacks here. Or listen to James Levine himself conducting Puccini or Verdi... Katarina Dalayman and René Pape both look entirely out of place in this setting. René Pape had his major international breakthrough in this production with his beautifully sung and convincingly acted King Marke. As Brangäne, Katarina Dalayman is more peripheral to the drama, but nevertheless superb. NOTE: This production sparked a lawsuit against the Met. Performance date: December 11, 1999.

A star-studded clip show celebrates the legacy of Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) with excerpts from nine of his operas, dating back to a 1977 telecast of "Rigoletto" featuring Placido Domingo, Ileana Cotrubas and Cornell MacNeil. Other singers include Renata Scotto and Jon Vickers (a 1978 "Otello"); Scotto and Tatiana Troyanos ("Don Carlo," 1980); Luciano Pavarotti (the "Rigoletto" Act III aria "La donna e mobile," 1981); and Leontyne Price capping her Met career in 1985 ("O patria mia," from Aïda).