[Met Performance] CID:189270



Tosca
Metropolitan Opera House, Mon, November 20, 1961

Debut : Giuseppe Zampieri




Tosca (411)
Giacomo Puccini | Luigi Illica/Giuseppe Giacosa
Tosca
Zinka Milanov

Cavaradossi
Giuseppe Zampieri [Debut] [Debut and only performance]

Scarpia
George London

Sacristan
Ezio Flagello

Spoletta
Paul Franke

Angelotti
Norman Scott

Sciarrone
George Cehanovsky

Shepherd
Alan Fischer

Jailer
Roald Reitan


Conductor
Kurt Adler







Review 1:

Review of Francis D. Perkins in the Herald Tribune

Tucker Ill, So Italian Tenor Appears in Debut at Met

Richard Tucker, who was scheduled to sing Mario Cavaradossi at the Metropolitan Opera House last night when Zinka Milanov made her first appearance of the season in the title role of Puccini's "Tosca," had to withdraw when he became a victim of the throat ailment that has affected other leading members of the company in the still young operatic year. This brought about the debut of Giuseppe Zampieri, an Italian tenor who had not been heard here before, but has sung with the San Francisco Opera for the last two seasons.

Mr. Zampieri found Mario's role much to his liking and displayed a voice that combined an appealing timbre with flexibility and warmth and well schooled phrasing. There was no hint of debut nerves in his fluent singing of "Recondita armonia," although this followed his first entrance only by a minute or two, and "E lucevan le stele" also proved vocally ingratiating and possessed considerable pathos.

There were times when his singing was slightly more tense, and one or two slightly overstressed top notes, but this seemed to be a very promising voice of a distinctly Italian type.

Miss Milanov's voice was not always at its best, but was expressively employed, and "Vissi d'arte" was sung with taste and without exaggeration. George London's Scarpia again was marked by dramatic conviction in this familiar opera, which was conducted by Kurt Adler.



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