Opera and Classical Music Reel-to-Reel Audiotapes
This collection contains reel-to-reel audiotapes of live 1926-1968 opera and classical music performances given at La Scala in Milan, Italy, at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, N.Y., at Carnegie Hall in New York City, N.Y., and at various festivals. There are also fillers, which include various arias and concertos from this same time period. Each set of reels lists the singers and conductor of the performance. The arrangement is by original division.
Conductors include, among others, Ettore Panizza, Bruno Walter, Fritz Stiedry, Herbert von Karajan, Guido Cantelli, Nino Sansogno, Fausto Cleva, Karl Boehm and Erich Leinsdorf. Singers include Grace Moore, Enrico Caruso, Kirsten Flagstad, Franco Corelli, Joan Sutherland, Maria Callas, Birgit Nilsson, Dame Nellie Melba, Zinka Milanov, Richard Tucker, Giorgio Tozzi, and Cesare Siepi. Painter Marc Chagall and First Lady Lady Bird Claudia Johnson give interviews on Samuel Barber's Anthony and Cleopatra reel, which marked the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera House in 1966.
Dates
- 1926-1943, 1951-1968
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
5.5 Linear Feet (6 record boxes, 1 half box)
Abstract
This collection contains reel-to-reel audiotapes of live 1926-1968 opera and classical music performances given at La Scala in Milan, Italy, at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, N.Y., at Carnegie Hall in New York City, N.Y., and at various festivals. There are also fillers, which include various arias and concertos from this same time period.
Biographical/Historical Note
The original Metropolitan Opera House of New York City, built in 1883, became a part of the Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc., and of public sponsorship in 1940. In 1966, a new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincolnd Center for the Performing Arts opened with the premier of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra and featured a lobby decorated with Marc Chagall murals.
Many artists made their names performing at the Met, including Enrico Caruso, Kirsten Flagstad, Renata Tebaldi, Franco Corelli, Joan Sutherland, Maria Callas, Birgit Nilsson, and Leontyne Price. Many other great stars appeared at the Met over its many years: Dame Nellie Melba, Lilli Lehman, Feodor Chaliapin, and Luciano Pavarotti. Also, the Metropolitan Opera concerts debuted on the radio in 1931 and on television in 1977.
La Scala, located in Milan, Italy, opened in 1778 on the site of the Church of Santa Maria della Scala. The building was remodeled in 1867, modernized in 1921, restored in 1946 after a World War II bombing, and renovated in 2002. Many famous operas premiered at the theatre: Bellini's Norma, Verdi's Otello and Falstaff, and Puccini's Madame Butterfly.
Arrangement
Collection contains 5.5 boxes.
Acquisition Note
Collection is property of the UT Special Collections Library.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository