Lake George Opera Festival (1969)

Lake George Opera Festival (1969)

Oldtimers and opera history buffs will recognize several names from Metropolitan and New York City Opera rosters of the 1950s-through-‘70s. Brooks, unforgettable as Violetta, Mélisande, and many other characters, was a terrific Zerbinetta, but to my knowledge did not sing the role again. That summer, she also sang Lauretta in a Gianni Schicchi directed by her husband, Ted Mann, Artistic Director of Circle in the Square. I believe these were Frances Yeend’s last performances, the end to a fine career that dated from the 1940s, when she was the soprano soloist in the touring Bel Canto Trio, with Mario Lanza and George London. David Lloyd, the Artistic Director of the Lake George company, repeated the Bacchus he had earlier sung at Glyndebourne.