'Madama Butterfly' Returns to The Met for 6 Shows, Broadcast

Following its sold-out run in 2006, Academy Award-winning director Anthony Minghella's acclaimed production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly returns to the Met for only six performances, beginning Monday, October 8, 2007.  Singing the lead roles for the first time at the Met are celebrated American soprano Patricia Racette as Cio-Cio-San and star French tenor Roberto Alagna as Pinkerton. Italian baritone Luca Salsi makes his company debut as Sharpless.  Conductor Mark Elder leads the performances through Saturday, October 27.

Minghella's highly theatrical production opened the Met's 2006-07 season and was hailed by the Associated Press as a "season opener like no other in recent memory." Inspired by a creative team of assistant director and choreographer Carolyn Choa, costume designer Han Feng, set designer Michael Levine, lighting designer Peter Mumford, and the unforgettable puppetry by Blind Summit Theatre, Madama Butterfly was the first new production to premiere at the Met on opening night in twenty years. The performance marked the company's first live transmission in Times Square and ushered in General Manager Peter Gelb's inaugural season at the Met.

Patricia Racette is known as one of America's great singing actresses and is recognized for creating roles in new works by today's leading composers, including Roberta in the Met's world premiere of Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy. Other original roles include Love Simpson in the world premiere of Carlisle Floyd's Cold Sassy Tree with Houston Grand Opera, and the title role in Picker's Emmeline for its world premiere at Santa Fe Opera.  Cio-Cio-San is prominent in Racette's repertory; she has performed the role at San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and will make her debut with Munich's Bavarian State Opera in that role this season. She has performed numerous roles at the Met since her 1995 company debut as Musetta in La Bohème, including Violetta in La Traviata, Elizabeth of Valois in Don Carlo, Antonia/Stella in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Alice Ford in Falstaff, and Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes, a role she will sing in this season's new production by John Doyle.

Internationally renowned tenor Roberto Alagna sings Pinkerton for the first time in his career, following his standout performances this season as Roméo opposite Anna Netrebko in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette.  Previous performances with the company include Roméo (opposite his wife, soprano Angela Gheorghiu), Don José in Carmen, Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore, the Duke in Rigoletto, and the title role of Werther.  He made his Met debut in 1996 as Rodolfo in La Bohème.

Italian baritone Luca Salsi's most recent engagements include Figaro in both Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Le Nozze di Figaro in Genoa, Marcello in La Bohème in Palermo and at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore in Lisbon, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with the Israeli Opera, and Sharpless with Washington National Opera and in Berlin.

After appearing in the new production premiere of Butterfly last season, Maria Zifchak returns to the role of Suzuki.  A winner of the Met's 1998 National Council Auditions, she has appeared in over 150 performances with the company in numerous roles including Kate Pinkerton (for her 2000 debut), Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Meg Page in Falstaff, the Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte, and Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Mark Elder has been Music director of the Hallé Orchestra since September 2000.  He was formerly music director of English National Opera and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the London Mozart Players.  He made his Met debut in 1988 leading Le Nozze di Figaro.

Madama Butterfly will be experienced by millions of people around the world this season on radio and via streaming on the Internet, through new distribution platforms the Met has established with various media partners.  Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Channel 85) will carry live transmissions of the performances on October 8, 12, and 19.

The October 8 performance will be streamed live from the Met's web site, www.metopera.org, via RealNetworks.

For prices and ticket information call 212-362-6000 or visit www.metopera.org