Romeo Juliette: Metropolitan O

This new release, one of four by Sony of live historic Metropolitan Opera performances, is a great treasure! This is a live performance originally broadcast on the radio from the Met on February 1, 1947. It was one of those special occsions where everything came together to capture a near-perfect performance. The golden voiced Jussi Björling and the exquisitely expressive Bidú Sayao were at the very peak of their vocal bloom and artistic powers and combine here in an unforgettable portrayal of Gounod's version of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers.

"Roméo et Juliette" is one of those somewhat rarefied operas that depends on performers steeped in the style of French romantic opera to make it come alive. Several excellent studio recordings of "R&J" offer the score without cuts and have lush sound and beautiful singing, but Björling and Sayao make their characters live and their music soar as no other singers in a complete recording of this opera have done.

Sony's release is in fine but no-frills packaging, with a synopsis and photos, at a very reasonable price, and in very fine sound. Some earlier releases of this performance, including the Met's own collector's LP edition from the 1970s, sounded very constricted and often shrill in spots. Here the engineers have managed a marvel - releasing the 1940s mono broadcast sound into a very natural and musical sounding recording that should please all but the most exacting audio-hounds. In addition to Björling and Sayao, the supporting cast is excellent with many long time Met regulars singing with style and personality. The conductor is the Met's maestro for French opera at the time, Emil Cooper. He conducts with a rhythmic elegance that effortlessly supports the great stars.

One would say thanks any time for a recording that documents such a rare collaboration as that of Sayao and Björling's, but this document is even more remarkable when you realize that this was one of only two occasions on which these artists ever sang this opera together at the Met! How lucky for us that it all happened on the radio broadcast and that the Met and Sony have now offered it in this terrific CD. Grab this one while you can!

I agree with Mr. Hite in every particular; this is a near-definitive performance in ehanced sound. Let's hope the Met releases many more in this series. I would also prefer that the documentation skip the synopsis (any collector has easy access to that) and instead give us something about the actual performance. At this very modest price, however, Sony and the Met are to be congratulated warmly and encouraged.If you love this opera, Bjoerling or Sayao, buy this set now. While it is certainly a fact that this and many, many other Met broadcasts have been available in many iterations on CD before, the fact that the Met has finally started opening their vaults is wonderful news, and the sound, to this listener, is much improved over all other sources I can find. This is a cause for celebration.

It should be said for anyone not familiar with this "Romeo et Juliette" that Jussi Bjorling and Bidu Sayao give what it is probably the most perfect performance of this opera ever recorded. One critic called it a "state of grace performance." Bjorling had what may have been the finest tenor voice in recorded history. Bidu Sayao was not in that exalted league, but she had an immensely expressive voice and great personal charm, making her an ideal Juliette.

This edition is a digitally re-mastered copy of a 1947 radio transcription (disc not tape) from a live Metropolitan Opera performance, which means monaural and definitely not studio quality sound. That said, if you don't have a copy of this "Romeo" and you love great singing, buy it! If you do already own a copy, the question becomes whether this edition is superior to others now available.

A bit of history is in order here. Pirated copies of this performance have been available since 1959. My first copy was on two LP's and cost $50 in 1970. That was a bargain because the Metropolitan Opera's own boxed edition LP set (available as part of the Metropolitan Historic Broadcast series) sold for $125. Unfortunately, neither of these were of good sound quality and had many pitch problems. MYTO records issued the first CD set in the late 1980's. It sold for $35, but was simply a copy of the Metropolitan edition with no attempt at restoration.

Besides the MYTO and Metropolitan discs, there are currently three CD versions available. All have been digitally re-mastered and all are far superior to erlier ones. In comparing them, Cantus Classics (CACD 5.00197) cleaned up some of the pitch problems and background noise. Immortal Performances (IPCD 1003-2) used different original sources, including NBC recordings, and re-mastered them but without filtering to "smooth" the sound. The new Sony release seems to use the same source as the Cantus version but neither Cantus or Sony provide any information concerning their re-mastering and, frankly, both sound remarkably similar although the Sony set has the voices less dominant.

Sony certainly is the least expensive of the currently available versions at $13 compared to Immortal Performances at $24. I prefer the more "live" sound of the Immortal Performances (which also includes a Bonus of Beniamino Gigli's live 1934 Act II La Scala performance) but the Sony discs are well worth listening to.

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