Metropolitan Opera Archives
Not solely was Paul Plishka (who died on 3 February) a long-time Met stalwart, he additionally appeared usually with Opera Orchestra of New York: twenty-two instances in a astonishing number of roles over greater than a quarter-century. As that is “Donizetti Month” right here on parterre field, Chris’s Cache presents Plishka and OONY with Carol Vaness in Anna Bolena and with Mariella Devia within the not often heard Adelia.
Plishka first appeared with OONY within the well-known 1972 I Lombardi reverse Renata Scotto and José Carreras. His last gig proved notorious, as a substitute — Carlo Bergonzi’s ill-fated try in 2000 to sing Verdi’s Otello. Bergonzi withdrew half-way via the efficiency earlier than Plishka appeared as Lodovico.
In between, Plishka joined Eve Queler’s group for operas from Bellini to Massenet and Halévy with 5 Verdi works alongside the best way. His seemingly easy versatility permitted him to carry out with OONY Dosifei in Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina adopted a month later by Nilakantha in Delibes’s Lakmé, the latter with Devia and Nicolai Gedda remains to be accessible for listening or downloading from a 2018 Trove Thursday submit.
I first heard Plishka with OONY in 1986 once I impulsively subscribed to all three of the group’s choices that season although I used to be nonetheless dwelling in Ohio. However I made it to all of these memorable evenings; fortunately, all three have been broadcast and have discovered their technique to parterre. My first OONY was his return to Lombardi, this time with Aprile Millo and Bergonzi, adopted two months later by an extraordinary Smetana Libuse that includes a wonderful Gabriela Benackova in her return to New York after an absence of seven years.
Gary Smith/Seattle Opera
My last OONY opera that season was a La Gioconda with Ghena Dimitrova and Piero Cappuccilli in an exceedingly uncommon native look. I posted right here a recording of that Gioconda a 12 months in the past together with a Met pirate of Ponchielli’s opera with Renata Tebaldi from the corporate’s second season at Lincoln Middle. I had no concept that that Gioconda featured Plishka in his official Met debut because the Monk (he had beforehand sung with the corporate a number of instances out of city!)
I didn’t all the time attend OONY performances after I moved to New York, however I did hear Plishka in Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa with a surprisingly tremendous June Anderson and Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride starring a elegant Olga Borodina.
Two years in the past, Chris’s Cache additionally made accessible a legendary Met efficiency during which Plishka performed an necessary position: he was the King Marke whom Birgit Nilsson and Jon Vickers so thrillingly betrayed.
At the moment’s double-bill doesn’t include all of Plishka’s OONY Donizetti: he joined Montserrat Caballé in Gemma di Vergy which was launched commercially and he took half in a 1993 Linda di Chamounix that was, if I recall appropriately, initially to have starred Luba Orgonasova however as a substitute featured Valeria Esposito as Linda alongside Giuseppe Sabbatini.
At the moment’s Bolena paperwork a uncommon likelihood for New York audiences to listen to Vaness in a bel canto position, and Adelia proved to be Devia’s final NYC look till she returned triumphantly in 2014 as Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux, once more with Queler and OONY.
On a private word, some time again I sat subsequent to Plishka at a small ceremonial dinner given by a mutual pal. I’ve no recollection how the topic got here up however I used to be lastly in a position to fill in a clean that lengthy had bothered me. The second opera I attended was Dayton Opera’s Lohengin which at 12 utterly went over my head. I knew that the solid included Jean Fenn, Nell Rankin, Ticho Parly (!) and Walter Cassel, however my on-line analysis (I didn’t maintain onto packages again then) by no means might flip up the Heinrich who, positive sufficient, was Plishka—the one instances he sang the position have been in Dayton and Toledo (again then, Dayton’s sister firm).
Donizetti: Anna Bolena
Anna Bolena: Carol Vaness
Giovanna Seymour: Gloria Scalchi
Smeton: Melanie Sonnenberg
Percy: Fernando de la Mora
Enrico VIII: Paul Plishka
Rochefort: Philip Cokorinos
Sir Hervy: Christopher Jux
Conductor: Eve Queler
Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Corridor –
7 April 1993
In-house recording
Donizetti: Adelia
Adelia: Mariella Devia
Odetta: Valerie Bernhardt
Olivier: Warren Mok
Arnoldo: Paul Plishka
Carlo: Stephan Pyatnichko
Comino: Justin Vickers
Uno scudiero: Martin Dillon
Conductor: Eve Queler
Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Corridor
11 November 1999
In-house recording
Bolena and Adelia may be downloaded by clicking on the icon of a cloud with an arrow pointing downward on the audio participant above and the ensuing mp3 file will seem in your obtain listing.
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