Ildar Abdrazakov Sings Mozart’s Don Giovanni For the First Time at the Met

Ildar Abdrazakov takes the title role in Don Giovanni for the first time at the Met beginning November 28, conducted by Edward Gardner, in his second major Mozart role assumption of the season. The first revival of Michael Grandage's 2011 production features a cast of rising stars, almost all of whom make house role debuts in Mozart's classic opera of seduction, vengeance, and retribution. Other cast members singing their first Met performances of their roles include Susanna Phillips as Donna Anna,Emma Bell as Donna Elvira, Ekaterina Siurina as Zerlina, Charles Castronovo as Don Ottavio, Erwin Schrott as Leporello, and David Soar in his Met debut as Masetto; they are joined by Raymond Aceto as the vengeful Commendatore.

Edward Gardner, the Music Director of the English National Opera, made his Met debut in the 2010-11 season, conducting Bizet'sCarmen. He conducted Don Giovanni at ENO earlier in the current season. His recent performances with that company represent a wide range of styles, including Bohuslav Martin?'s Julietta, Britten's Billy Budd, Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer, Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.

Earlier this season, Ildar Abdrazakov made his Met role debut in another major Mozart role, the title character in Le Nozze di Figaro. He made his Met debut as Masetto in 2004 and has also sung Leporello with the company. Abdrazakov's other recent Met performances include Dosifei in Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina, Enrico in the Met premiere of Donizetti's Anna Bolena, the Four Villains in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, and the title role in the Met premiere of Verdi's Attila, conducted by Riccardo Muti. He has sung Don Giovanni with the Washington National Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and the Mariinsky Opera in St. Petersburg.

Susanna Phillips made her Met debut as Musetta in Puccini's La Bohème in 2008 and has since sung the role 26 times with the company. She has also sung Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, both in the complete opera and the Met's abridged, English-language production. A winner of the Met's prestigious Beverly Sills Artist Award, she has sung Donna Anna with Boston Lyric Opera and Fort Worth Opera as well as Donna Elvira with Santa Fe Opera.

Emma Bell made her Met debut in 2009 as the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro. The English soprano has sung Donna Elvira at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and La Scala. She sings frequently at Covent Garden, where her recent engagements have included the soprano role in Britten's War Requiem, Fox in Janá?ek's The Cunning Little Vixen, Eva in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and the title role in the U.K. premiere of Judith Weir's Miss Fortune.

Ekaterina Siurina has appeared at the Met as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. She has sung Zerlina at the Salzburg Festival and Susanna at the Paris Opera and Las Palmas Opera Festival. Her recent performances include Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi at Covent Garden, Amina in Bellini's La Sonnambula at Vienna State Opera, Gilda at Covent Garden, and Anne Trulove in Stravinsky'sThe Rake's Progress at Paris Opera, in which she starred opposite her husband, Charles Castronovo, as Tom Rakewell.

Charles Castronovo, a former member of the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, returns to the Met for the first time since 2001. During his time in the program, he sang small roles in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Beethoven's Fidelio,and Massenet's Manon. He frequently sings leading Mozart roles around the world, including Don Ottavio at the Bavarian State Opera; Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Bavarian State Opera and Rome Opera; and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at Santa Fe Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Ravinia Festival.

Erwin Schrott sang the title role in Don Giovanni to great acclaim in the Met's 2008-09 season. His other Met performances include Colline in La Bohème, Escamillo in Carmen, and the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro. Later this season, he will make his house role debut as Doctor Dulcamara in the new production of Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, starring with his offstage partner Anna Netrebko as Adina. He has sung Leporello at the Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Salzburg Festival, and Don Giovanni at Covent Garden, La Scala, Arena di Verona, and Bavarian State Opera.

English bass David Soar makes his Met debut as Masetto, a role he recently sang at Glyndebourne. He performs frequently with Welsh National Opera, where he has sung Leporello, Colline in La Bohème, the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro, Ferrando in Verdi's Il Trovatore,Sparafucile in Rigoletto, and Escamillo in Carmen.

Raymond Aceto last sang the Commendatore in the Met's 2008-09 season. His more than 100 Met performances have included Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Zaccharia in Verdi's Nabucco, and the King in Verdi's Aida. Earlier this season, he sang the Archbishop in Karol Szymanowski's King Roger and Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca with Santa Fe Opera, and Sparafucile with Pittsburgh Opera.

 

Don Giovanni Radio Broadcasts

The Don Giovanni opening performance on November 28 will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 74, as will the performances on December 5 and 20.  

The November 28 performance will also be streamed live on the Met's website, www.metopera.org.

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