Metropolitan Opera Offers Historic Performances in Streaming Audio on Rhapsody

By Matthew Westphal
November 20, 2007

"Opera lovers never have enough opera," says Metropolitan Opera general manager Peter Gelb. So he and his company — who have excited opera fans on four continents with such new media ventures as the high-definition broadcasts in movie theaters and the Metropolitan Opera channel on Sirius Satellite Radio — have announced another electronic endeavor to satisfy our hunger for great opera.

Through "Met on Rhapsody," a new venture between the Met and the Rhapsody® digital music service, the company is making broadcast recordings from its treasure-filled archives available in streaming audio on demand. The new service launches today with 100 operas  — ranging all the way from a 1937 Carmen starring Rosa Ponselle to a 2006 Don Pasquale starring Juan Diego Flórez and Anna Netrebko.

"Met on Rhapsody" also features an extensive gallery of production and artist photos and a pre-programmed web radio channel taken from Met broadcasts.

A list of the initial 100 operas available via "Met on Rhapsody" is below; the service expects to add more operas each month. To try out the service, visit www.rhapsody.com/metropolitanopera. More information is available at www.metopera.org.

Met on Rhapsody: The first 100 titles (in chronological order by date)

• 1/9/1937 - Bizet: Carmen
  Papi; Ponselle, Rayner, Bodanya, Huehn


• 12/2/1944 - Wagner: Die Walküre
  Szell; Traubel, Melchior, Bampton, Janssen, Thorborg


• 1/27/1945 - Thomas: Mignon
  Pelletier; Stevens, Melton, Benzell, Pinza


• 12/10/1949 - Puccini: Manon Lescaut
  Antonicelli; Kirsten, Björling, Valdengo


• 2/16/1952 - Bizet: Carmen
  Reiner; Stevens, Tucker, Conner, Silveri


• 11/29/1952 - Verdi: La forza del destino
  Stiedry; Milanov, Tucker, Warren, Hines, Miller


• 4/4/1953 - Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana / Leoncavallo: Pagliacci
  Erede; Milanov, Baum / Del Monaco, Rigal, Silveri


• 12/3/1955 - Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann
  Monteux; Tucker, Peters, Stevens, Amara, Singher


• 12/10/1955 - Verdi: Un ballo in maschera
  Mitropoulos; Milanov, Peerce, Merrill, Anderson, Peters


• 1/7/1956 - Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor
  Cleva; Callas, Campora, Sordello, Moscona


• 4/6/1957 - Verdi: La traviata
  Cleva; Tebaldi, Campora, Warren


• 2/15/1958 - Puccini: La Bohème
  Schippers; Albanese, Bergonzi, Hurley, Sereni, Scott


• 3/8/1958 - Verdi: Otello
  Cleva; Del Monaco, de los Angeles, Warren


• 4/12/1958 - Saint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila
  Cleva; Del Monaco, Stevens, Singher


• 2/14/1959 - Mozart: Don Giovanni
  Böhm; London, Steber, Valletti, Della Casa, Hurley, Flagello


• 2/21/1959 - Verdi: Macbeth
  Leinsdorf; Warren, Rysanek, Hines, Bergonzi


• 4/16/1960 - Puccini: Madama Butterfly
  Mitropoulos; Kirsten, Fernandi, Roggero, Sereni


• 12/17/1960 - Wagner: Tannhäuser
  Solti; Hopf, Rysanek, Prey, Dalis, Hines


• 2/4/1961 - Verdi: Il trovatore
  Cleva; Corelli, Price, Sereni, Dalis, Wilderman


• 3/3/1962 - Verdi: Aida
  Schick; Tucci, Corelli, Dalis, MacNeil, Tozzi


• 4/7/1962 - Puccini: Tosca
  Adler; Price, Corelli, MacNeil


• 3/30/1963 - Bellini: La sonnambula
  Varviso; Sutherland, Gedda, Flagello, Scovotti


• 3/7/1964 - Verdi: Don Carlo
  Adler; Corelli, Rysanek, Herlea, Dalis, Tozzi


• 12/5/1964 - Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor
  Varviso; Sutherland, Kónya, Herlea, Giaiotti


• 1/9/1965 - Donizetti: Don Pasquale
  Varviso; Corena, Peters, Alva, Guarrera


• 1/22/1966 - Beethoven: Fidelio
  Böhm; Nilsson, King, Evans, Edelmann


• 2/25/1967 - Verdi: Aida
  Schippers; Price, Bergonzi, Bumbry, Merrill, Hines


• 3/18/1967 - Puccini: Madama Butterfly
  Molinari-Pradelli; Scotto, Shirley, Casei, Bottcher


• 12/16/1967 - Verdi: Falstaff
  Amaducci; Flagello, Curtin, Guarrera, Barbieri, Raskin


• 2/24/1968 - Wagner: Die Walküre
  Klobucar; Nilsson, Vickers, Rysanek, Stewart, Ludwig


• 3/2/1968 - Ponchielli: La Gioconda
  Cleva; Tebaldi, Bergonzi, Cossotto, MacNeil, Giaiotti


• 3/16/1968 - Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore
  Cleva; Peters, Kraus, Sereni, Corena


• 4/13/1968 - Gounod: Roméo et Juliette
  Molinari-Pradelli; Gedda, Freni, Macurdy, Baldwin


• 4/4/1970 - Bellini: Norma
  Bonynge; Sutherland, Bergonzi, Horne, Siepi


• 2/26/1972 - Gounod: Faust
  Rich; Domingo, Zylis-Gara, Tozzi, Sereni


• 4/15/1972 - Weber: Der Freischütz
  Ludwig; Kónya, Lorengar, Feldhoff, Mathis


• 1/6/1973 - Donizetti: La Fille du régiment
  Bonynge; Sutherland, Pavarotti, Resnik, Corena


• 2/10/1973 - Verdi: Rigoletto
  Levine; Wixell, Grist, Pavarotti, Grillo, Macurdy


• 2/17/1973 - Bellini: Norma
  Cillario; Caballé, Cossotto, Cossutta, Tozzi


• 4/7/1973 - Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia
  Levine; Prey, Horne, Di Giuseppe, Corena, Tozzi


• 2/9/1974 - Verdi: Otello
  Levine; Vickers, Te Kanawa, Stewart


• 4/13/1974 - Mozart: Don Giovanni
  Levine; Milnes, Price, Burrows, Zylis-Gara, Stratas, Berry


• 4/19/1975 - Rossini: L'assedio di Corinto
  Schippers; Sills, Verrett, Díaz, Theyard


• 3/6/1976 - Verdi: Aida
  Levine; Price, Domingo, Horne, MacNeil, Giaiotti


• 3/13/1976 - Bellini: I Puritani
  Bonynge; Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes, Morris


• 12/11/1976 - Massenet: Esclarmonde
  Bonynge; Sutherland, Aragall, Tourangeau, Grant


• 1/29/1977 - Meyerbeer: Le Prophète
  Lewis; McCracken, Scotto, Horne, Hines


• 3/12/1977 - Verdi: La forza del destino
  Levine; Price, Domingo, MacNeil, Talvela, Elias


• 1/27/1979 - Verdi: Luisa Miller
  Levine; Scotto, Domingo, Milnes, Giaiotti, Morris


• 2/3/1979 - Massenet: Werther
  Bonynge; Kraus, Crespin, Carlson, Battle


• 3/29/1980 - Puccini: Manon Lescaut
  Levine; Scotto, Domingo, Elvira


• 3/28/1981 - Verdi: La traviata
  Levine; Cotrubas, Domingo, MacNeil


• 1/16/1982 - Puccini: La Bohème
  Levine; Stratas, Carreras, Scotto, Stilwell, Morris


• 1/23/1982 - Verdi: Luisa Miller
  Santi; Ricciarelli, Pavarotti, Nucci, Plishka, Cheek


• 12/18/1982 - Verdi: Macbeth
  Levine; Milnes, Scotto, Plishka, Jenkins


• 12/17/1983 - Verdi: Ernani
  Levine; Pavarotti, Mitchell, Milnes, Raimondi


• 4/7/1984 - Zandonai: Francesca da Rimini
  Levine; Scotto, Domingo, MacNeil


• 12/29/1984 - Verdi: Simon Boccanegra
  Levine; Milnes, Tomowa-Sintow, Moldoveanu, Plishka


• 12/7/1985 - Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana / Leoncavallo: Pagliacci
  Navarre; Behrens, Moldoveanu / Vickers, Pilou, Milnes


• 3/21/1987 - Bizet: Carmen
  Levine; Baltsa, Carreras, Cotrubas, Ramey


• 4/9/1988 - Mozart: Così fan tutte
  Epstein; Te Kanawa, Rendall, Montague, Hagegård, Hong, Cheek


• 1/21/1989 - Verdi: Il trovatore
  Levine; Pavarotti, Millo, Milnes, Cossotto, Plishka


• 3/25/1989 - Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin
  Levine; Hynninen, Freni, Hadley, Walker, Sotin


• 4/29/1989 - Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore
  Panni; Battle, Pavarotti, Quilico, Plishka


• 3/24/1990 - Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail
  Levine; Devia, Heilmann, Mills, Magnusson, Moll


• 2/9/1991 - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte
  Levine; Battle, Araiza, Serra, Moll, Hemm


• 1/18/1992 - Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer
  Conlon; Morris, Behrens, Lakes, Salminen


• 1/15/1994 - Verdi: I Lombardi
  Levine; Pavarotti, Flanigan, Beccaria, Plishka


• 1/29/1994 - Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor
  Santi; Devia, Hadley, Pons, Plishka


• 2/12/1994 - Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro
  Rudel; Morris, Fleming, McLaughlin, Croft, Bunnell


• 3/26/1994 - Puccini: La Bohème
  Rizzi; Gheorghiu, Leech, Litherland, Robertson, Short


• 4/1/1995 - Puccini: Tosca
  Oren; Holleque, Pavarotti, Pons


• 2/24/1996 - Mozart: Così fan tutte
  Levine; Vaness, Hadley, Mentzer, Croft, Bartoli, Allen


• 2/15/1997 - Verdi: Un ballo in maschera
  Levine; Voigt, Pavarotti, Pons, Dever, Shin


• 2/7/1998 - Offenbach: Les Contes D'Hoffmann
  Young; Leech, Dessay, Larmore, Racette, Morris


• 2/28/1998 - Saint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila
  Slatkin; Domingo, Graves, Leiferkus


• 3/21/1998 - Wagner: Lohengrin
  Levine; Heppner, Voigt, Polaski, Ketelsen, Halfvarson


• 3/28/1998 - Gounod: Roméo et Juliette
  de Billy; Alagna, Gheorghiu, Lloyd, Jepson


• 4/10/1999 - Tchaikovsky: The Queen of Spades
  Gergiev; Gorchakova, Domingo, Söderström, Hvorostovsky, Putilin


• 12/18/1999 - Wagner: Tristan und Isolde
  Levine; Heppner, Eaglen, Ketelsen, Dalayman, Pape


• 3/25/2000 - Wagner: Das Rheingold
  Levine; Morris, Schwarz, Wlaschiha, Langridge


• 4/1/2000 - Wagner: Die Walküre
  Levine; Eaglen, Domingo, Voigt, Morris, Schwarz


• 4/15/2000 - Wagner: Siegfried
  Levine; Andersen, Eaglen, Morris, Svendén


• 4/22/2000 - Wagner: Götterdämmerung
  Levine; Eaglen, Andersen, Held, Radvanovsky, Halfvarson


• 1/6/2001 - Beethoven: Fidelio
  Levine; Mattila, Heppner, Leiferkus, Pape


• 4/7/2001 - Wagner: Parsifal
  Levine; Domingo, Urmana, Ketelsen, Wlaschiha, Tomlinson


• 12/8/2001 - Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
  Levine; Morris, Mattila, Heppner, Polenzani, Allen


• 12/29/2001 - Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel
  Mackerras; Larmore, Upshaw, Blythe, Josephson, Forst


• 4/6/2002 - Verdi: Falstaff
  Levine; Terfel, Mescheriakova, Croft, Blythe, Tilling


• 2/8/2003 - Bellini: Il Pirata
  Campanella; Fleming, Giordani, Croft


• 2/15/2003 - Mozart: Don Giovanni
  Cambreling; Mattei, Radvanovsky, Trost, Diener, Netrebko, Furlanetto


• 12/13/2003 - Halevy: La Juive
  Viotti; Isokoski, Shicoff, Futral, Cutler, Furlanetto


• 3/6/2004 - Verdi: La traviata
  Gergiev; Fleming, Vargas, Hvorostovsky


• 4/30/2005 - Gounod: Faust
  Levine; Alagna, Isokoski, Pape, Hvorostovsky


• 12/17/2005 - Verdi: Rigoletto
  Fisch; Guelfi, Netrebko, Villazón, Herrera, Halfvarson


• 3/4/2006 - Gounod: Roméo et Juliette
  de Billy; Vargas, Dessay, Sigmundsson, Goeldner


• 4/8/2006 - Puccini: Manon
  López-Cobos; Fleming, Giordano, Chaignaud


• 4/15/2006 - Donizetti: Don Pasquale
  Benini; Alaimo, Netrebko, Flórez, Kwiecien