On the Shoulders of Giants

Each season, the Met’s live Saturday Matinee Radio Broadcasts are supplemented by outstanding performances from the Met’s extensive archive, spanning 90-plus years of broadcast history. This year, we’ve enlisted four of today’s leading lights to nominate favorite artists of the past who have influenced them, highlighting connections between that long operatic tradition to the present day. Tune into The Robert K. Johnson Foundation–Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network each Saturday in February to hear the selections of Angel Blue, Ryan Speedo Green, Lise Davidsen, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Verdi’s La Traviata, 2007
Chosen by: Angel Blue
Broadcast: February 1, 2025

Soprano Angel Blue, who headlines the Met’s new Aida this season and also stars in the company premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, chose to pay tribute to one of the Met’s most beloved sopranos, Renee Fleming. A fan of Fleming long before ever seeing her live, Blue’s admiration of the soprano deepened after an especially memorable performance of La Traviata in Los Angeles in 2007. “I was floored by the depth of her dramatic interpretation and effortless singing,” Blue says, with Fleming’s impeccable poise and flawless coloratura etched into her memory. “Her vocal technique was a master class.” Experience Fleming’s inspiring portrayal of the self-sacrificing heroine in this 2007 performance of Verdi’s tragic masterpiece, which also stars tenor Matthew Polenzani as Alfredo and baritone Dwayne Croft as Germont, with Marco Armiliato on the podium.

Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer, 1960
Chosen by: Ryan Speedo Green
Broadcast: February 8, 2025

With meaty turns in Verdi’s Il Trovatore, Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten, and Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick on his Met schedule this season, and major Wagnerian roles in his future, bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green has chosen to highlight imposing American bass-baritone George London in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer. A winner of the prestigious George London Award in 2014, Green says there’s much to love about London’s performance of the title role, noting his sonorous voice, the ease of his vocal production, and the expression of every phrase. “He showed up and showed out in every role he conquered, but he brings an unparalleled presence and power to Wagner.” This tour-de-force performance from 1960 also stars soprano Leonie Rysanek as Senta—one of the soprano’s signatures—with Thomas Schippers on the podium.

Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, 1985
Chosen by: Lise Davidsen
Broadcast: February 15, 2005

One of the Met’s most riveting artists in decades, Lise Davidsen knows a thing or two about golden-age soprano singing, and her plans with the company include not only this season’s appearances in Puccini’s Tosca and Beethoven’s Fidelio, but also upcoming new productions of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde and Ring cycle. In choosing to share a Jessye Norman broadcast, Davidsen acknowledges a profound connection with the legendary soprano. “Jessye is one of my most important vocal inspirations,” Davidsen says, reflecting on her own celebrated turn in the title role of Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos in the 2021–22 season, when she was thrilled to don the same crystal crown Norman wore when she sang the role. “I was so happy because for me, no one comes close to Jessye.” In this unforgettable 1985 broadcast, Norman shines as the regal Ariadne, with mezzo-soprano Maria Ewing as the Composer. Andrew Davis conducts, with his wife-to-be, soprano Gianna Rolandi, as Zerbinetta.

Verdi’s Falstaff, 1964
Chosen by: Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Broadcast: February 22, 2025

For the final installment in this special series, Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin chose to spotlight the legendary Leonard Bernstein. As an aspiring young conductor with many of Bernstein’s recordings at his disposal, Nézet-Séguin quickly developed an affinity for the renowned maestro. “Bernstein was, hands down, always my greatest conducting model,” he says, drawing great inspiration from the way Bernstein unapologetically expressed himself on the podium. “That lack of inhibition is true authenticity. We work all our lives to be that true to ourselves, but Lenny is the master.” In his Met debut, Bernstein leads this vibrant 1964 performance of Verdi’s Shakespearean comedy, starring baritone Anselmo Colzani in the title role, soprano Gabriella Tucci as Alice Ford, mezzo-soprano Regina Resnik as Mistress Quickly, mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias as Meg Page, baritone Mario Sereni as Ford, and soprano Judith Raskin and tenor Luigi Alva as Nannetta and Fenton. —Jonathan Minnick