Richard Tucker Gala Brings out the Stars

Richard Tucker Gala Brings out the Stars
Barry Tucker
Barry Bassis
Updated:

The Richard Tucker Music Foundation Gala is always a must-see for opera fans and this year was no exception.

Richard Tucker (1913-1975) was a great American tenor, a native New Yorker, who remained a star at the Metropolitan Opera until his untimely death from a heart attack.

The Foundation, founded in 1975, is a non-profit organization that gives awards and grants to up and coming opera singers.

The Gala returned to Carnegie Hall, its original home, for the first time in 25 years. Asher Fisch conducted members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra along with the New York Choral Society, which was back for its 22nd consecutive year.

The concert opened with the majestic “Entrance of the Guests” from “Tannhauser,” performed by the orchestra and chorus.

The latest winner of the Tucker Award, Tamara Wilson, sang Wagner’s “Dich, teure halle” from the same opera. The soprano has a big voice and, as she continued to demonstrate at various points in the evening, holds enormous promise in different styles of music.

Renée Fleming sang the touching “Adieu, notre petite table” from Massenet’s “Manon” and Leoncavallo’s “Mattinata” (which is usually performed by tenors, starting with the first recorded performance in 1904 by Enrico Caruso with the composer on the piano).

The superb Mexican tenor Javier Camarena delivered Rossini’s “La Danza” with panache.

Soprano Nadine Sierra radiated star quality in a moving rendition of “Regnava nel silenzio” from “Lucia di Lammermoor.” 

Kristine Opolais sang the haunting “Song to the Moon” from Dvorak’s “Rusalka.” She will play the lead in this opera at the Met in February.  “Un bel di vedremo” from Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” showed why that opera is another of her acclaimed roles.

That familiar aria was followed by a rarity: “Tu al cui sguardo onnipossente” from Verdi’s “I Due Foscari,” a bel canto piece featuring Tamara Wilson with the women of the chorus. 

Renée Fleming at the Richard Tucker Music Foundation Gala. (Dario Acosta)
Renée Fleming at the Richard Tucker Music Foundation Gala. Dario Acosta
Barry Bassis
Barry Bassis
Author
Barry has been a music, theater, and travel writer for over a decade for various publications, including Epoch Times. He is a voting member of the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle, two organizations of theater critics that give awards at the end of each season. He has also been a member of NATJA (North American Travel Journalists Association)
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