Dame Edna at the Met on Friday December 31, 2004

Broadway sensation and self-proclaimed megastar Dame Edna Everage will make a special guest appearance in the METROPOLITAN OPERA'S New Year's Eve gala performance of Rossini's comic masterpiece, "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" ("The Barber of Seville") on Friday, December 31, 2004.

"Il Barbiere di Siviglia" features Katarina Karnéus as the beautiful Rosina, Matthew Polenzani as Count Almaviva, the noble who falls in love with her and Dwayne Croft as Figaro, the merry barber enlisted to help the Count in his courtship. It will be conducted by Maurizio Benini.

Dame Edna will appear in Act II of the opera and will sing during the "music lesson scene" which finds Rosina and Count Almaviva in a lovers' tryst.

Dame Edna (aka Barry Humphries) currently stars in the Broadway smash, ""Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance." Per her website, "Dame Edna Everage is probably the most popular and gifted woman in the world today: housewife, investigative journalist, social anthropologist, talk show host, swami, children's book illustrator, spin doctor, Megastar, and Icon. With Olivia Newton-John, Kylie Minogue and Nicole Kidman, she is one of a remarkable succession of female stars to emerge from Australia."

Her first Broadway show, "Dame Edna: The Royal Tour" received the 2000 Tony Award for Live Theatrical Event and was met with unanimous critical acclaim.

Tickets for "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" are on sale at the Met Box Office or by calling (212) 362-6000. Tickets may also be ordered through the Met's Web site at www.metopera.org. The December 31 performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will end at approximately 11 p.m.