[Met Concert or Gala] CID:119320



Bori Farewell Gala
Metropolitan Opera House, Sun, March 29, 1936 Broadcast





Bori Farewell Gala



Metropolitan Opera House
March 29, 1936 Broadcast


BORI FAREWELL GALA

La Traviata: Act III Prelude

La Traviata: Act II, Scene 1

Violetta................Lucrezia Bori
Alfredo.................Nino Martini
Germont.................Lawrence Tibbett
Annina..................Pearl Besuner

Conductor...............Ettore Panizza
Designer................Jonel Jorgulesco


La Forza del Destino: Act II, Scene 2

Leonora.................Elisabeth Rethberg
Padre Guardiano.........Ezio Pinza

Conductor...............Gennaro Papi
Set designer............Ernest M. Gros
Costume designer........Witold Gordon


Die Walküre: Act I Conclusion

Sieglinde...............Kirsten Flagstad
Siegmund................Lauritz Melchior

Conductor...............Artur Bodanzky
Set designer............Jonel Jorgulesco


William Tell: Overture

Il Trovatore: Miserere

Leonora.................Rosa Ponselle
Manrico.................Giovanni Martinelli

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


Manon: Act III, Scene 2

Manon...................Lucrezia Bori
Des Grieux..............Richard Crooks
Count des Grieux........Léon Rothier

Conductor...............Louis Hasselmans
Designer................Joseph Urban







La Forza del Destino: Act II, Scene 2
Die Walküre: Act I Conclusion
William Tell: Overture
Il Trovatore: Miserere
Manon: Act III, Scene 2

Review 1:

Review : W. J. Henderson, New York Sun

Before an audience that filled every inch of standing room in the Metropolitan Opera House last night, Lucrezia Bori made her farewell appearance as a singer with the Metropolitan Opera Company, and at the conclusion of the program she received a long and heartfelt ovation from the audience and tributes and gifts from the director and personnel of the opera association. Miss Bori ended a brilliant career of twenty-six years' association with the opera company as a soprano surrounded by her friends in the company and with a warm air of sentiment and affection pervading the ceremonies.

Miss Bori's final appearance was in a program of excerpts from various operas, planned to give all the leading singers of the company opportunity to join in the formal public farewell to America's opera sweetheart. The occasion was not one inviting critical comment. It was an evening of mixed emotions, to be sure, but on the whole it had the aspect of a "gala" entertainment. Which was entirely fitting. There was every reason for thanksgiving that we had all been so fortunate as to live in Miss Bori's time.

Account of Farewell Gala of Lucrezia Bori; presentations March 29, 1936 in The Sun, unsigned.

At the end of the program there was prolonged and enthusiastic cheering for Miss Bori and then the curtain was raised with the entire board of directors of the opera association and the company gathered on the stage. Then the ceremony began. Among those who extolled Miss Bori's contribution to the Metropolitan Opera in addresses were Frederic Potts Moore, representing the board of directors; Edward Johnson for the company; Mrs. Vincent Astor, who spoke for the board and for friends, and Mrs. August Belmont for the Metropolitan Opera Guild.

A tribute to Miss Bori printed on the program and signed by Paul D. Cravath, president of the board, and Edward Ziegler, secretary, reviewed the singer's long association with the company and spoke of the personal sacrifices she has made and the labor she has given to the opera to help it through its financial reverses and the last few years. It concluded with the following paragraph:

"The board of directors hail with joy Miss. Bori's announcement that, while she is retiring as an artist, she will retain her membership on the board of directors, and continue her active interest in the causes of opera at the Metropolitan. Were it not for the continued association with Miss Bori that is thus vouchsafed to them, the directors feel that much of the pleasure and satisfaction from their association with the Metropolitan would be lost."

The program also contained the following tribute written by Edward Johnson, who is the general manager of the company:

"To Lucrezia Bori - as a friend, most understanding: as a woman, adorable; as a colleague, ideal; as an artist, irreplaceable."

Among the gifts presented to her were a diamond brooch that had been made in 1866 for the Empress Eugénie of France, the gift of her colleagues on the board and a large group of friends. The presentation was made by Mrs. Astor. There was also a visiting card in gold, the gift of the assistant directors; a silver coffee urn from the chorus; a vase filled with roses, from the stage hands; many gifts from the singers and orchestra, and two parchments, one signed by the board and another signed by the administrative staff. Earlier in the evening Miss Bori had distributed many gifts to singers and others in the company.

With her arms full of flowers, and evidently deeply touched by the tributes, Miss Bori said that "my heart is in such a turmoil that I do not know how to express the varied emotions I am feeling." when she made her reply. She then thanked the board, the company and her friends for the ceremony and the gifts.

"I am supremely happy, supremely grateful, and yet supremely sad. Au revoir." she said in conclusion.

It was emphasized that Miss Bori will continue her active work on the board of directors, of which she remains a member.

"I know how to keep myself busy," she declared in an interview. "After all, I am 48 years old. I have been in the theater long enough. Now I shall travel, perhaps sing a little in concert and on the radio. I have also begun to model in clay."

[Only the Manon excerpt was broadcast.]

Photograph of Lucrezia Bori at her farewell performance receiving gifts in appreciation of her 25 years with the Metropolitan Opera. Left to Right: Edward Johnson (General Manager), Earl R. Lewis (Box Office Treasurer), Bori, and Désiré Defrère (Stage Director).



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