Die Meistersinger, Salzburg 1936

Aida, Metropolitan Opera 1939

Gigli as Radames

The famous Italian Tenor, Beniamino Gigli appeared regularly at the Met in the 1920s but left in 1932. He returned for just five performances in 1939, one of which was broadcast. The only parts that survive are the final 15 minutes of Act 3 and the final 8 minutes of Act 4. If you wish to hear a complete Aida with Gigli you can choose between the 1939 Covent Garden performance recorded a few months after this broadcast, or the 1946 EMI studio recording.


Metropolitan Opera House
February 4, 1939 Matinee Broadcast


AIDA
Giuseppe Verdi--Antonio Ghislanzoni

Aida....................Zinka Milanov
Radamès.................Beniamino Gigli
Amneris.................Bruna Castagna
Amonasro................Carlo Tagliabue
Ramfis..................Ezio Pinza
King....................Norman Cordon
Messenger...............Max Altglass
Priestess...............Thelma Votipka
Dance...................Maria Gambarelli

Conductor...............Ettore Panizza

http://rapidshare.com/files/447840424/Aida393.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/447840425/Aida394.mp3

The final scene of the 1936 Salzburg Meistersinger

Here are large parts of acts 1 and 3 of Die Meistersinger, conducted by Toscanini at the 1936 Salzburg Festival. Act 1 is about 73 minutes, taken from a shortwave relay with some announcements. Act 3 is about an hour, consisting of the first three scenes, plus the final scene. It is in much better sound than the shortwave extracts. It is not clear which radio stations recorded these extracts, the New York station WJZ only broadcast thirty minutes, but Norweigan stations broadcast the first hour while French and Austrian stations broadcast the entire opera. It gives us a rare chance to hear Lotte Lehmann on stage as Eva. A complete Toscanini Meistersinger from Salzburg in 1937 exists and has been issued by Andante (now OOP), while American tenor Charles Kullman can be heard in a complete Meistersinger from the Met in 1939.

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Acts I & 3 (extracts)
August. 8, 1936

Hans Sachs: Hans Hermann Nissen
Eva: Lotte Lehmann
Stolzing: Charles Kullman
David: Richard Sallaba
Sixtus Beckmesser – Hermann Wiedemann
Veit Pogner – Herbert Alsenn
Fritz Kothner – Victor Madin
Kunz Vogelsang – Goerg MaiklArturo Toscanini - Vienna Philharmonic, Festspielhaus, Salzburg

http://rapidshare.com/files/450711088/1936MeistersingerAct1.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/450711090/1936MeistersingerAct3.mp3

Aida, Metropolitan Opera 1939

Gigli as Radames

The famous Italian Tenor, Beniamino Gigli appeared regularly at the Met in the 1920s but left in 1932. He returned for just five performances in 1939, one of which was broadcast. The only parts that survive are the final 15 minutes of Act 3 and the final 8 minutes of Act 4. If you wish to hear a complete Aida with Gigli you can choose between the 1939 Covent Garden performance recorded a few months after this broadcast, or the 1946 EMI studio recording.

Metropolitan Opera House
February 4, 1939 Matinee Broadcast

AIDA
Giuseppe Verdi--Antonio Ghislanzoni

Aida....................Zinka Milanov
Radamès.................Beniamino Gigli
Amneris.................Bruna Castagna
Amonasro................Carlo Tagliabue
Ramfis..................Ezio Pinza
King....................Norman Cordon
Messenger...............Max Altglass
Priestess...............Thelma Votipka
Dance...................Maria Gambarelli

Conductor...............Ettore Panizza

http://rapidshare.com/files/447840424/Aida393.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/447840425/Aida394.mp3

Fidelio Salzburg 1936

The original transcription disc

Here are 55 minutes of the first act of Fidelio from Salzburg in 1936. While the sound is primitive, from a shortwave relay to the USA, it permits us to hear Lotte Lehmann as Leonore, including her long aria 'Abscheulicher' which ends these extracts. There are announcements before and after the extract. Unlike the Meistersinger posted previously, there is no extant recording from 1937 in better sound, though apparently one was meant to be recorded. Toscanini did record the opera again in 1944.

Beethoven: Fidelio - Act I (incomplete)
August 16, 1936 2-3pm EDST NBC Red

Leonore: Lotte Lehmann
Florestan: Koloman von Pataky
Don Fernando: Carl Bissuti
Don Pizarro: Alfred Jerger
Marzelline: Luise Helletsgruber
Rocco: Anton Baumann
Jaquino: Hermann GallosArturo Toscanini, Conductor Vienna Philharmonic, Festspielhaus, Salzburg

http://rapidshare.com/files/451074547/1936FidelioAct1.mp3

Tosca San Francisco 1932

The War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco


Muzio as Tosca

The opening of the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco was marked by a special broadcast of the first act of Tosca. The hour long program featured a 15-minute introductory commentary describing the new opera house, and was broadcast coast to coast, 8.30pm PST, 11.30pm EST. It is most notable for a unique chance to hear the famous Italian soprano Claudia Muzio live on stage.

Muzio died at the age of just 47 in 1936 and did not record any commercial discs between 1925 and 1934. This live recording catches her in her prime, and is a fascinating historical document, despite the sound limitations.

War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
October 15, 1932

Puccini - Tosca - Act I
Floria Tosca - Claudia Muzio
Mario Cavaradossi - Dino Borgioli
Il barone Scarpia - Alfredo Gandolfi
Il Sagristano - Louis D' Angelo
Cesare Angelotti - Marsden Argall
Spoletta - Marek Windheim

Conductor Gaetano Merola
Orchestra - San Francisco Opera
Chorus - San Francisco Opera

http://rapidshare.com/files/451387474/1932ToscaAct1.mp3

Tristan und Isolde, Carnegie Hall, 1939

Carnegie Hall, New York

This one off concert performance of Act 2 of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde was organised at the request of Kirsten Flagstad. Stage performances usually cut significant parts of Tristan and the cuts in Act 2 included parts of the love duet. According to the announcement this was the first time the complete Act 2 had been heard on American radio. Those wishing to hear Flagstad in the complete opera can chose from a number of live performances (with cuts) from the Met, Covent Garden, or the Colon. Alternatively there is the famous uncut studio recording with Furtwangler.

http://rapidshare.com/files/451640685/1939TristanAct2.mp3

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde Act II (complete)
Carnegie Hall - 16 April 1939 - John Barbirolli (c)

Isolde	Kirsten Flagstad
Tristan	Eyvind Laholm
Brangäne	Enid Szantho
Kurwenal / Melot	Daniel Harris
König Marke	John Gurney

Tristan und Isolde, Los Angeles 1937

 
Flagstad and Melchior in Tristan

Here is an alternative version of Act 2 of Tristan to compare with yesterday's upload. This also has Kirsten Flagstad as Isolde, this time partnered by the famous Danish heldentenor Lauritz Melchior and the pair were perhaps the hottest ticket in opera between 1935 and 1941. The sound is not great, being an aircheck, and there are cuts, but there is still a great deal of enjoyment to be had from this performance with a cast that was perhaps unequalled at the time (or perhaps since).

Tristan und Isolde (Act 2 only)
Monday, November 15 1937
San Francisco Opera at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles
Lauritz Melchior - Tristan
Kirsten Flagstad - Isolde
Kathryn Meisle - Brangane
Emanuel List - King Mark
Julius Huehn - Kurvenal
George Cehanovsky - Melot

Conductor Fritz Reiner

http://rapidshare.com/files/451737149/1937TristanAct2SFO.mp3

Parsifal Covent Garden 1951

Flagstad as Kundry

Kundry was not a role that Flagstad performed anywhere near as often as Isolde or any of the Brunnhildes, but it was in her repertoire from 1935 to the early 1950s. There are not many chances to hear her in the role, a 1938 Met broadcast with generally poor sound, a commercial recording of the Act 2 duet with Melchior from 1939, and this aircheck from Covent Garden in 1951. The performance doesn't seem to exist complete (though the entire opera was broadcast by the BBC), and we only have the last hour or so from act 1 and a complete act 2. This however preserves most of Kundry's part. If nothing else it shows that Flagstad was still more than capable of delivering a very impressive performance well into her late 50s. The rest of the cast is drawn from some of the best British and continental Wagnerians of the 1950s.

Wager - Parsifal - 16 June 1951
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
Conductor Karl Rankl
Chorus Master Douglas Robinson
Leader Thomas Matthews

Cast
Gurnemanz Ludwig Weber
Second Knight Rhydderch Davies
Second Esquire Monica Sinclair
First Esquire Adele Leigh
First Knight Thorsteinn Hannesson
Kundry Kirsten Flagstad
Amfortas Sigurd Bjorling
Third Esquire William McAlpine
Fourth Esquire John Cameron
Parsifal Franz Lechleitner
Titurel Michael Langdon
Klingsor Otakar Kraus
Flower Maidens Adele Leigh, Patricia Howard, Leonne Mills, Audrey Bowman, Blanche Turner, Barbara Howitt
The Covent Garden Orchestra & Chorus
Students of Enfield Road Secondary School

http://rapidshare.com/files/452147493/1951ParsifalAct1.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/452147497/1951ParsifalAct2.mp3

Barber of Seville, Chicago 1941

Here is just over half an hour of Act 2 of the Barber of Seville broadcast from the Chicago Civic Opera House by WGN on December 8, 1941. The most noted member of the cast was baritone Richard Bonelli, a regular fixture at the Met, and it was quite possibly him who arranged for the performance to be recorded since we know he did so on other occasions. It is sobering to think that the day of this broadcast was also the day that the USA declared war on Japan following Pearl Harbor.

Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Act 2 extract)
Rosina - Josephine Antoine
Almaviva - Nino Martini
Figaro - Richard Bonelli
Bartolo - Vittoria Trevisan
Basilio - Virgilio Lazzari
Berta - Tina Paggi
c. Emil Cooper

http://rapidshare.com/files/445683557/1941Barbiere.mp3

Die Walküre Metropolitan Opera 1934

 
Frida Leider as Brunnhilde


Following on from the extracts from Tristan in January 1934, here are about 90 minutes of Die Walkure from a few weeks later. Again we get a chance to hear Gertrude Kappel, this time as Sieglinde, as well as a very rare chance to hear Frida Leider live on stage. Leider was perhaps THE Wagnernian soprano of the 1920s and 1930s, especially at Bayreuth where she sang with tenor Laurtiz Melchior for many seasons. She did not sing often in America, and only appeared in two seasons in New York between 1933 and 1934. These home recordings preserve about half of acts 1 and 3, but only 25 minutes of act 2. The sound is fairly primitive, though slightly better than the Tristan of the same season.

Metropolitan Opera House
February 3, 1934 Matinee Broadcast


DIE WALKÜRE

Brünnhilde..............Frida Leider
Siegmund................Paul Althouse
Sieglinde...............Gertrude Kappel
Wotan...................Ludwig Hofmann
Fricka..................Karin Branzell
Hunding.................Emanuel List
Gerhilde................Phradie Wells
Grimgerde...............Philine Falco
Helmwige................Dorothee Manski
Ortlinde................Margaret Halstead
Rossweisse..............Ina Bourskaya
Schwertleite............Irra Petina
Siegrune................Elda Vettori
Waltraute...............Doris Doe

Conductor...............Artur Bodanzky

http://rapidshare.com/files/445920279/1934Walkure.zip

Carmen St Louis 1940

Here is about 12 minutes of Act 3 of Carmen, broadcast from the St Louis Grand Opera over the NBC Red network on April 25, 1940. Originally supposed to be a 25 minute broadcast, the previous programme over-ran, thus only 12 minutes were actually broadcast. It is noticeable for the preservation of part of the Carmen of Marjorie Lawrence. Australian-born Lawrence was most noted for her Wagner and Strauss roles at the Met and her career was tragically cut short in 1941 after she was left in a wheelchair after contracting polio. Carmen was not a role she sang often, but in addition to this extract of Act 3, a complete Act 2 from San Francisco also exists (issued on CD by Guild).

 
Marjorie Lawrence

Carmen (Act 3 extract) St Louis Grand Opera, 25 April 1940
Carmen - Marjorie Lawrence
Don Jose - Jan Kiepura
Mercedes - Elisabeth Brown
Frasquita - Florence Kirk
Dancaire - Carlo Alexander
Remendado - Giuseppe Cavadore
c. Laslo Halasz

http://rapidshare.com/files/446203095/1940CarmenStLouis.mp3

Falstaff Salzburg 1936

Here is 35 minutes, containing all of Act 1 of Falstaff from the Salzburg Festival in 1936. Taken from an NBC shortwave relay it is significant for the conducting of Arturo Toscanini. For a shortwave relay the sound is not at all bad. A complete recording of Falstaff made on Selenophone film, also conducted by Toscanini, exists from the 1937 Salzburg Festival and was issued on CD by Andante (hard to find now). An alternative remastering has been issued by Pristine Classical .


The original NBC transcription disc

Verdi: Falstaff – Act I
Salzburg August 20, 1936
Broadcast: 2-2.45pm NBC Red

Falstaff: Mariano Stabile
Mistress Ford: Franca Somigli
Mistress Meg Page: Mita Vasari
Mistress Quickly: Angelica Cravcenco
Ford: Piero Biasini
Nannetta: Augusta Oltrabella
Fenton: Dino Borgioli
Dr. Caius: Alfredo Tedeschi
Bardolph: Giuseppi Nessi
Pistol: Virilio Lazzari
Arturo Toscanini, Conductor
Vienna Philharmonic, Festspielhaus, Salzburg

http://rapidshare.com/files/446209505/1936FalstaffAct1.mp3

Der Fliegende Hollander Bayreuth 1939

Here is about 30 minutes of Der Fliegende Hollander broadcast in New York by WJZ via a shortwave link direct from Bayreuth. It is a rare live example of pre-war Bayreuth, only a few weeks before World War II would begin. The principals were all famous Wagnerians in Germany before and during the war.



Maria Muller as Senta


Der Fliegende Hollander
Bayreuth, August 4, 1939
Senta - Maria Muller
Hollander - Rudolf Bockelmann
Daland - Ludwig Hoffmann
c. Karl Elmendorff

http://rapidshare.com/files/446698459/1939Dutchman.mp3

Lohengrin Chicago 1938

 
Flagstad as Elsa

Here are 8 minutes toward the end of the first act of Lohengrin broadcast between 8-9pm CST by WENR. It is perhaps most notable for the Elsa of Kirsten Flagstad since she did not perform this role often (in comparison to Isolde and Brunnhilde) and there is only one complete recording of her in this opera, from the Met in 1937.

Wagner - Lohengrin
Chicago Civic Opera
November 21, 1938

Lohengrin - Rene Maison
Elsa - Kirsten Flagstad
Ortrud - Eleanor Lamont
King Henry - John Gurney
Telramund - George Chehanovsky
c. Edwin McArthur

http://rapidshare.com/files/447221914/1938LohengrinChicago.mp3

Trovatore with Martinelli, Metropolitan 1936, 1938 & 1939

Martinelli as Manrico

The great Italian tenor, Giovanni Martinelli appeared in three broadcasts of Il Trovatore from the Metropolitan Opera in New York between 1936 and 1939. None of them exist as complete performances, but the extracts here give a strong sense of what he was like in this role. There's about an hour from 1936 and 25-30 mins each from 1938 and 1939. Partnering him were Elisabeth Rethberg in 1936 and a young Zinka Milanov in 1938 and 1939.


Metropolitan Opera House
February 15, 1936 Matinee Broadcast
IL TROVATORE
Giuseppe Verdi--Salvatore Cammarano

Manrico.................Giovanni Martinelli
Leonora.................Elisabeth Rethberg
Count Di Luna...........Richard Bonelli
Azucena.................Kathryn Meisle
Ferrando................Virgilio Lazzari
Ines....................Thelma Votipka
Ruiz....................Giordano Paltrinieri
Gypsy...................Arnold Gabor

Conductor...............Gennaro Papi

http://rapidshare.com/files/447838388/1936Trovatore.mp3



Metropolitan Opera House
January 8, 1938 Matinee Broadcast
IL TROVATORE
Giuseppe Verdi--Salvatore Cammarano

Manrico.................Giovanni Martinelli
Leonora.................Zinka Milanov
Count Di Luna...........Richard Bonelli
Azucena.................Bruna Castagna
Ferrando................Virgilio Lazzari
Ines....................Thelma Votipka
Ruiz....................Giordano Paltrinieri
Gypsy...................Carlo Coscia

Conductor...............Gennaro Papi

http://rapidshare.com/files/447838389/1938Trovatore.mp3


Metropolitan Opera House
March 4, 1939 Matinee Broadcast
IL TROVATORE
Giuseppe Verdi--Salvatore Cammarano

Manrico.................Giovanni Martinelli
Leonora.................Zinka Milanov
Count Di Luna...........Richard Bonelli
Azucena.................Bruna Castagna
Ferrando................Virgilio Lazzari
Ines....................Thelma Votipka
Ruiz....................Giordano Paltrinieri
Gypsy...................Carlo Coscia

Conductor...............Gennaro Papi

http://rapidshare.com/files/447838390/1939Trovatore.mp3

Aida - Metropolitan Opera, 1938

This was an unusual broadcast because Martinelli was taken ill during Celeste Aida and didn't finish the aria let alone the rest of the opera. The story goes that Frederick Jagel was listening to the broadcast at home and rushed to the Met to offer his services as a replacement. The extracts that survive include the Celeste Aida, a portion later in act 1 and about 10 minutes of act 2, total 20 minutes. If you wish to hear a complete Aida with Martinelli then both his 1937 and 1941 Met broadcasts have been issued on CD by various labels.

Metropolitan Opera House
February 26, 1938 Matinee Broadcast


AIDA
Giuseppe Verdi--Antonio Ghislanzoni

Aida....................Zinka Milanov
Radamès.................Giovanni Martinelli, Act I, Scene 1 fragment
Radamès.................Frederick Jagel, Acts I, II, III, IV
Amneris.................Bruna Castagna
Amonasro................Carlo Tagliabue
Ramfis..................Ezio Pinza
King....................Norman Cordon
Messenger...............Giordano Paltrinieri
Priestess...............Thelma Votipka
Dance...................Elise Reiman

Conductor...............Gennaro Papi

http://rapidshare.com/files/447840421/Aida381a.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/447840422/Aida381b.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/447840423/Aida382.mp3

Tristan und Isolde Metropolitan Opera 1934

Here are about 50 minutes of extracts from a broadcast of Tristan und Isolde from the Metropolitan Opera. This was the cast (from the Met database)
Metropolitan Opera House
January 6, 1934 Matinee Broadcast

Wagner - TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

Tristan.................Lauritz Melchior
Isolde..................Gertrude Kappel
Kurwenal................Friedrich Schorr
Brangäne................Doris Doe
King Marke..............Ludwig Hofmann
Melot...................Arnold Gabor
Sailor's Voice..........Hans Clemens
Shepherd................Hans Clemens
Steersman...............James Wolfe

Conductor...............Artur Bodanzky

 
Gertrude Kappel as Isolde

There are about 20 mins each from Act 1 and Act 3, but only about 7 mins from Act 2. It gives us a unique chance to hear the Isolde of Gertrude Kappel, a leading German dramatic soprano. Melchior would be heard complete and in better sound in later broadcasts but this was Kappel's only Met broadcast as Isolde. For such an important singer Kappel's recorded legacy is slim, a few commercial recordings relatively early in her career, then a few poor quality broadcast recordings. In addition to these extracts from Tristan we have portions of her as Sieglinde as well as her in the Met premiere of Elektra. From Vienna we have portions of her Brunnhilde in all three Ring operas. The sound is not great in these extracts of Tristan. They were airchecks recorded from the radio on fairly primitive equipment, so you should expect a lot of surface noise. However, personally I think them worth persevering with especially if you are interested in hearing how Wagner was regularly being sung before the war.

http://rapidshare.com/files/445494460/1934Tristan.zip

Lotte Lehamnn in Tannhauser, Chicago 1930

This is the oldest American opera broadcast to exist, just under 5 minutes from the second act of Tannhauser. It was broadcast live from the Chicago Civic Opera on November 1, 1930 over the NBC Blue Network. This recording most probably originates from WJZ in New York City where the opera was broadcast from 10-11pm. This seems to be all that now exists, but it gives us a rare chance to hear Lotte Lehmann sing Elisabeth's Greeting at the start of act 2. This was Lehmann's first season in Chicago and the German soprano would later come to be a favourite of the Met opera in New York and the San Francisco Opera. The performance was conducted by Egon Pollack and others that are briefly heard are Hans Hermann Nissen and Paul Althouse.

http://rapidshare.com/files/445421046/Tann1930ex.mp3

Gigli in Tosca, Covent Garden 1938 and 1939

Here are two short extracts from Tosca, broadcast by the BBC in 1938 and 1939. Both feature the famous tenor Beniamino Gigli and were conducted by Vittorio Gui. Each extract is under 4 minutes long, to fit on a 78rpm record and were recorded off-air by an enthusiast. This is all from either performance that seems to exist.



June 2, 1938 (3'55) 'E lucevan le stelle' with Eva Pacetti as Tosca
http://rapidshare.com/files/445418601/Toscaex1938.mp3

May 15, 1939 (2'39) ‘Recondita armonia’ with Aristide Baracchi as the Sacristan
http://rapidshare.com/files/445418658/Tosca391ext.mp3