ARTISTS

Eva Marton
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
James McCracken
Ruggero Raimondi
Dame Joan Sutherland
Mirella Freni
Placido Domingo.
James Levine
Richard Bonynge
David Stivender
Jeffrey Tate
Leonard Bernstein
Sir John Pritchard
Thomas Fulton
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Ballet

TRACK LISTING

Saturday Afternoon, October 22, 1983 at 2pm
1. Smetana: Overture from The Bartered Bride
2. Puccini: “In questa reggia” from Turandot – Eva Marton
3. Mozart: “Dove sono” from Le Nozze di Figaro – Dame Kiri Te Kanawa 4. Verdi: “Dio! mi potevi scagliar” from Otello – James McCracken Conductor: James Levine 5. Rossini: “La calunnia” from Il Barbiere di Siviglia – Ruggero Raimondi 6. Donizetti: Sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor – Roberta Peters, Loretta Di Franco, Dano Raffanti, Robert Nagy, Brian Schexnayder, Julien Robbins 7. Rossini: “Bel raggio lusinghier” from Semiramide – Dame Joan Sutherland Conductor: Richard Bonynge Scenery for Arabella, Act II designed by Günther Schneider-Siemssen 8. Mascagni: Prelude and Hymn of the Sun from Iris – Metropolitan Opera Chorus Conductor: David Stivender 9. R. Strauss: Presentation of the Rose from Der Rosenkavalier – Judith Blegen, Frederica von Stade 10. Gounod: Act IV Duet from Roméo et Juliette – Catherine Malfitano, Alfredo Kraus Conductor: Jeffrey Tate 11. Donizetti: “Una furtiva lagrima” from L’Elisir d’Amore – Nicolai Gedda 12. Verdi: “Ernani, involami” from Ernani – Anna Tomowa-Sintow 13. R. Strauss: Final Trio from Der Rosenkavalier – Kathleen Battle, Elisabeth Söderström, Frederica von Stade 14. Verdi: “Già nella notte densa” from Otello – Mirella Freni, Plácido Domingo Conductor: James Levine

Saturday Evening, October 22, 1983 at 8:00 p.m. Scenery for La Bohème, Act II designed by Franco Zeffirelli 15. Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3 Conductor: Leonard Bernstein 16. Giordano: Final Duet from Andrea Chénier – Montserrat Caballé, José Carreras Conductor: James Levine 17. Debussy: Lia’s Aria from L’Enfant Prodigue – Ileana Cotrubas Conductor: Sir John Pritchard 18. Saint-Saëns: Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila – Scenery designed by Robert O’Hearn Linda Gelinas, Ricardo Costa and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet Conductor: James Levine 19. Verdi: Act III Duet from Nabucco – Grace Bumbry, Renato Bruson Conductor: Thomas Fulton Scenery for Die Zauberflöte designed by Marc Chagall 20. Gounod: Final Trio from Faust – Katia Ricciarelli, William Lewis, Nicolai Ghiaurov 21. Puccini: Act I Duet from Madama Butterfly – Leona Mitchell, Giuliano Ciannella 22. Rossini: Act I Finale from L’Italiana in Algeri – Diane Kesling, Edda Moser, Gail Dubinbaum, David Rendall, John Darrenkamp, Sesto Bruscantini, Ara Berberian and members of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus 23. Saint- Saëns: “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Samson et Dalila – Marilyn Horne 24. Wagner: Isolde’s Narrative and Curse from Tristan und Isolde – Birgit Nilsson 25. I Remember When I Was Seventeen (Swedish Folk Song) – Birgit Nilsson 26. Verdi: Act II Duet from Un Ballo in Maschera – Leontyne Price, Luciano Pavarotti 27. Happy Birthday – The Company Conductor: James Levine

Here are the greatest moments from the “ultimate in galas” (Opera), a “roof-rattling vocal display and the kind of cheering and free-flowing, heartfelt emotion on both sides of the footlights that opera evinces more than any other art form” - New York Times

The gala celebration immediately catches the attention with spectacular performances by stars such as Dame Joan Sutherland, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Mirella Freni, Marilyn Horne, Birgit Nilsson, Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Nicolai Gedda, Alfredo Kraus and many others.

“The world’s most famous opera singers [in] a dazzling sequence of performances” - New York Times

“It’s always a privilege to sing at the Met, but this is something very special. I don’t think there’s ever been anything this grand in the history of opera” - Luciano Pavarotti