This week the Metropolitan Opera will continue to celebrate its 50th Anniversary at Lincoln Center with a special box while a classic recording of Wagner’s “Die Meistersingers von Nurnberg will also be reissued.

The Inaugural Season: Extraordinary Met Performances From 1966-67

The new box set is one of the most anticipated sets of the year as it includes some of the most beloved operas of the Golden Age. Among the operas included are Barber’s “Anthony and Cleopatra” with Leontyne Pice and Justino Diaz and Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” with Joan Sutherland.” It also includes Puccini’s “Turandot” with Birgit Nilsson, Mirella Freni and Franco Corelli and Verdi’s “Otello” with James McCkraken, Moserrat Caballe and Titto Gobbi. Renata Scotto’s classic interpretation of Puccini’s “Madam Butterfly” is also included in the set. Other stars that can be heard on the box set include Roberta Peters, Nicolai Gedda, Grace Bumbry, Carlo Bergonzi and Leonie Rysanek. The set  also includes a bonus CD with some of the greatest stars in their most beloved roles. 

Decca’s Release of “Der Meistersinger”: 

Decca will release a classic recording of Wagner’s beloved opera under its Eloquence series. The re-release stars Paul Schöffler, Otto Edelmann, Hilde Gueden and is conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch.  The 1950/51 recording was the first complete studio recording of a Wagner opera. The recording is considered one the classics and the sound quality was superb for its time. Decca has remastered the CD and will be released this week in Germany followed by a worldwide release.