LA RONDINE

The first night of the Met’s revival of Puccini’s LA RONDINE (THE SWALLOW) was filled with surprises of one sort or another, under the baton of that smart conductor, Speranza Scappucci. She knows her way around Puccini and deserves to be heard more frequently at the house. The production had glamour through Art Deco-ish scenic design by Ezio Frigerio, with lighting by Duana Schuler and costumes by Franca Squarciapino....

Go inside rehearsals for The Met's return of Puccini’s passionate love story, which features soprano Angel Blue as Magda and tenor Jonathan Tetelman as Ruggero....

Don't miss the live transmission of Daniel Catán's 1996 opera Florencia en el Amazonas, the first Spanish-language opera at the Met in nearly a century. Join in for this historic cultural and artistic moment as a majority Latinx cast brings this magical realism-inspired production to life....

Looks can be deceiving, as the New Year’s Eve edition of the Met’s “Live in Concert” series proved in abundance. But could even the talent of four wonderful singers--sopranos, Angel Blue and Pretty Yende and a matching pair of tenors, Javier Camarena and Matthew Polenzani-- breathe new life in a program filled with warhorses, from “Che gelida manina” from BOHEME to that Neopolitan classic, “O sole mio”? In a word: Yes. ...

As part of The Metropolitan Opera's (Met Opera) urgent “The Voice Must Be Heard” fundraising campaign to support and protect the future of opera amid the COVID-19, more than 40 leading opera artists and members of the company's brilliant orchestra and chorus performed from their respective homes all around the world. The unprecedented virtual gathering of Met Opera's principal artists, ensemble, and orchestra, billed as At-Home Gala, was streamed live around the world in 162 countries on 25 Apri...

On April 25, 2020, The Metropolitan Opera presented many of its top ranked artists performing from their homes or where they were staying on that date. Met General Manager Peter Gelb, the master of ceremonies, chatted with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin as they presented each performer. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, artists were recorded alone or with people they know well....

It's hard to imagine the logistics in putting together a complex program like the one that the audience at Carnegie Hall was treated to on Sunday evening for the 2019 RICHARD TUCKER GALA. But New York-born conductor James Gaffigan pulled it off wonderfully with the help of members of the Met Orchestra and the New York Choral Society--and a gaggle of amazing singers, beginning with this year's winner of the Tucker Award, Lisette Oropesa....

The Metropolitan Opera presents Puccini's Madama Butterfly, conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi, with performances beginning October 11, 2019. Hui He returns to the role of the doomed geisha Cio-Cio-San....

The Metropolitan Opera marks the 100th anniversary of the world premiere of Puccini's Il Trittico, which took place at the Met's original opera house in 1918, with performances November 23 to December 15, 2018.  The three one-act operas of Il Trittico include the verismo-inspired Il Tabarro, featuring Amber Wagner as Giorgetta, Marcelo Álvarez as Luigi, George Gagnidze as Michele, MaryAnn McCormick as Frugola, and Maurizio Muraro as Talpa. Suor Angelica, a tale of religious redemption, features ...

San Francisco Opera announces the winner of the 2018 Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Emerging Stars Competition. Brazilian tenor Atalla Ayan, who made his Company debut as Alfredo in Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata last fall, was named “2018 Emerging Star of the Year” based on a popular vote conducted online at sfopera.com from July 9–July 31, 2018. As winner of the competition, now in its third year, Ayan receives a $10,000 cash prize....