tomorrow at the Met . . .

Samuel Barber's Vanessa. I had never heard of this opera, although I have heard his other two pieces, A Hand of Bridge and Anthony and Cleopatra. This last work was staged by Franco Zefferilli in a disastrous production that completely overwhelmed the music.

Tomorrow's presentation is a rebroadcast of a Met production of February 1, 1958 with Eleanor Steben as Vanessa. This came to be known as her signature role, even though she stepped in at the work's premier in January 1958 for Sena Jurinac for whom the part was written. Barber won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1958 for this opera.

With this brief Music History lesson, listen up!