"The Night The Old Met Died" - Gala Farewell at the Metropolitan Opera House (16/04/1966, New York)

Metropolitan Opera House
16th April 1966, New York

Presentation of Honored Guests: Osie Hawkins/Master of Ceremonies

Honored Guests:

Marian Anderson
Rose Bampton
Giuseppe Bamboschek
Richard Bonelli
Karin Branzell
John Brownlee
Anna Case
Mario Chamlee
Eugene Conley
Richard Crooks
Vilma Georgiou
Hertha Glaz
Nannette Guilford
Frederick Jagel
Helen Jepson
Raoul Jobin
Alexander Kipnis
Charles Kullman
Marjorie Lawrence
Lotte Lehmann
Martha Lipton
Giovanni Martinelli
Edith Mason
Ruth Miller
Nina Morgana
Patrice Munsel
Irra Petina
Lily Pons
Elisabeth Rethberg
Stella Roman
Bidú Sayao
Risë Stevens
Gladys Swarthout

The program included:

00:00 - American national anthem
01:38 - introduction
03:05 - R.Wagner Entrance of the Guests from "Tannhäuser" (cond. Leopold Stokowski) [his last performance at the company)
10:16 - introduction of honored guests by Osie Hawkins
20:31 - G.Donizetti Sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor" (with Anna Moffo, Carlotta Ordassy, Arturo Sergi, Charles Antony, Justino DIaz & William Walker)
24:10 - G.Verdi "Eri tu" from "Un Ballo in Maschera" (by Robert Merrill)
29:06 - G.Verdi "Si, pel ciel" from "Otello" (by James McCracken & Anselmo Colzani)
33:13 - G.Verdi "Ella giammai m'amò" from "Don Carlo" (by Cesare Siepi)

Conductor.........Francesco Molinari-Pradelli

41:17 - G.Charpentier "Depuis le jour" from "Louise" (by Dorothy Kirsten)
46:10 - G.Bizet Quintet from "Carmen" (by Regina Resnik, Thela Votipka {last perf.}, Marcia Baldwin, Paul Franke, George Cehanovsky {last perf.})
51:39 - G.Puccini "Un Bel di Vedremo" from "Madama Butterfly" (by Licia Albanese)

Conductor...........Max Rudolf

56:42 - R.Wagner "Winterstürme" from "Die Walkure" (by Jon Vickers)
59:48 - P.Cornelius "Heil diesem Hause" from "Der Barbier von Bagdad" (by Fernando Corena)

Conductor.........George Schick

01:01:46 - G.Rossini "Una voce poco fà" from "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" (by Roberta Peters)
01:08:08 - a little remark on Lucine Amara whose being replaced by Della Rigal in the final trio from "La Forza del Destino"
01:09:22 - G.Verdi Final from "La Forza del Destino" (by Della Rigal {last perf.}, Jan Peerce & Giorgio Tozzi)

Conductor...............Silvio Varviso

01:17:50 - A.Ponchielli "L'amo come il fulgor del creato!" from "La Gioconda" (by Régine Crespin & Biserka Cvejic)
01:21:18 - G.Verdi "D'amor sull'ali rosee" from "Il Trovatore" (by Leontyne Price)
01:27:33 - G.Puccini "Tu, tu amore? Tu? from "Manon Lescaut" (by Renata Tebaldi & Franco Corelli)

Conductor...............Fausto Cleva

01:34:30 - R.Wagner "Prize song" from "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" (by Sandor Konya)
91:38:03 - R.Wagner "Immolation Scene" from "Gotterdummerung" (by Birgit Nilsson)

Conductor........Joseph Rosenstock

01:55:45 - G.Verdi Scene 2 from 2nd act of "Aida" (by Mary Curtis Verna {last perf.}, Kurt Baum {last perf.}, Jean Madeira, Mario Sereni, John Macurdy & Norman Scott)

Conductor.........Zubin Mehta

02:19:54 - W.A.Mozart Farawell trio from "Così Fan Tutte" (by Teresa Stratas, Mildred Miller and Frank Guarrera]
02:22:57 - W.A.Mozart Quintet from "Die Zauberflöte" (by Mary Ellen Pracht, Joann Grillo, Gladys Kriese, George Shirley & Theodor Uppman)

Conductor..........Erich Leinsdorf

02:29:15 - S.Barber Quintet from "Vanessa" (by Eleanor Steber {last perf.}, Mignon Dunn, Blanche Thedom, John Alexander, Clifford Harvuot)

Conductor..........Kurt Adler

02:34:08 - R.Strauss Final Trio from "Der Rosenkavalier" (by Montserrat Caballe, Jodith Raskin & Rosalind Elias)
02:39:25 - U.Giordano Final Duet from "Andrea Chénier" (by Zinka Milanov {last perf.} & Richard Tucker)
02:46:39 - C.Gounod FInal Trio fron "Faust" (by Gabriella Tucci, Nicolai Gedda & Jerome Hines)

Conductor........Georges Prêtre

02:49:06 - final words to the old Metropolitan Opera House