IL TROVATORE Concludes Season Of Great Performances At The MET 8/28

Verdi's Il Trovatore, starring four of the world's most celebrated interpreters of the leading roles and conducted by Marco Armiliato, will air on THIRTEEN's Great Performances at the Met Sunday, August 28 at 12 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings). In New York, THIRTEEN will premiere the production on Thursday, August 25 at 8 p.m.

The telecast was originally seen live in movie theaters on April 30, 2011 as part of the groundbreaking series, The Met: Live in HD, which transmits live performances to more than 1500 movie theaters and performing arts centers in 46 countries around the world.

Great Performances at the Met is a presentation of THIRTEEN for WNET, one of America's most prolific and respected public media providers. For more than 50 years, WNET has been producing and broadcasting national and local arts programming to the New York community.

The cast earned excellent reviews for their performances after the premiere of David McVicar's critically acclaimed production in 2009: as the heroic troubadour of the title, Marcelo Álvarez is "exciting, conveying Manrico's urgency and desperation" (The Wall Street Journal); in the role of Leonora, Sondra Radvanovsky is "remarkable...a spirited, feisty heroine" (Variety); Dolora Zajick is "a force of nature" (The New York Times) as Azucena, the gypsy with a dark secret; and Dmitri Hvorostovsky's "vivid presence and rich baritone emphasize Count di Luna's swings between hell-bent vengeance and romantic obsession" (Variety).

McVicar's production of Il Trovatore, notoriously difficult to stage due to its complex plot, also won critical acclaim for its straightforward emotional power. The New York Times applauded McVicar's "clear-headed, psychologically insightful and fluid staging." This staging of Il Trovatore, which is visually inspired by Francisco Goya's series of prints entitled "The Disasters of War," features sets by Charles Edwards, costumes by Brigitte Reiffenstuel, lighting by Jennifer Tipton, and choreography by Leah Hausman.

Renée Fleming, who stars in Strauss's Capriccio also in August on Great Performances at the Met, is the host for Il Trovatore and will interview the opera's stars during the intermission. Barbara Willis Sweete directs the transmission and Jay David Saks is music producer.

Great Performances is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, and Joseph A. Wilson. Corporate support for Great Performances at the Met is provided by Toll Brothers, America's luxury home builder®.

Visit Great Performances online at www.pbs.org/gperf for additional information on this and other Great Performances programs. For the Met, Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park are Supervising Producers, and Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik are Producers. Peter Gelb is Executive Producer. For Great Performances, Bill O'Donnell is Series Producer; David Horn is Executive Producer.

The Met has launched several audience development initiatives, including Open House dress rehearsals, a popular rush ticket program, Gallery Met, and an annual Holiday Series presentation for families. For more information, please visit: www.metopera.org.

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