Live From the Met Highlights: Volume 1

Kicking off with The Bartered Bride overture, conducted by James Levine for the Metropolitan Opera's 1983 centennial gala celebration, the initial volume of Live From the Met Highlights includes five scenes from operas in the standard repertory: Ballo in Maschera, Don Carlo, La Bohème, Tannhäuser, and Lucia Di Lammermoor. Not the most imaginative programming (with two selections from Verdi, and three conducted by Levine), but viewers will nevertheless appreciate the staging and the performances by top artists, including Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Eva Marton and Joan Sutherland. The added “bonus” half-hour documentary, "Met: The First Hundred Years,” is reason enough to purchase this disc, with its wonderful overview of six distinct eras in Met history, from the inaugural season, through the golden age to the reign of Rudolf Bing (illustrated with period film and legendary performances). Fans--who are legion--of this venerable institution will enjoy these highlights, presented in Dolby Digital stereo. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (J. Reed)