26 November 1964 -
Covent Garden - Jones, Prevedi, Glossop; Giulini [Note: this marks
Simionato's last appearance in this role]
Reviews
1956
DECCA recording - "The best reason for
hearing this Trovatore is for Simionato's Azucena, a really great
performance, as it was on stage. Her Racconto is wonderfully voiced as a
whole and in detail. ''Giorni poveri'' has what the Italians term morbidezza
and the succeeding cabaletta just the right tense fire...I
certainly enjoyed listening again to this set, especially to Simionato, who
has no peer today though Barbieri (for Karajan), is just as thrilling
without quite Simionato's ease at the top." Alan Blyth, Gramaphone,
September 1989.
October 1959 - "The
Italian mezzo brings a rich, secure and cultivated voice to the MET. Her
range is formidable; the high notes have accuracy and brilliance and the low
are firm and vibrant. She sings with striding ardour and moves with
intelligence. The MET has acquired a new artist of the first magnitude."
Howard Taubman, The New York Times,
October 27, 1959.
Anecdotes
On the La Scala tour
of Russia in 1964 parts of the Trovatore were recorded on film, including
Simionato singing a blistering 'Stride La Vampa', which is now kept in the
theatres achieves
On the opening night
of her final production of Il Trovatore at Covent Garden, Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth The Queen Mother was in the audience.
(Simionato's MET debut)
Simionato made her
long awaited MET debut as Azucena in October 1959. The occasion attracted
long before the actual event, on the 11th of November 1958 an article
anticipating the event appeared in the New York Times after Rudolf Bing made
the official announcement the day before.
Simionato received
telegrams wishing her well on the evening of the performance from great
colleagues such as Tebaldi, de los Angeles, Del Monaco, Warren, Tagliavini,
Tassinari...and the list goes on...and on
The production opened
the season that year, the MET's 75th, with the event attracting an audience
of peers and admirers including Steber, Albanese, Peters and Rosalind
Russell, Moura Lympany, and Alicia Markova. The night was the second highest
grossing MET performance in history (after a Tebaldi Tosca) earning $86,
287, which was $400 below the Tebaldi Tosca. Those Bing's tradition of
giving all cast members free tickets was a disadvantage to the Trovatore as
it has a larger cast than Tosca, so probably would have earned even more.
The applause was
restrained until the Gypsy Camp scene, where the applause for Simionato
stopped the show. At the end of the performance there were nine official
curtain calls before the lights came up but the singers had to give another
eight more calls before the fans would allow them to leave the stage.
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Performances