First and Lasting Impressions

by Rudel, Julius; Paller, Rebecca

• ISBN13: 9781580464345
• ISBN10: 1580464343
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of Rochester Pr

Summary

In his twenty-two-year tenure (1957-79) as general director and principal conductor of New York City Opera, Julius Rudel challenged audiences with new and unusual repertory -- including nineteen world premieres and three seasons of all American operas -- turning the popularly priced "People's Opera" into the most influential and daring opera company in the United States. Rudel writes in detail of his unusual repertory choices and of the political battles behind New York City Opera's move to Lincoln Center in 1966, and reminisces about his legendary collaborations with Beverly Sills and Plácido Domingo -- and about his work with other extraordinary talents including Norman Treigle, Phyllis Curtin, William Ball, Frank Corsaro, Tito Capobianco, Leopold Stokowski, Leonard Bernstein, Harold Prince, and Gian Carlo Menotti. First and Lasting Impressions gives a rare personal look into Julius Rudel's career as a conductor and administrator during the glory years of New York City Opera. Julius Rudel was the general director and principal conductor of New York City Opera from 1957 to 1979, and since that time has been a frequent guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and many of the world's other great opera houses. Rebecca Paller, a curator at The Paley Center for Media in New York, has written about the arts for publications including Opera News, Opera, Vogue, Playbill, Symphony, and American Theatre.