John Macurdy

Don Giovanni (1979)

Screen adapatation of Mozart's greatest opera. Don Giovanni, the infamous womanizer, makes one conquest after another until the ghost of Donna Anna's father, the Commendatore, (whom Giovanni killed) makes his appearance. He offers Giovanni one last chance to repent ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Joseph Losey
CAST:  Ruggero Raimondi  •  John Macurdy  •  Edda Moser  •  Kiri Te Kanawa

Screen adapatation of Mozart's greatest opera. Don Giovanni, the infamous womanizer, makes one conquest after another until the ghost of Donna Anna's father, the Commendatore, (whom Giovanni killed) makes his appearance. He offers Giovanni one last chance to repent ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Joseph Losey
CAST:  Ruggero Raimondi  •  John Macurdy  •  Edda Moser  •  Kiri Te Kanawa

The Metropolitan Opera - Wagner: Tannhäuser (1982)

As renowned for its harmonious overture as for its romantic storybook characters, this three-act masterwork features some of the composer’s most groundbreaking and unforgettable music, as well as a theme the young Wagner would revisit again and again later in his ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Brian Large
CAST:  James Levine  •  Richard Cassilly  •  Éva Marton  •  Tatiana Troyanos

As renowned for its harmonious overture as for its romantic storybook characters, this three-act masterwork features some of the composer’s most groundbreaking and unforgettable music, as well as a theme the young Wagner would revisit again and again later in his ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Brian Large
CAST:  James Levine  •  Richard Cassilly  •  Éva Marton  •  Tatiana Troyanos

Lohengrin (1986)

Wagner’s Romantic opera demands singing actors who can truly inhabit their parts, and that’s just what we have here. Is it possible for a Knight of the Holy Grail to look more enticing than Peter Hofmann? No wonder Elsa (Eva Marton) falls in love at first sight. ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Brian Large
CAST:  Éva Marton  •  Leonie Rysanek  •  John Macurdy  •  Leif Roar

Wagner’s Romantic opera demands singing actors who can truly inhabit their parts, and that’s just what we have here. Is it possible for a Knight of the Holy Grail to look more enticing than Peter Hofmann? No wonder Elsa (Eva Marton) falls in love at first sight. ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Brian Large
CAST:  Éva Marton  •  Leonie Rysanek  •  John Macurdy  •  Leif Roar

Les Contes d'Hoffmann (1988)

Otto Schenk’s brilliant production captures both the dark romanticism of the story as well as its fairy-tale magic. It is a superb setting for Neil Shicoff’s vivid portrayal of the tortured poet Hoffmann, as he recounts the loves of his life and the way he has been ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Otto Schenk  •  Brian Large
CAST:  Neil Shicoff  •  Susan Quittmeyer  •  James Morris  •  Gwendolyn Bradley

Otto Schenk’s brilliant production captures both the dark romanticism of the story as well as its fairy-tale magic. It is a superb setting for Neil Shicoff’s vivid portrayal of the tortured poet Hoffmann, as he recounts the loves of his life and the way he has been ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Otto Schenk  •  Brian Large
CAST:  Neil Shicoff  •  Susan Quittmeyer  •  James Morris  •  Gwendolyn Bradley

Aida (1985)

This was one of the most emotional evenings in Met history—the night Leontyne Price bid farewell to opera. Aida is the role that inspired audiences around the world to acclaim her as the greatest Verdi soprano of her time. And this telecast shows why: the famous ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Brian Large  •  Bruce Donnelly
CAST:  Leontyne Price  •  Dimitri Kavrakos  •  Fiorenza Cossotto  •  James McCracken

This was one of the most emotional evenings in Met history—the night Leontyne Price bid farewell to opera. Aida is the role that inspired audiences around the world to acclaim her as the greatest Verdi soprano of her time. And this telecast shows why: the famous ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Brian Large  •  Bruce Donnelly
CAST:  Leontyne Price  •  Dimitri Kavrakos  •  Fiorenza Cossotto  •  James McCracken

The Metropolitan Opera: Don Giovanni (1978)

Imbuing the familiar Don Juan myth with a captivating combination of comedy, seductiveness, danger, and damnation, Mozart created an enduring masterpiece that has been a cornerstone of the repertory since its 1787 premiere. An early entry in the Met’s series of PBS ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kirk Browning
CAST:  Joan Sutherland  •  James Morris  •  John Brecknock  •  Julia Varady

Imbuing the familiar Don Juan myth with a captivating combination of comedy, seductiveness, danger, and damnation, Mozart created an enduring masterpiece that has been a cornerstone of the repertory since its 1787 premiere. An early entry in the Met’s series of PBS ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kirk Browning
CAST:  Joan Sutherland  •  James Morris  •  John Brecknock  •  Julia Varady