Sign-Off for the Old Met : The Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts, 1950-1966

Rating:
Summary: The long-awaited sequel was worth the wait
Review: Those operaphiles who know Jackson's first volume, "Saturday Afternoons at the Old Met", have been waiting a number of years for this sequel. The format and style remain the same. One problem faced by Jackson in the sequel was the sheer magnitude of his task. In the earlier book many of the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts between 1931 (they began Christmas Day 1931) and 1950 were not preserved. Virtually all of the broadcasts (and then some) between 1950 and 1966, the years covered by this book, are preserved. Naturally, Jackson notes the highlights, those afternoons that live in the memories of those who heard them, but he also fairly notes those that, for whatever reason, fell short of the Gold Standard. He also shows the slow decline of the Met that began when true operatic giants like Bjoerling, Melchior, Flagstad, Bodanzky, and so forth left either no replacements or the replacements were in the hand (or, rather, throats) of a select few, such as Richard Tucker who upheld the standard for many years before his death. Mr Jackson not only provides an excellent narrative but also an appendix listing broadcast dates and casts. Highly recommended. The only sour note comes from the Metropolitan Opera itself whose Brownshirts work to prevent the legitimate sale of these out-of-copyright treasures except those that the Met sells at outrageous prices. Recordings of these are available in Europe and are well worth the effort to read Jackson's words and hear the actual performance.