BWW Reviews: Verdi's 'Big Belly' Rumbles with Laughter in Met's New FALSTAFF
by Richard Sasanow
- Dec 30, 2013
“Dying is easy; comedy is hard” says the old show business quip. If anything, opera comedy is even harder. Why is it so difficult? Because it offers so many opportunities to do a disservice to the composer, the artists and the art form in one fell swoop. However, Robert Carsen's antic new production of Verdi's FALSTAFF at the Met, vividly conducted by Music Director James Levine, makes it look easy.
Strauss's 'Der Rosenkavalier' Returns with Met Opera to Celebrate 100th Anniversary of U.S. Premiere, Beg. Tonight
by BWW News Desk
- Nov 22, 2013
To commemorate the centennial of the opera's 1913 U.S. premiere at the Met, Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier returns for a series of performances conducted by Edward Gardner and featuring a cast of international singers making company debuts and role debuts. Viennese soprano Martina Serafin sings her first Met performances of one of her signature roles, the Marschallin. Alice Coote, who currently stars as Detective Anne Strawson in the North American premiere of Nico Muhly's Two Boys, sings the trouser role of the Marschallin's young lover, Octavian, while Mojca Erdmann makes her company role debut as Sophie, the innocent young woman who comes between the two. Peter Rose reprises his acclaimed interpretation of the Marschallin's oafish cousin, Baron Ochs; Hans-Joachim Ketelsen sings Sophie's protective father, Faninal; and Eric Cutler returns to the role of the Italian Singer. On December 3, German mezzo-soprano Daniela Sindram will make her Met debut as Octavian, a role she will also sing on December 7 and 10. On December 13, French mezzo-soprano Géraldine Chauvet will sing her first company performance of Octavian. At the December 3 performance, two graduates of the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program will sing principal roles: Erin Morley as Sophie and Mario Chang as the Italian Singer.
Photo Flash: Sneak Peek at The Met's THE MAGIC FLUTE, Directed by Julie Taymor
by BWW News Desk
- Nov 15, 2013
English conductor Jane Glover will make her Met debut on December 16 leading the company's holiday presentation, an abridged, English-language production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, directed by Julie Taymor. The 100-minute version of Taymor's popular staging of the opera will star Alek Shrader as the brave prince Tamino; Heidi Stober as Pamina, the princess he must rescue; Eric Owens as the mysterious Sarastro; Shenyang as the Speaker; and Nathan Gunn as the hapless bird-catcher Papageno. Albina Shagimuratova and Kathryn Lewek will alternate in the role of Pamina's vindictive mother, the Queen of the Night. The Magic Flute launched the recent Met tradition of presenting a family-oriented production each holiday season, with sharply discounted tickets and two special weekday matinee performances. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the production!
BWW Reviews: This FRAU Has No Shadow, But Plenty of Thrills at The Met
by Richard Sasanow
- Nov 15, 2013
There are more famous operas than Richard Strauss's DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN (The Woman without a Shadow), but you won't find one that is more exciting when all the pieces--and there are lots of them--come together. The Met's production is one of those evenings in the opera house--not perfect but so thrilling that you forget that it isn't.
Strauss's 'Der Rosenkavalier' Returns with Met Opera to Celebrate 100th Anniversary of U.S. Premiere, Beg. 11/22
by BWW News Desk
- Nov 1, 2013
To commemorate the centennial of the opera's 1913 U.S. premiere at the Met, Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier returns for a series of performances conducted by Edward Gardner and featuring a cast of international singers making company debuts and role debuts. Viennese soprano Martina Serafin sings her first Met performances of one of her signature roles, the Marschallin. Alice Coote, who currently stars as Detective Anne Strawson in the North American premiere of Nico Muhly's Two Boys, sings the trouser role of the Marschallin's young lover, Octavian, while Mojca Erdmann makes her company role debut as Sophie, the innocent young woman who comes between the two. Peter Rose reprises his acclaimed interpretation of the Marschallin's oafish cousin, Baron Ochs; Hans-Joachim Ketelsen sings Sophie's protective father, Faninal; and Eric Cutler returns to the role of the Italian Singer. On December 3, German mezzo-soprano Daniela Sindram will make her Met debut as Octavian, a role she will also sing on December 7 and 10. On December 13, French mezzo-soprano Géraldine Chauvet will sing her first company performance of Octavian. At the December 3 performance, two graduates of the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program will sing principal roles: Erin Morley as Sophie and Mario Chang as the Italian Singer.
BWW Reviews: TWO BOYS Conjoined by Internet Chat Rooms - Nico Muhly's New Opera Makes Its American Debut at the Met
by Scott Frost
- Oct 28, 2013
It's not everyday that you watch the interconnectivity of two separate people communicating via Internet chat room. Let alone, how about five people's conversations over several weeks with an entire chorus of “chaters” behind them. It adds up to quite the stack of transcripts. The idea, while seeming passé, remains a relevant topic to discuss and bring forward on the Met's stage. The usually very formal performance space was filled with internet lingo such as PWOS, A/S/L, LOL, WTF, and any abbreviationyou could think of. Nico Muhly's “Two Boys” is a new and innovative work that has extremely dark overtones both in the production as well as the musical aspects of the piece. “Two Boys,” with a libretto by Craig Lucas tells the story of a 16-year-old boy who is convinced by unknown people he has met through Internet chat rooms to attempt murder on his 13-year-old 'friend'.
Dmitri Hvorostovsky to Star in Michael Mayer's RIGOLETTO at the Met, Beg. 11/11
by BWW News Desk
- Oct 25, 2013
Dmitri Hvorostovsky will sing his first Met performances of the title role in Verdi's Rigolettobeginning November 11, in the first revival of Michael Mayer's hit production, set in the decadent world of 1960s Las Vegas. Matthew Polenzani makes his company role debut as the womanizing Duke, and two rising singers make Met debuts as the innocent Gilda: Russian soprano Irina Lungu and Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva. Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado makes his Met debut leading the revival. The December 7 matinee performance will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network to inaugurate the 83rd season of the popular Saturday broadcast series.
Patricia Racette and Sondra Radvanovsky to Star as the Diva Heroine of Puccini's TOSCA at the Met
by BWW News Desk
- Oct 24, 2013
Patricia Racette and Sondra Radvanovsky will reprise their acclaimed performances of one of the most famous roles in opera, the heroine of Puccini's Tosca, at the Met this season. Racette sings the role beginning October 29, opposite Roberto Alagna as Cavaradossi and George Gagnidze as Scarpia. Radvanovsky takes the role on December 11, singing with Marcello Giordani as Cavaradossi and Gagnidze as Scarpia. Two Italian conductors, Riccardo Frizza and Marco Armiliato, lead this season's performances of Puccini's celebrated tragedy. On December 20, Portuguese soprano Elisabete Matos sings her first Met Tosca, and on December 17, Brazilian tenor Ricardo Tamura makes his Met debut as Cavaradossi. The November 9 matinee of Tosca, starring Racette, Alagna, and Gagnidze, will be transmitted live as part of the Met's Live in HD series, which now reaches more than 1,950 theaters in 64 countries around the world.
BWW Reviews: An Unexpected Star Turn at the Met's New EUGENE ONEGIN
by Richard Sasanow
- Oct 15, 2013
The Metropolitan Opera may have chosen soprano Anna Netrebko to add star-power to its new season's opening production of Tchaikovsky's EUGENE ONEGIN, but she was upstaged, figuratively speaking at least, by the thrilling performance of Polish tenor Piotr Beczala, as the poet Lenski.
BWW Reviews: Some Enchanted Evening with Paulo Szot and THE NOSE at the Met
by Richard Sasanow
- Oct 10, 2013
It's not often that singers make their debuts on Broadway and then make a splash at the opera, but that's what happened when Paulo Szot--a Tony winner for “South Pacific”--opened in the Met's production of the Shostakovich opera THE NOSE in 2010. The exciting, intoxicating production by the South African multi-media artist William Kentridge, conducted by Valery Gergiev, is back. Happily, it will be broadcast worldwide in the Met's LIVE IN HD series on October 26, with Szot reprising his outstanding performance.
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