Word: gotterddmmerung
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...Soprano Astrid Varnay got a phone call from the Metropolitan Opera in Manhattan. Soprano Helen Traubel was ill. Could Miss Varnay come to the rescue? Miss Varnay finished her concert and grabbed a plane, arrived at the Met at 6 p.m., rehearsed until the 7:30 curtain rose on Gotterddmmerung and her Met debut as Briinnhilde...
Like Bodanzky, the chunky guest conductor engaged Metropolitan stars to sing the title roles. He swelled the orchestra to 73, omitted Siegfried so that Flagstad would have a less arduous schedule, reversed the order of the operas so that Gotterddmmerung could be given on the Saturday it would not conflict with a big football game.* Graciously, he staggered performances so that stars could keep appointments elsewhere. Reiner clashed only once with Stage Director Armando Agnini, over a new $1,800 steam apparatus for Gotterddmmerung to help Valhalla go up realistically in flames & smoke. The conductor barred the steam because...
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