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Anne Bollinger, young Metropolitan Opera soprano, now in her second season as a member of the company, was called upon short notice last night to substitute for Nadine Conner in role of Micaela in Bizet’s “Carmen.”

Miss Bollinger made her debut last year as Frasquita in the same opera and subsequently sang other small roles, with the exception of the bigger part of Cherubino in “The Marriage of Figaro.” On tour she did Micaela, but not in New York.

She is an asset in the role. Her voice is bigger than Miss Conner’s and, though she was not as secure as she will be with more experience, she made a highly favorable impression. There is a juicy fullness to the timbre that gives the satisfying stamp of plenty. Most voices sound rather scarce in the Met, due partly to acoustical properties of the house as well as its size. Miss Bollinger’s fortunately does well in this respect and her quality is sweet in the bargain.

She was pictorially appealing as the Honorable Lady and made the part have more interest than unadulterated virtue usually has on the stage.

Irra Petina’s portrayal of the title role is familiar hereabouts and she gave her usual vivacious interpretation. Lucille Browning substituted creditably for Martha Lipton in the smaller role of Mercedes.

Search by season: 1949-50

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