[Met Performance] CID:149050



Mignon
Metropolitan Opera House, Sat, December 4, 1948 Matinee Broadcast


Debut : Marilyn Cotlow, Alfred Corvino, Richard Goltra




Mignon (98)
Ambroise Thomas | Jules Barbier/Michel Carré
Mignon
Risë Stevens

Wilhelm Meister
James Melton

Philine
Marilyn Cotlow [Debut]

Lothario
Nicola Moscona

Frédéric
Jean Madeira

Laërte
John Garris

Jarno
Osie Hawkins

Antonio
Lawrence Davidson

Dance
Marina Svetlova

Dance
Leon Varkas

Dance
Alfred Corvino [Debut]

Dance
Richard Goltra [Debut]


Conductor
Wilfred Pelletier


Director
Désiré Defrère

Designer
Serge Soudeikine

Choreographer
Boris Romanoff





Mignon received thirteen performances this season.

Review 1:

Review of Francis D. Perkins in the Herald Tribune

"Mignon"

Marilyn Cotlow in Debut at Metropolitan

After three season's absence from the active list, Thomas's "Mignon" returned to the Metropolitan Opera House yesterday for the first 1948-49 broadcast matinee, and brought the debut of Marilyn Cotlow, one of the two winners in this year's Metropolitan Auditions of the Air, as Philine. Three of the principals, Risë Stevens, James Melton and Nicola Moscona, had sung their roles during this amiable opera's last sojourn in this theater. Jean Browning Madeira, who had made her debut as the First Norn in Thursday's "Götterdämmerung," had the very different character of Frederic for her second Metropolitan appearance, and John Garris, Osie Hawkins and Lawrence Davidson were singing their assignments for the first time here.

Rehearing "Mignon" again called attention to the melodic fertility of Thomas's octogenarian score; the tunes are pleasing and several of them live long in a listener's memory. The music has ample sentiment, which need not become sentimentality, but before it has run its course it can give a sense of occasional lengthiness and lack of variety to an extent which varies with the quality of the performance. This drawback was apparent yesterday owing to a certain lack of momentum at various times.

Yesterday's production was musically well balanced and integrated under Mr. Pelletier's conductorship; its pace, however, seemed sometimes deliberate. Miss Cotlow is already known here as a singing actress through her many appearances as Lucy in Menotti's "The Telephone." Yesterday the young soprano from Minneapolis looked well as Philine; the quality of her voice, despite, unevenness of tone production, seemed essentially pleasing. At first, and at times later on, the vocal volume was hardly sufficient, the tone was sometimes in and sometimes out of focus; in the former instance, it was clear and fluent. This variability was noticeable in her principal aria, "Je suis Titania," which, however, was sung with considerable neatness and brought forth the singer's best tones at the close.

With satisfactory volume, Miss Madeira's voice also had an appealing quality and warmth; the tone production varied somewhat in its revelation of these assets. From the dramatic point of view. the impersonation was well intentioned if not, as yet, entirely convincing. Mr. Garris's Laerte was skillfully and persuasively delineated, even if slightly over-stylized.

Miss Stevens's singing marked her best vocal work of recent years, what with warmth of and general evenness of tone and usually judicious production, while the dramatic interpretation was sympathetic. Mr. Melton's tone quality was not always irreproachable, but he sang expressively and showed understanding of the character. Mr. Moscona gave a satisfactory performance as the dolorous Lothario.

In the evening Verdi's "Rigoletto" had its first performance of the season as a benefit for the Hebrew National Home, with Patrice Munsel, Martha Lipton, Jan Peerce, Leonard Warren and Lubomir Vichegonov, a Bulgarian basso, making his debut as Sparafucile, in the leading roles. Since no reviewers' tickets were issued, a

Review 2:

Review must await the first performance of this opera in the regular subscription series.



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