Cornell MacNeil

Live Metropolitan Opera performance March, 1985.

Live performance at the Metropolitan Opera, 1984. James Levine conducting Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Stage direction by Piero Faggioni.

사교계의 스타 비올레타를 본 알프레도는 첫눈에 사랑에 빠진다. 비올레타는 순수한 알프레도의 끈질긴 구애에 동거를 시작한다. 알프레도가 잠시 집을 비운 사이 그의 부친 조르지오 제르몽이 비올레타를 찾아와 알프레도와 헤어져 달라고 부탁한다. 비올레타는 그의 말에 따르고 알프레도는 버림받았다고 오해한다. 알프레도가 진실을 알게 된 후 비올레타를 찾아갔을 땐 그녀는 이미 병으로 죽어가고 있었다. 이들은 지난날의 아름다웠던 시절을 추억하고 비올레타는 그의 품 속에서 숨을 거둔다.

James Levine leads a remarkable cast in one of Verdi’s most enduringly popular operas and brings fresh insights to this beloved score. Ileana Cotrubas is poignant and touching as Violetta, the consumptive courtesan who finds true love with Alfredo, sung with style and passion by the great Plácido Domingo. Cornell MacNeil is Germont, Alfredo’s father, who forces the two apart, setting in motion events that lead to a shattering and tragic conclusion. Colin Graham’s production features design by Tanya Moiseiwitsch and choreography by Zachary Solov.

John Dexter’s brilliant production, James Levine’s masterful conducting of the eclectic score, and a sensational cast come together to make this Kurt Weill–Bertolt Brecht masterpiece a riveting evening of music theater. At the center of the action is Jimmy Mahoney (Richard Cassilly), a logger who stumbles onto the city of Mahagonny, where (almost) anything is allowed. Teresa Stratas gives a mesmerizing performance as Jenny, the prostitute who takes up with Jimmy, until he is executed for the greatest of all crimes in Mahagonny—to not have any money. The legendary Astrid Varnay, in her final Met appearances, is Leocadia Begbick, and Cornell MacNeil sings Trinity Moses.

A stellar cast brings Puccini’s spellbinding opera to life, seizing every opportunity to thrill the audience. Luciano Pavarotti is Cavaradossi, the painter and political revolutionary in love with the beautiful and famous singer Tosca (the riveting Shirley Verrett). Rome’s diabolical chief of police, Baron Scarpia (Cornell MacNeil), wants Tosca for himself—but he underestimates the fury of a woman in love. With torture, murder, and a suicide in its final moments, Tosca packs more dramatic punches than most other operas—and this classic telecast captures them all. James Conlon conducts in a production by the incomparable Tito Gobbi, one of the great Scarpias of the 20th century.

Jon Vickers was one of the most magnetic singing actors of the 20th century and Otello one of his greatest roles. He understood how to combine Shakespeare’s rich characterization and Verdi’s dramatic music to create an overwhelming figure, one whose death left audiences deeply shaken. Vickers is perfectly partnered by James Levine’s conducting and the Met’s sensational orchestra and chorus. Renata Scotto is an appealing Desdemona, Cornell MacNeil is a menacing Iago, and Franco Zeffirelli’s production is deservedly legendary.

A Victor Hugo play, haunting and scandalous, provided the inspiration for Verdi’s mid-career masterpiece. A vengeful but misguided court jester strives to save his daughter from a duke’s licentious clutches, but can't part with the feeling that a curse looms over all of his actions. In Rigoletto, the composer introduces several of his most iconic arias and duets—as well as an 11th-hour quartet that counts among the finest moments in opera.