[Met Performance] CID:149700
Carmen {444} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/2/1949.
(Review)
Metropolitan Opera House
February 2, 1949
CARMEN {444}
Carmen..................Risë Stevens
Don José................Charles Kullman
Micaela.................Eleanor Steber
Escamillo...............Robert Merrill
Frasquita...............Anne Bollinger
Mercédès................Lucielle Browning
Remendado...............Alessio De Paolis
Dancaïre................George Cehanovsky
Zuniga..................Lorenzo Alvary
Moralès.................Clifford Harvuot
Dance...................Tilda Morse
Dance...................Aida Alvarez
Dance...................Leon Varkas
Conductor...............Wilfred Pelletier
Review of Ronald Eyer in Musical America
Eleanor Steber, the Micaela; Charles Kullman, the Don Jose; and Robert Merrill, the Escamillo, appeared for the first time this season in their respective parts, while the title again was in the capable hands of Risë Stevens. The interpretations these performers give are familiar ones and they change but little with the succeeding seasons. Miss Steber remains a physically attractive and appealing Micaela, although her third-act aria revealed some insecurity in pitch. Mr. Kullman retains a youthful momentum that makes his José believable, and in the flower song and elsewhere, his vocalism was something more than adequate. Mr. Merrill, too, has a buoyancy that brings Escamillo to life, and his substantial voice added a welcome depth to a generally light-voiced ensemble. Miss Stevens' beautiful and realistic Carmen is now, happily, a staple of the theater and she apparently can run it off at any given place or time with complete assurance. Others in the cast were Anne Bollinger, Lucielle Browning, George Cehanovsky, Alessio De Paolis, Lorenzo Alvary and Clifford Harvuot. The conductor was Wilfred Pelletier.