Robert O'Hearn, RIP

Robert O'Hearn, set designer died May 26th.  His productions were part of my opera education years. What you saw was what the composer intended.  It's very hard doing a massive edit and I've never enjoyed photographing furniture. I've looked at the set images, sometimes not best in first season. I've been trying to put this together for two weeks. These were all shot with film in the B/W years.  First Robert O'Hearn, Nathanial Merrill, Maestro Karl Boehm and Leonie Rysanek, FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN first performance 1966.

FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN final scene with James King, Leonie Rysanek, Walter Berry, Christa Ludwig, 1966

HANSEL UND GRETEL, Act I shot in 1978 with Carol Malone and Rosalind Elias, then Act II for the set.

ROSENKAVALIER,  1969. This production is fresh in our minds, because it has been presented for years. I opted to use one of my favorite moments. Walter Berry and Rosalind Elias, end of Act II. If I had tried to use set images I would have had to plow through hundreds  of possibilities.

PIQUE DAME  1972 before it was called QUEEN OF SPADES,  Nicolai Gedda and Regina Resnik and William Walker added for the final scene.

L'ELISIR D'AMORE, a 1973 image with Fernando Corena

AIDA  1972 with Sandor Konya and Grace Bumbry

NOZZE DI FIGARO  from 1975 with Evelyn Lear, Judith Blegen, Justino Diaz, Richard Best and Wolfgang Brendel, Act II

MEISTERSINGER   1976 FINAL SCENE

PARSIFAL  1972 with Sandor Konya, Irene Dalis and Cesare Siepi

PARSIFAL later on with Vickers and Rysanek. Again this was a hard edit.

SAMSON 1977  with Obratszova and Walker

FANCIULLA, NYC Opera, 1977,  with Maralin Niska as Minnie, then Act II with Charles Long as Jack Rance. Ermano Mauro is up in lift

PORGY AND BESS  1985  Catfish Row and Kitty Hawk Island

Robert O'Hearn, thank you for so much fun and artistic integrity. RIP

Meredith Greenough RIP

Sadly, Muffy Greenough, Beverly Sills' daughter passed away  after a long struggle with MS with many serious side effects. This post is for the New York City Opera family who remember Muffy as the little girl who was part of Beverly's activities.   First two images shot in rehearsal room, 1969 during rehearsals for COQ D'OR.

Before performance of COQ D'OR  with Danillo and Nato Capobianco. One dresses nicely to go to the opera, 1969.

Add Gigi Capobianco to the mix as Muffy wears the Queen's head piece.

        Before ROBERTO DEVEREUX  1970, checking costume, Muffy and Joel Carr.
        Muffy passed away July 3rd.  Beverly passed away July 2nd.    From all of us, RIP.

Two more old images from Anthea

Also from Anthea's slide box.... Beverly with Ted Marcinkowsky make-up)

Norman Treigle with ????, maybe a member of the orchestra???? drinking, smoking, playing cards, 1967

From slides from Anthea de Forest

Anthea deForest handed me a small box of slides at lunch today. "Can you do something with these, maybe get them on Facebook?"   These are not masterpieces, but they are grand memories, so in honor of coming Memorial Day here come a few memories from Anthea.  First David Hicks and Beverly, Nov. 1968, flight to L.A.

Beverly with Nico Castel and Leo Postrel, Nov. 1968

Same Nov. 1968 flight, Edgar Joseph, Charles Wilson and Lila Herbert

That flight, Gigi Capobianco and Dominic Cossa

Muriel Greenspon flying the plane

Dan Rule

Obviously some Olympia fun, Beverly and Charles Elsen

Charles Wilson

Elektra

New ELEKTRA at the Met. Musically sensational.Everyone is brilliant. What the artists do make the images,  first Mommy Dearest, Waltraut Meier as Klytaemnetra and then Nina Stemme as Elektra. At the final dress the audience roared their approval. It was emotionally stunning.
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Charlotte Povia RIP

Sadly, Charlotte Povia has died. She was a friend and I had the pleasure of photographing her at the New York City Opera 1967-1968.  I've scanned a few images, live performances and one rehearsal. First CAVALLERIA March 1968, as Mama Lucia.

CRUCIBLE, March 17, 1968, Charlotte as Rebecca Nurse and Robert Hale as Reverend Smith

MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Feb. 26, 1967  as Marcellina with Malcolm  Smith as Bartolo

the same FIGARO, Act I with Joan Summers in background as Susannah, the Act I duet

In Rehearsal downstairs, TRAVIATA,  March 26, 1967, Patricia Brooks as Violetta and Charlotte as Flora.  RIP dear friend.
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COPYRIGHT ALERT!

There is an online site for CutandStyles in which the New York City Opera reunion images have been taken from my blog and used in an unauthorized and illegal manner.  The attendees are shown, their hair styles described, their names listed.

One: These images are registered copyright. They are not in the public domain.
Two: No company or individual can use a person's likeness  without written permission from the subject.
Three: For the subjects shown by CutandStyles this has been done without  permission. I would not have granted permission.

There is no contact information on this CutandStyles site.  If you read this, CutandStyles, this use must be removed.

The digital tools are so easy for everyone that legal responsibility is often forgotten. Pictures are owned by the photographer.That's the law, Federal law!  Read the alert on right border of my blog site. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  They are not automatically in public domain. A photographer has to protect the subjects shown.  Being sued for copyright infringement, unauthorized use can be very costly for an infringer.  CutandStyles take note! REMOVE THOSE IMAGES.
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