Freni did not perform at the Met from 1968-1983. She returned, after having somewhat retooled her repertoire, as Elisabetta in the Italian-language version of DON CARLO. From then on, she was a regular fixture at the Met, appearing nearly every season through 1996-97, with FEDORA as her final fully staged role with the company. After that, she appeared twice more: opening night 2002, a gala performance where she performed Act II of FEDORA; and a gala in her honor in 2005, that included, among other things, Act III of EUGENE ONEGIN, opposite Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Freni outlived three of her younger male co-stars from that evening: Hvorostovsky, Salvatore Licitra and Marcello Giordani.
The 2005 gala was billed as honoring the fiftieth anniversary of her stage debut and the fortieth anniversary of her Met debut. It was also her farewell to the stage.
A truly remarkable, and versatile, artist. I am certainly grateful for the many recordings she left behind that capture her artistry at its peak. |
