Revisiting the Met Jan 20, 1979 Luisa Miller Verdi

[lennygoran]

We saw it live at the Met that night and decided to watch it last night from the Met On Demand site. We found it wonderful-great singing, a very nice traditional set and an opera with lovely music! BTW we also saw it HD style in 2018 and enjoyed that one too despite this-- "Elijah Moshinsky’s production was a mélange, apparently keeping the medieval Tyrolean sets from earlier productions while updating the costumes to the 1840s (Verdi’s own period) and changing the location to England (whose peerage includes dukes and earls, but no counts)."


The Met describes it this way

Renata Scotto is the innocent Luisa, very much in love with Rodolfo (Plácido Domingo in one of his best roles). But he turns out to be the son of the Count Walter (Bonaldo Giaiotti), who has other plans for his aristocratic boy. Enter the evil Wurm (James Morris) whose blackmail eventually backfires, destroying the young lovers despite everything Luisa's father (Sherrill Milnes in a superb performance) does to protect her. James Levine's affectionate conducting and director Nathaniel Merrill's production help make this a performance to treasure.


Performance Date Jan 20, 1979

Run Time 2 HRS 27 MIN

Here's the cast for last night's opera:

[Met Performance] CID:256260



Luisa Miller
Metropolitan Opera House, Sat, January 20, 1979 Telecast


Luisa Miller (41)Giuseppe Verdi | Salvadore Cammarano

Luisa Renata Scotto


Rodolfo Plácido Domingo


Miller Sherrill Milnes


Count Walter Bonaldo Giaiotti


Wurm James Morris


Federica Jean Kraft


Laura Ariel Bybee


Peasant Dale Caldwell



Conductor James Levine



TV Director Kirk Browning



Here's a review from the NYTimes:


By Peter G. Davis

Jan. 15, 1979



VERDI's “Luisa Miller” re‐entered the Metropolitan Opera's repertory Saturday night with a cast substantially different from the one that was heard earlier this season. It was. in fact, a very starry group of singers, a glamorous array seldom encountered these days except on opera recordings. No doubt the company had an eye on next Saturday night's live telecast of “Luisa Miller!” with the same singers.

Principal interest centered on Renata Scotto in her first Met Luisa, which she performed with her usual energy, intensity and care for detail. Miss Scotto has the rare gift of infusing everything she does with such conviction and self‐confidence that even her flaws can seem right,

In general, she was in fine form and gave a touching, well‐conceived portrayal of a sweet, innocent peasant girl who gradually crumbles and dies under the weight of intrigues beyond her control. There was the customary dichotomy to her singing — vocal phrases of exquisite shape and tonal purity alternated with some piercing sounds that were less than pleasant — as well as a generous amount of rather mannered, melodramatic acting. Taken as a whole, though, her performance was intelligent, compelling and ultimately quite moving.

Miss Scotto's partners were Placido Domingo as Rodolfo and Sherrill Milnes as Miller, both familiar in their parts from previous seasons. Mr. Domingo was never less than superb in a role that suits him to the ground. His tenor has rarely sounded more ravishing, and he used his voice with remarkable grace and musical sensitivity.

Mr. Milnes also put his luxurious baritone to good purpose, singing with more control, variety and imagination than is sometimes the case. All three artists rose splendidly to the wonderful final act, surely one of the greatest sequences in all Verdi opera. With James Morris, Bonaldo Giaiotti and Jean Kraft handling their assignments distinctively and James Levine contributing strong musical leadership in the pit, television viewers would seem to be in for a treat Saturday night.