Afternoon at the Opera

Amilcare Ponchielli’s La Gioconda

 
A headshot of opera actor Renata Tebaldi

Many know Ponchielli’s opera La Gioconda from the “Dance of the Hours”, a ballet scene made famous by Disney’s Fantasia short film, but the dramatic, four-act Italian opera features so much more music worth discovering. The Metropolitan Opera celebrating the 150th anniversary of La Gioconda with a performance from March 2, 1968. This historic recording features soprano Renata Tebaldi in the opera’s titular role, alongside tenor Carlo Bergonzi (Enzo), baritone Cornell MacNeil (Barnaba), and mezzo-soprano Mignon Dunn (La Cieca). Fausto Cleva led the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

Saturday at Noon, on Illinois Classical, 90.9 FM.