Annals of the Metropolitan Opera: The Complete Chronicle of Performances and Artists

1343 Pages·1989·257.365 MB·English

by  Gerald Fitzgerald, Robert Tuggle (eds.)

ANNALs
====OF
THE~~===
METROPOLITAN
OPERA
Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center
ALS
OF THE
____ TROPOU .........
QP ____
THE COMPLETE CHRONICLE OF PERFORMANCES AND ARTISTS
Gerald Fitzgerald Editor in Chief
Jean Seward Uppman Senior Editor
Geoff Peterson Publisher
Gregory Downer Design
with Elizabeth Diggans
Katherine Holway Assistant Editor
Dennis Me Govern Assistant Editor
Consulting Editor: Robert Tuggle
Director of Archives, Metropolitan Opera Association
Tables 1883-1985
The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Inc.
MACMILLAN
PRESS
M
Published in 1989 by
G. K. Hall & Co.
70 Lincoln St.
Boston, Massachusetts 02111
and
The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Inc.
1865 Broadway
New York, New York 10023
© 1989 The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Inc.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1989 978-0-333-53808-1
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or
transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to
this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
First published in the United Kingdom 1990 by
The Macmillan Press Limited
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG212XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
ISBN 978-1-349-11978-3 ISBN 978-1-349-11976-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-11976-9
This publication is printed on permanent/d urable acid-free paper
Table of Contents
PAGE
Guide to the Tables vi
List of Illustrations xxiv
Table 1: Performances
lA Operas 1
lB Dance Works 15
lC Concert Works 21
lD Other Performances 23
Table 2: Composers and Librettists
2A Composers 27
2B Librettists 33
Table 3: Production Artists
3A Directors 39
3B Designers 47
3C Choreographers 55
Table 4: Performing Artists
4A CondUctors 59
4B Vocal Artists 73
4C Dancers 219
4D Other Performers 243
4E · Guest Appearances 257
Table 5: Performance Locations 261
Table 6: Broadcast Performances 267
Table 7: Translations
7A Works in Translation 273
7B Translators 277
Appendix I: Chief Administrators 281
Appendix II: Chorus Masters
283
Appendix III: Ballet Masters 285
Appendix IV: World and U.S. Opera Premieres 287
Index 291
Picture Sources for the Tables 313
Guide to theT ables
T
he Tables of Annals of the Metropolitan Opera represent
the first comprehensive effort to classify and quantify the
complete performance history of the company, including the
contributions of the approximately 5,000 creative, production and
performing artists whose work the Met has presented. These
tabulations are based on the performance-by-performance detail of the
Annals Chronology, covering the 100 seasons, October 1883 through
June 1985.
The sources of data and the policies adopted in tabulating each of the
seven tables and sixteen sub-tables are more fully described later in
this guide. Three principles, however, apply generally.
General Principles
I
Data for all tables derive from the same set of performances-the
21,872 separate events included in the Annals Chronology.
II
The dates and statistics given in each entry apply only to the artistic
function addressed by the sub-table in which they appear. This is
noteworthy because many creative, production and performing artists
have had multifaceted Met careers, and as a result, have table entries
under more than one classification. (The date of a tenor's debut in Table
4B [Vocal Artists], for example, almost certainly will differ from that
of his debut in Table 4A [Conductors].)
III
Throughout the Tables, "seasons" are used to specify position within
the chronology and as a measurement of duration. A season is the series
of presentations beginning with the first performance September 1 or
later of one year and concluding with the last performance August 31 or
earlier of the next. Each is identified ordinarily by the last digits of its
years-for example, the season that began in September 1975 and
ended in June 1976 is referred to as the 75-76 season. (Twice since the
Met opened in October, 1883, no season has been presented. These
two hiatuses-1892-93 and 1897-98-account for the fact that Annals'
reporting spans nearly 102 years, 1883-1985, but only an even 100
seasons. In the Performing Artists tables that follow, these so-called
"dark seasons" occasionally create the appearance of a break in service
in a career that otherwise was uninterrupted.)
vi
Standard Notation
Four conventions are sufficiently common to all tables to be noted at
the outset.
• In both single dates and in seasons, the typeface of the numerals
representing the year is used to identify the appropriate century;
italic face signals the nineteenth century, and roman face the
twentieth. For instance, 3/21/84 refers to March 21, 1884, while
3/21/84 means the same date in 1984.
• A span of seasons is always shown in an abbreviated form, using the
first digits of the initial season and the last digits of the final one.
For example, seasons of service for a vocal artist who first sang
with the company during 68-69 and made his last appearance in
71-72 would be noted as 68-72. This would be so whether the artist's
actual tenure had been September 1968 to April1972 or April1969
to September 1971, because in either case his debut occurs within
the 68-69 season and his farewell during 71-72.
• s/w/r/p-these lower-case letters following numeric counts
indicate the following:
s = total seasons in which a work has been presented or an artist
has appeared
w = different works in which an artist has performed
r = the number of separate roles the artist has assayed within
those works
p = total performances or appearances
• Three upper-case codes indicate the locations in which
performances took place.
MOH = the original Metropolitan Opera House at Broadway and
Thirty-ninth Street
MOL = the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the
Performing Arts
E = elsewhere-any of nearly 200 other locations where the
company has performed
Index ofN ames
Most inquiries regarding creative or performing artists will benefit
from an initial check of the Index [page 291]. This section lists,
alphabetically, all individuals and group performers named in the
Chronology. Each entry indicates all the tables or appendices in which
a particular name will be found. (For those who performed no tabulated
function, the entry shows dates in the Chronology where that name
appears.)
Programs and contemporary newspaper accounts of Met
performances are frequently inconsistent or inaccurate with regard
to artists' names. To aid researchers who may be using Annals in
conjunction with such original source documentation, the Index has
been cross-referenced extensively.
Each entry that provides table references is an artist's primary
listing in the Index. It employs the name by which that person was
associated most often with the company (or, in the case ofliving artists,
vii
associated most recently). Other names by which the same artist may
be known appear accompanied by the following abbreviations, which
indicate something of their histories:
a.k.a. [also known as] appearing in an artist's primary entry
precedes another name under which he was credited
in Met programs.
alt. nm. [alternate name] indicates a different name (or, often,
names) by which an artist was identified intermittently
in company programs. The editors believe these
alternates appeared with the artist's approval.
alt. sp. [alternate spelling], by contrast, notes variants that, in
the editors' judgment, most likely resulted from the
vagaries oftypesetting, rather than the artist's wishes.
pr. nm. [prior name] is used in cases of a clearly defined name
change-all prior performances under one name, all
those subsequent under another-most often due to
marriage.
adpt. nm. [adopted name] denotes pseudonyms under which
artists occasionally appeared in the program- apparent
attempts to conceal their usual identities, typically when
playing less prominent roles.
p.s.a. [possibly same as] links two different names that
circumstances suggest may actually represent a single
person. In these cases, the editors, at the limits of their
research and in the absence of compelling evidence to
the contrary, have accepted company records at face
value and accorded unique identities and tabulations to
each name, but not without misgivings.
The entries for alternate, prior, adopted and possible duplicate names
always refer the reader to the artist's primary listing. Additionally,
each indicates a date in the Chronology where more information about
the variant can be found.
Throughout the Index, names shown in parentheses are alternates
by which an artist might be known elsewhere but were never used
at the Metropolitan Opera-typically given names, or better-known
professional or married names adopted later in a career.
In an effort to overcome differing international customs in the
spelling and ordering of names, three conventions have been adopted.
First, compound surnames-those including d', da, de, 1', la, le, von and
the like-have been cross-referenced; e.g., the conductor who led the
company's 1968 production of Das Rheingold can be located in the
Index under either Karajan, Herbert von or Von Karajan, Herbert.
Second, umlaut-marked vowels in the original spellings of European
artists' names (frequently rewritten as "ae", "oe" or ''ue" in company
records) have been retained or restored, e.g., Bjorling, not Bjoerling.
Finally, all names have been alphabetized using a strict letter sequence,
ignoring word breaks within the name, e.g., Del Monaco before DeLuca.
viii
Table 1: Performances
The four sub-tables of this section enumerate the Met's full
performances of Operas, Dance Works and Concert Works [Tables lA,
lB and lC, respectively] and its presentations of Concerts, Galas and
Miscellaneous performances [Table lD].
A work receives credit for a full performance each time it is seen in
the majority of its acts as designated by the composer-e.g., three acts
of a five-act opera, but not one act of a two-act opera. Subject to this
restriction, the full performance count applies whether the work was
staged or offered in concert form, and whether it was presented alone,
on a multiple bill with other works, or within the context of a Concert
or Gala Performance. Shorter excerpts-single acts, scenes or arias
performed during a Concert or Gala, for example-do not qualify as full
performances and so add no counts to the works from which they
derive. (They may, however, create a record as a Miscellaneous
performance. Note too that Dance Works have required special
consideration. Both points are discussed later in this Guide.)
Sample Entry
Table lA: Operas
Title in o=rigsin,a l text English translation Alternate title, used in programs
-.,-T,-L-_,-----,------,
Composer-Librettists
~ Les V@pres Siciliennes [The Sicilian Vespers; I Vespri Siciliam]
"i{Verdi-8cribe/Duveyrier) 4s 37p (31 MOL, 6 E); 8/23/67 (1 E),
~1/31174 (11 MOL, 4 E), 9/1 74 12 MOL, 1 E), 3/17/82 (8 MOL).
y-
* =new production
__L
Total seasons
Locations of performances and performances Dates of seasonal premieres
(Opera House 11, elsewhere 4)
Figure 1
Operas and Concert Works (pieces scored for voices but not intended
to be staged) are always named in the language of their original text.
Opera entries are cross-referenced with all titles under which the work
has been performed by the Met and, in the case of unfamiliar titles, with
better-known alternates. Titles initially spelled using the Cyrillic
alphabet are given in transliteration.
The bracketed information in opera entries [figure 1] provides an
approximate English translation of the title and cites alternate names
by which the work may be known. (Titles that have been used in
Metropolitan Opera programs appear in italics.) Following this, the
composer-librettist(s) are shown, in parenthesis. Next, the
performance history of the work at the Met is summarized in a series of
counts indicating, respectively, the total seasons in which the work was
seen, the total number of its presentations and, among three
alternatives, where those performances took place: the original opera
house on Broadway, the ''new Met" at Lincoln Center or elsewhere
(i.e., all other locations considered as a group). Each entry concludes by
listing the dates of first performances of the work in all seasons in which
it was presented and the count of all performances each season,
ix