Metropolitan Opera Celebrates 50 Years With THE INAUGURAL SEASON: EXTRAORDINARY MET PERFORMANCES FROM 1966-67 Recording

In honor of the Metropolitan Opera's 50th Anniversary at Lincoln Center, the company has released an exclusive 22-CD compilation of historic performances from the 1966-67 season. The set, called The Inaugural Season: Extraordinary Met Performances From 1966-67, will be available November 18, 2016, in the Met Opera Shop as well as online, and released worldwide on December 16, 2016 distributed through Warner Classics Label Services. The set will contain 10 complete remastered broadcast performances as well as additional musical and interview content.

The Inaugural Season includes 10 complete performances, among them the world premiere of Barber's Antony and Cleopatra with Leontyne Price and Justino Díaz in the title roles; Birgit Nilsson opposite Franco Corelli in Turandot; Joan Sutherland in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor; Jon Vickers in the title role of Peter Grimes; Die Frau Ohne Schatten, led by Karl Böhm, with a cast including Leonie Rysanek and Christa Ludwig; Aida, with Price leading an all-star quartet of Carlo Bergonzi, Robert Merrill, and Grace Bumbry; Otello, with Montserrat Caballé, James McCracken, and Tito Gobbi; Renata Scotto in the title role of Madama Butterfly; Rigoletto, starring Cornell MacNeil; and a performance of Marc Chagall's production of Die Zauberflöte,featuring Roberta Peters and George Shirley. The bonus disc includes additional excerpts from performances in the 1966-67 season, including selections fromDon Giovanni, La Gioconda, Lohengrin, La Bohème, La Traviata, Il Trovatore, Elektra, and Mourning Becomes Elektra.

For more information on the Met's season, please visit www.metopera.org.

BOX SET REPERTOIRE
Opera Listings

1. Barber: Antony and Cleopatra; September 16, 1966

Schippers; Price, Díaz, Thomas

1. Puccini: Turandot; December 3, 1966

Mehta; Nilsson, Corelli, Freni, Giaiotti

1. R. Strauss: Die Frau Ohne Schatten; December 17, 1966

Böhm; Rysanek, Ludwig, Dalis, King, Berry

1. Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor; December 31, 1966

Bonynge; Sutherland, Tucker, Colzani, Ghiuselev

1. Britten: Peter Grimes; February 11, 1967

Davis; Vickers, Amara, Evans

1. Verdi: Aida; February 25, 1967

Schippers; Price, Bergonzi, Bumbry, Merrill

1. Mozart: Die Zauberflöte; March 4, 1967

Krips; Raskin, Peters, Shirley, Uppman, Macurdy

1. Verdi: Otello; March 11, 1967

Mehta; McCracken, Caballé, Gobbi

1. Puccini: Madama Butterfly; March 18, 1967

Molinari-Pradelli; Scotto, Casei, Shirley, Bottcher

1. Verdi: Rigoletto; April 8, 1967

Gardelli; MacNeil, Peters, Gedda, Giaiotti, Amparán

BONUS DISC REPERTOIRE:

1. Highlights of the Met's 1966-67 Season, including backstage interviews and excerpts from performances of Don Giovanni, La Gioconda, Lohengrin, La Bohème, La Traviata, Il Trovatore, Elektra, and Mourning Becomes Elektra.