Barber at the Met

Composers Datebook

Synopsis

The book Great Operatic Disasters chronicles the sometime humorous — and sometimes harrowing — mishaps that have befallen opera singers and productions over the last few centuries. According to that book, September 16 seems to have been a particularly unlucky day.

Consider that on today’s date in 1782, Italian castrato Farinelli, one of the most celebrated opera stars of the 18th century, died in Bologna after his dismissal from the Spanish court; on September 16th in 1920, great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso would make his last records in Camden, New Jersey; and in 1977, opera diva Maria Callas dropped dead of a heart attack in Paris.

On today’s date in 1966, the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center opened with a gala production of a new opera commissioned by American composer Samuel Barber. Despite an all-star cast headed by Leontyne Price and a lavish stage production designed by Franco Zefferelli — you guessed it — the opera was a flop.

Maybe everyone expected too much, or perhaps the lavish sets were too distracting. Whatever the reason, despite its gorgeous music, even today Barber’s Anthony and Cleopatra, has never found a lasting place in the repertory.

Music Played in Today's Program

Samuel Barber (1910-1981): Anthony and Cleopatra; Spoleto Festival soloists and orchestra; Christian Badea, conductor; New World 322