THE NIGHT I MET VAN CLIBURN November 29, 1964, was a day I had waited for months. That was the night that the Metropolitan Opera staged a benefit for it's welfare and pension funds which would net a whopping $93,000. The bill of fare was the four most illustrious sopranos of the day, starring in one of their favorite roles. It was a dream come true. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Lisa Della Casa in Act I of Der Rosenkavalier, Joan Sutherland in the First Act of La Traviata and my favorite Renata Tebaldi in Act I of La Boheme.
My seat was in the first row of the Dress Circle. I arrived at the Old Met early to watch the luminaries arrive. Being early, when the doors opened I went in and took my seat. I never tired of the grandeur and beauty of the Old Met, it was magical. Dressed in my tux, I watched the who's who of New York gather in little groups admiring their silks, satins and diamonds. While I was busy looking to my left at the rest of the Diamond Horseshoe, I hadn't noticed that the seats to my right were filling up.
I turned to my right and saw a face that was known throughout the world, literally; Van Cliburn, looked at me and smiled and said, "good evening." I hope I didn't look like an idiot with my mouth open. I responded with, “good evening Van, how are you?”..then, " we were all very proud of you a few years ago, congratulations." That was the beginning of a long friendship. I guess he was not offended by my calling him by his first name. I was then introduced to his mom, Rhilda Bee and their friends Karen and Harvey Sharfman, owner of one of New York's famous nightclubs.
Van and I started to talk about the evening's fare and our favorite soprano. I told him I loved Renata and first saw her in Butterfly in 1958 and from that time I would send her a rose every time I attended one of her performances and would go to the stage door in hopes that my name would be one of those on the list. It never was, so I would stand and wait for her to leave the theater and hundreds of us would stand and cheer and follow her limo down 7th Ave. After relaying this story he said," you have never met her?" I shook my head. We talked a bit more and he excused himself. About 10 minutes later I heard someone calling Dick, Honestly, I didn't pay any attention, thinking no one here knows my name. I looked up and saw Van standing about 20 feet from me motioning for me to come up to where he was. I excused myself and got up and walked towards him. Then I noticed standing with him was Francis Robinson, Assistant General Manager of the Met. He introduced me as his friend from New Jersey and then said, “y'all come with me. “
The curtain was only 30 minutes off; people were still sipping champagne at Sherry’s as we made our way someplace, led by Mr. Robinson. We had quickly made our way from the Dress Circle past the Grand Tier to the Parterre Box level to the Orchestra side lobby hall. I could see that we were headed in the direction of the stage. People were looking at the 3 of us, it was a strange feeling, walking through the lobbies of the Metropolitan Opera with the Francis Robinson and Van Cliburn and me a 21 year old from New Jersey. I had no idea where we were going or why. I only knew that in less than 30 minutes the curtain would be going up on Joan Sutherland as Violetta in La Traviata.
Mr. Robinson unlocked a door at the end of the stage right corridor. We walked into a small dark hall with just one door ahead of us which again he unlocked. Beyond this door were what looked to be a hundred people running, yelling, hammering and doing everything necessary to prepare the stage for the first act. We continued down a hall, through a couple more doors, then I heard it a cocaughiny of sounds, voices warming up, and in all vocal ranges. Mr. Robinson knocked and opened a door and ushered Van and me into a fairly small, dingy room with a small piano in the corner. I looked around and ,OH MY GOD, standing there in front of me was Renata Tebaldi. She and Van embraced and briefly spoke in Italian. Van then motioned for me to come over and he introduced me to her. She took my hand and held it as she spoke to me. In her very broken English, back then, she mentioned to me about the roses that I had sent her over the past years. I am sure Van mentioned this to her. My heart was racing; I could not take my eyes off her. All written descriptions of her always talked about her radiant beauty and alabaster skin, and incredible blue eyes. I was transfixed, I am sure I looked like an idiot standing there in front of her. After a few minutes, Van motioned that we needed to get gong back to our seats. I again shook Renata’s hand; she leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I felt weak. I just got a kiss on the cheek from the greatest lyric spinto soprano of the 20th century.
As Van and I made our way back through the dark, dirty maze of backstage to the elegant but aged hallways of the 81 year old building. I thanked him for the singularly most exciting time of my life, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, “your welcome, she is one of my very dearest friends. We could hear the soft chimes in the halls and lobby indicating that the show was about to begin. The usher opend the door to the Dress Circle just as the first notes of the overture of Der Rosenkavalier sounded. The cast was stellar and included Schwarzkopf, Della Casa, Barry Morell and Andrea Velis. The conductor was the young American Thomas Shippers. The performance was beautiful and set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Renata and the first act of La Boheme was up next. The changing of sets at the old Met were long and labor intensive. No moving stages, everything had to be done by hand. Hence, intermissions sometimes ran longer than 30 minutes. When the lights came up, Van reintroduced me to his mother and friends. We chatted a while and he then said,” I am throwing a little dinner after the opera and we would like you to join us.” Damn, I thought did I just get invited to a dinner party by Van Clliburn ? I thanked him but declined, figuring he was just being polite. After the third time he asked, backed up by his mother and friends, I accepted. I started to think, wow, I have $15.00 in my pocket, what if I have to pay for something. Those thoughts soon disappeared as Van and his mom invited me to join them in the Guild Room champagne. The Guild Room was private for the members of the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Metropolitan Associaton and major benefactors of the Met. At this time learned that Van was on the Board of Director of the Met. The room was filled with power brokers, celebrities and opera singers. I recognized the mayor of New York City, opera singers Beverly Sills, Sherrill Milnes, Justino Diaz, ( who I had known for a couple of years) Giovanni Martinelli, actress Kitty Carlisle and Tony Randall, who I had sat next to at a Butterfly the year before. In about 20 minutes the warning chimes sounded and everyone returned to their seats. Van and I talked about this being Renata’s debut for the year. George Schick mounted the podium and the familiar sounds of the La Boheme ovature wafted throughout the silent hall. The curtain went up the applause rang out as the 4 bohemians went through their paces; Carlo Bergonzi, Calvin Marsh, Clifford Harvout and Caesare Siepi. As Renata’s entrance approached you could feel the anticipation build in the theater. Then it came, a second later the door to the garet opened she appeared and the sound was like a sunami and lasted for more than a minute, totally stopping the show, she must have been moved. Her voice was full, rich and very secure. At the end of “Mi chiamamo Mimi,” another wave stopped the show. At the end of the duet ,”O soave fanciulla” her hich C was brilliant. Curtain calls for my new friend Renata Tebaldi lasted over 15 minutes.
More conversation during the intermission with Van, his mom, Rhilda Bee, Harvey and Karen Sharfman.. I learned that this little dinner party would be at the Oak Room of the Plaza Hotel and the guests of honor would be Renata Tebaldi and Joan Sutherland. I could not believe this night.
Just a side note; less than a month earlier I had attended a performance of Lucia di Lammermoor with Joan Sutherland and had the chance to meet her after the show. Her performance with John Alexander was flawless. Her voice was amazing!!!!! Thirty minutes later and the incredible night of sopranos was over. I still did not know what treats I was in for. After the curtain calls Van and I started talking and walking towards the lobby. Van, his mom and I stood in the main lobby for a couple minutes then walked out to Broadway to his waiting limo . My God, there I was getting into a Caddy limo at the front of the Metropolitan Opera House with Van Cliburn and his mother at 11pm on a Sunday night. The limo went over to 5th Ave. and drove up Park to Central Park and turned past Bergdorfs to the Plaza Hotel. We pulled up to the red carpet in front of the Plaza, the doorman helped us all out and we went up those wide stairs into the grand lobby of the magnificent Plaza. People came up to greet and say hello to the Cliburns; Van always introduced me to them. Forty six years later the only one I can remember is the General Manager of the Plaza. We walked through the lobby turned right into an elegant hall way the led to an extremely large, elegant oak paneled room. I later learned that this was the famous Oak Room at the Plaza. The three of us proceeded to the far end of the room where a long table was set for over 20. The table was in a private nook separated from the rest of the room by columns and a low wall. Van motioned for me to take the center seat on the far side of the table, which faced into the rst of the room. He sat on my right and him mom next to him. We were the only one at the table and Van said, I think you will enjoy the party tonight. When we walked into the room it looked like everyone there had been at the opera. Van then told me this was the party after the opera. The three of us were talking and I heard the room burst into applause I looked up and saw Renata, Joan Sutherland and her husband Richard Bonynge. The entire room was standing and applauding. The waiters pulled the tables apart as they did when we took out seats. Renata came up to me smiled took my hand and then gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek. , HOLY CRAP! I just got a hug and kiss from Renata Tebaldi, the star of tonight’s opera. She gave Van and his mom a hug and kiss, Joan Sutherland gave Van and his mom one too. Van introduced me to Joan and her husband. Joan said to me, “we have met before.” I told her we had met after her Lucia earlier in the year. WOW, what a memory. We all took our seats Renata on one side of me, Van on the other and Joan Sutherland and her husband directly across the table from me. So now six of the 22 places were now taken. Quickly the table filled up with the two conductors Thomas Shippers and George Schick, then the dean of conductors Erich Leinsdorff and Geraldine Souvaigne, producer of the Texaco Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcast. The rest of the table filled up within the next few minutes.
I have said this so many times relaying this story over the past 46 years --- There I was a 21 year old guy from New Jersey, who just went to an opera, sitting have dinner with Van Cliburn, Renata Tebaldi, Joan Sutherland, Richard Bonynge, Thomas Shippers, George Schick and the great Erich Leinsdorff in the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel.
I have no idea what we had to eat or drink that night. And I don’t remember much of the conversation. But I do remember laughing at stories both Renata and Joan told. I remember Renata telling the story that the dog that was going to appear on Der Rosenkavalier did not show up. Rudolph Bing came to her (this was after we left her dressing room) and asked if her poodle, New, could appear in its place. New, made his stage debut that night with Renata standing in the wings watching him jump on and off the sofa. She added that New had $10 tucked in his collar. That was the standard for a dog’s appearance at the Met. They asked me what I did, told them I was in college and also acted. Both Joan and Van were interested in what shows I had been in. They all made me feel very welcome. I asked both Joan and Renata to sign my program, which I still have. Joan handed it back to me, laughed, and said I have signed it in a couple places, hopefully someday it will be worth something.
I glanced at my watch and it was a little after one, we had been there over an hour and a half. Oh my God, I missed the last bus back to New Jersey and I only had $15.00 in my wallet.. I told this to Van and he said don’t worry we will get you a room tonight. Then he asked if I needed to call anyone since I would not be home. God was I embarrassed. I told him I should call my parents since I was home that weekend. There was a phone in back of me and he said just call them from here. .God ! The phone rang and rang my mom answered the phone and then dad picked up the phone in the office. I explained to them what happened, dad said oh sure does she have red hair? I tried to tell him without sounding like an idiot in front of all of them. Damn, I wanted to crawl under the table. Joan, looked at me and could see my embarrassment and said, ”Dick, let me have the phone.” Oh my God, what would my dad say to her? I held my breath. My dad was a wonderful man but he had a way with double entandres. What would he say? I handed Joan the phone and she said Mr Flitz, this is Joan Sutherland, we are all at the Plaza Hotel having dinner, Dick missed the last bus back home and we will get him a room for the night.” I held my breath, what would he say. She laughed and said,” thank you, it was good talking to you as well.” Whew......She handed me the phone and said, your dad seems like a very nice man. He said they will see you tomorrow. When I got home I asked him what he said ? He told her he loved her voice and look forward to seeing her perform in person. (My dad used to go to the Met when he was a teenager to hear Caruso.)
About a half hour later the party wound down and we all started to leave. There were probably 100 people left in the Oak Room. We stood and talked near the table for a couple of minutes then Van said he would meet me in the lobby. He and his mom left the room, Renata , Joan and I were talking and Joan grabbed my right arm and Renata my left, the three of us walked the hundred feet of the room to rest of the guests standing ovation. I didn’t know what to do. Joan turned to me and whispered in my ear. “Dick, just nod and smile.” My heart was racing. The two greatest sopranos in the world, one on each arm, was I going to wake up from a dream? We got to the lobby and all walked out to waiting limos. Hugs and kisses again and promises to see each other again soon. Joan, Richard and Renata got in one limo to ride the short 5 blocks to their residential hotel The Buckingham. Van, Rhilda Bee and I got in his limo and he instructed the driver to go to the Taft Hotel. We got to the hotel, the driver went in and reappeared a few minutes later with a key. Van said they would meet me in the hotel lobby for brunch about 11 and that he would call. He and his mom showed up a little before 11, we ate and then they took me to the bus terminal. During brunch we exchanged address and phone numbers.
I caught the 1:00 bus to Plainfield, 2:15 I got off the bus in my wrinkled tuxedo and walked the half block to my car.
Could anyone have had a more incredible and unbelievable night than I just had? I don’t think so. That was the first of many incredible times I spent with both Van and Renata.
