Stockwell arrived, several hundred listeners had already assembled near the stage, bringing with them an assortment of colorful blankets, lawn chairs and baskets of food and wine. Like many of those who attended, she said, she could not ''afford to go to the Met, but always wanted to hear these singers face-to-face.''Įven before Ms. Milnes.Īnne Stockwell, a film student at New York University, who arrived at 8 in the morning yesterday, got a spot at the very front, just a few feet from the stage. When Bruce Crawford, the opera company's general manager, announced there would be no cast changes, he elicited cheers from the crowd, much of which had come specifically to hear Mr.

The evening began with a declaration from the Mayor's office, delivered by Acting Cultural Affairs Commissioner Diane Mulcahy Coffey, proclaiming yesterday as Met in the Park Day. Milnes when ''Tosca'' is performed in Marine Park in Brooklyn on Friday - did as much acting as possible under the circumstances, most of it visible only to those near the front: as Cavaradossi was being tortured off stage, for instance, Ms. Zschau, singing in her first Met parks concert, sounded shrill and wobbly at times as she got used to working with the microphone. Navarro allowed the star vocalists to hold center stage. At several points, the tenor roared out long notes, much to the pleasure of his audience. They relished singing before a large crowd.

Milnes, dressed in a snappy black-and-red vest in the role of Scarpia, sang warmly and enthusiastically through the first two acts, after which deadlines forced this reviewer to leave. Domingo back for an encore of ''E lucevan le stelle.''

Their performance drew rousing applause that brought Mr.

The tenor Placido Domingo and the baritone Sherrill Milnes headed the cast, conducted by Garcia Navarro and featuring Marilyn Zschau as Tosca. There were clear blue skies and warm temperatures as a pleasant breeze blew across the Great Lawn of Central Park, where the company presented Puccini's ''Tosca'' before a crowd of picknickers, opera fans and curious passers-by that was estimated by the police to number 70,000. THE Metropolitan Opera began its 21st season of parks concerts yesterday evening under what could hardly have been better circumstances.

Tosca opera in the park