[Met Performance] CID:140120



Un Ballo in Maschera
Metropolitan Opera House, Sat, December 8, 1945 Matinee Broadcast


Debut : Pierrette Alarie, Anne Barlow, William Sarazen, James Nygren




Un Ballo in Maschera (37)
Giuseppe Verdi | Antonio Somma
Amelia
Zinka Milanov

Riccardo
Jan Peerce

Renato
Leonard Warren

Ulrica
Margaret Harshaw

Oscar
Pierrette Alarie [Debut]

Samuel
Norman Cordon

Tom
Lorenzo Alvary

Silvano
John Baker

Judge
Richard Manning

Servant
Lodovico Oliviero

Dance
Peggy Smithers

Dance
Anne Barlow [Debut]

Dance
Natasha Tzvetcova

Dance
Elissa Minet

Dance
William Sarazen [Debut]

Dance
Robert Armstrong

Dance
James Nygren [Debut]

Dance
Josef Carmassi


Conductor
Bruno Walter


Director
Herbert Graf

Set Designer
Mstislav Dobujinsky

Costume Designer
Ladislas Czettel

Choreographer
Boris Romanoff





Un Ballo in Maschera received nine performances this season.

Review 1:

Review of Jerome D. Bohm in the Herald Tribune

"Ballo in Maschera"

Zinka Milanov and Jan Peerce Heard in Verdi's Opera

The first presentation in two seasons of Verdi's "Ballo in Maschera" at the Metropolitan Opera House yesterday afternoon was the occasion for some effective singing and of a good deal that was neither effective nor even acceptable. The most consistently telling vocalism of the performance was contributed by Mr. Peerce, who projected his warm tenor voice to good purpose, judiciously refraining from forcing so that his tones were always steady, pointed and round in texture. Dramatically, too, his delineation of Riccardo was easily the most distinguished one of the occasion, being genuinely aristocratic in demeanor.

Miss Milanov, making her first appearance here of the season, was not in her best vocal estate. Noticeably slenderer than when she was last heard, this listener feared that the decrease in avoirdupois had brought with it a disturbing lessening of her powers of endurance. Her highest tones were emitted with obvious effort, often barely encompassed and with a definite thinning out of their natively glowing quality. Occasional measures, especially those softly sung, emerged with the floating transparency of old. But these were too few to atone for the generally brittle, laborious character of her work.

As Renato, Mr. Warren poured forth his huge voice lavishly but with little regard for the musical requirements of his role. As is always the case, when he attempted to sing with anything less than full strength, his tones were mouthy and fuzzy in quality because not sufficiently focused.

Making her debut as the page, Oscar, Miss Alarie revealed a diminutive coloratura soprano voice, which, on the few occasion when it could be heard, such as in the unaccompanied passages of the first-act quintet, sounded agreeable, But for the most part it proved too light in caliber to cope with the music of such an important role, one which is frequently given the predominant melodic line in numerous ensembles which dot this opera.

Singing the role of the witch Ulrica for the first time, Miss Harshaw, after some unsteady phrases, invested her part with steadier, voluminous tones; but the contralto voice is still too openly produced, and her portrayal wanted in dramatic conviction, and musical intensity. Competent bits were provided by Messrs. Baker, Cordon and Alvary in their respective parts of Silvano, Samuel and Tom.



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