The Metropolitan Opera National Company (MONC) was a short lived American opera company that operated from 1965 to 1967 as a second touring company of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

that featured American and Canadian artists in their early stages of career development. While operationally part of the Metropolitan Opera's budget, it was co-sponsored by the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

. Led by mezzo-soprano

Risë Stevens Risë Stevens (; June 11, 1913 – March 20, 2013) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano and actress. Beginning in 1938, she sang for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City for more than two decades during the 1940s and 1950s. She was most ...

, the company's roster of artists included many prominent opera singers of the second half of the 20th century in the early part of their careers.

History

Envisioned by Anthony Bliss, a prominent New York lawyer and president of the Metropolitan Opera Association, support of the MONC's formation was spearheaded by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

who announced the project in 1963. Responding to the president's call for support of the company, philanthropist and publisher

Lila Acheson Wallace Lila Bell Wallace (December 25, 1889 – May 8, 1984) was an American magazine publisher and philanthropist. She co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' with her husband Dewitt Wallace, publishing the first issue in 1922. Early life and education Born Li ...

donated the bulk of the company's finances during it operational history. While Metropolitan Opera director

Rudolf Bing Sir Rudolf Bing, KBE (January 9, 1902 – September 2, 1997) was an Austrian-born British opera impresario who worked in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, most notably being General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York ...

publicly expressed support for the project, privately he derided the idea and resented the board's actions in creating the company. In his 1972 autobiography, ''5000 Nights at the Opera'', Bing haughtily devalued the National Company as "an expression of the typical American weakness for doing something -- anything -- for education and the young." As director of the Met, Bing was responsible for establishing the leadership of the MONC, and he appointed Met mezzo-soprano

and Michael Manuel, a long time stage manager and director at the Met, as directors of the company in 1963. Stevens, who retired from the stage in 1961, was the Artistic Director and musical director of the company who exhibited a passion for mentoring the young artists in the company. Manuel took over the administrative duties of the company, served as stage manager and coordinator of the physical aspects of the company's sets, costumes, and supportive staff. Stevens and Manuel spent a year auditioning singers before the MONC finally began rehearsals in the summer of 1965. Among the young singers contracted with the company, many in their first professional engagements, included sopranos

Clarice Carson Clarice Carson ( Katz; December 23, 1929 – May 2, 2015) was a Canadian soprano singer who made her name in opera from the 1950 to 1986. Born to Polish émigrés in Montreal, she sought to become a signer at an early age and made her public d� ...

Maralin Niska Maralin Niska (November 16, 1926 – July 9, 2016) was an American operatic soprano. Well known as a singing-actress, she was a mainstay of the New York City Opera during the 1960s and 1970s. She was also a regular performer at the Metropolitan Op ...

Mary Beth Peil Mary Beth Peil (born June 25, 1940) is an American actress and soprano. She began her career as an opera singer in 1962 with the Goldovsky Opera Theater. In 1964 she won two major singing competitions, the Young Concert Artists International Au ...

, Francesca Roberto, and

Marilyn Zschau Marilyn Zschau (born February. 9, 1944) is an American operatic soprano. Born in Chicago, Zschau attended Juilliard School of Music in New York from 1961 to 1965. She first appeared in the role of Marietta in ''Die tote Stadt'' at the Vienna Vol ...

; mezzo-sopranos Joy Davidson, Sylvia Friederich, Dorothy Krebill, and

Huguette Tourangeau Huguette Tourangeau, (August 12, 1938 – April 21, 2018) was a French-Canadian operatic mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories. Life and career Huguette Tourangeau was born in Montreal, Quebec, and gra ...

; tenors

Enrico Di Giuseppe Enrico Di Giuseppe (October 14, 1932 – December 31, 2005) was a celebrated American operatic tenor who had an active performance career from the late 1950s through the 1990s. He spent most of his career performing in New York City, juggling ...

, Chris Lachona, Nicholas di Virgilio, and

Harry Theyard Harry Theyard (né Harry L. Theard, Jr, on 28 September 1929, in New Orleans) is an American operatic tenor. Theyard is a 1957 graduate of Loyola University of the South, where he studied under Dorothy Hulse, who was also the teacher of Audrey Sch ...

; baritones Ron Bottcher,

John Fiorito John Fiorito (born 4 September 1936 in New York) is a baritone opera singer. Career Fiorito began his classical training in 1952, with Rita Kittain and her associate, Lydia Chaliapin. He made his professional debut in 1957, with the Toledo Ch ...

Thomas Jamerson Thomas Jamerson is an American baritone who had an active international career as an opera and concert performer from the 1960s through the 1990s. He first drew distinction in the field of opera in 1968 when he recorded the role of Baron Douphol in ...

, Julian Patrick, and Vern Shinall; bass-baritones

Andrij Dobriansky Andrij Dobriansky ( uk, Андрій Добрянський; September 2, 1930February 1, 2012) was a principal artist with the Metropolitan Opera for 30 years where he sang over 60 roles in over 900 performances. As a displaced person in post-war ...

, Ronald Hedlund, and

Arnold Voketaitis Arnold and Nijole Voketaitis. Arnold Voketaitis (born May 11, 1930, New Haven, Connecticut) is an American bass-baritone of Lithuanian descent who had an active singing career performing in operas, concerts, and recitals from the late 1950s th ...

; and bass

Paul Plishka Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

. The first season of the MONC included 260 performances in 72 cities over a nine-month period from September 1965 through May 1966. This season included a production of

Carlisle Floyd Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926September 30, 2021) was an American composer primarily known for his operas. These stage works, for which he wrote the librettos, typically engage with themes from the American South, particularly the Post- ...

's ''

Susannah ''Susannah'' is an opera in two acts by the American composer Carlisle Floyd, who wrote the libretto and music while a member of the piano faculty at Florida State University. Floyd adapted the story from the Apocryphal tale of Susanna (Book of D ...

'' that was directed by

José Quintero José Benjamín Quintero (15 October 1924 – 26 February 1999) was a Panamanian theatre director, producer and pedagogue best known for his interpretations of the works of Eugene O'Neill. Biography Early years Quintero was born in Panama C ...

and used sets designed by

Beni Montresor Beni Montresor (31 March 1926 – 11 October 2001) was a versatile Italian artist, opera and film director, set designer, author and children's book illustrator. He won the 1965 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing '' ...

; Rossini's ''

La Cenerentola ' (''Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera '' Cendrillon'' ...

'' with a staging by

Günther Rennert Günther Rennert (1 April 1911 – 31 July 1978) was a German opera director and administrator. Rennert was born in Essen, Rhine Province. Starting as a film director in 1933, he then became involved in the operatic theatre, becoming an assistant ...

and Joy Davidson as Cinderella;

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

's ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'' with designs by Yoshio Aoyama and Francesca Roberto as Cio-Cio San; and

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' with a staging by

Louis Ducreux Louis Ducreux (22 September 1911 – 19 December 1992) was a French actor, screenwriter and composer. He was born Louis Raymond Bordat in Marseille, France. He made his film debut in 1938 and worked until his death. He received a Best Actor nom ...

and designs by Bernard Daydé. The company made its debut on September 29, 1965 at the Clowes Memorial Hall at

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...

in Indianapolis with Maralin Niska as Floyd's Susannah. The second season of the MONC ran from September 1966 through May 1967 with performances of

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'', Puccini's ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

'', Mozart's ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' and

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's ''

The Rape of Lucretia ''The Rape of Lucretia'' (Op. 37) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, written for Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the title role. Ronald Duncan based his English libretto on André Obey's play '. Performance history The opera was fi ...

''. A planned third season in 1967-1968 of performances of ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'', ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...

'' and ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

'', never occurred as Rudolf Bing successfully worked to undermine support for the company with Metropolitan Opera's board of directors who voted to discontinue the company beyond the second season in December 1966.

References

{{reflist Metropolitan Opera American opera companies Touring opera companies Musical groups established in 1965 Musical groups disestablished in 1967