A New Production Of Cilea's ADRIANA LECOUVREUR Starring Anna Netrebko Opens New Year's Eve

Anna Netrebko brings her acclaimed portrayal of the passionate real-life French actress at the heart of Francesco Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time in a new production that opens in a special New Year's Eve gala performance and continues through January 26, 2019. Anita Rachvelishvili, who starred opposite Netrebko in Verdi's Aida earlier this season, is the Princess of Bouillon, renewing their onstage rivalry. Piotr Becza?a is Maurizio and Ambrogio Maestri is Michonnet, the two men in love with Adriana. Rounding out the cast are Carlo Bosi as the Abbé and Maurizio Muraro as the Prince of Bouillon. Maestro Gianandrea Noseda returns to the Met to conduct Cilea's elegant score. Sir David McVicar's production-the work's first new staging at the Met in more than 50 years-brings the world of the theater to vivid life, with all of the drama playing out in a working replica of a Baroque playhouse. On January 23 and 26, the title role is sung by Jennifer Rowley.

The performance of Adriana Lecouvreur on Saturday, January 12 will be transmitted live to more than 2,200 movie theaters in more than 70 countries as part of the Met's Live in HD series. The transmission will be hosted by tenor Matthew Polenzani, who will be seen at the Met later this season in Iolanta and La Clemenza di Tito.

The December 31 performance will be streamed live on the Met's web site, metopera.org. The December 31 and January 12 performances will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 75, while the January 12 performance will also be broadcast over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

Russian soprano Anna Netrebko makes her Met role debut as Adriana, which she sang to critical acclaim at the Vienna State Opera in 2017. Since making her Met debut in 2002 as Natasha in the company premiere of Prokofiev's War and Peace, she has sung 22 roles at the Met, including her role debuts as the title characters in Puccini's Tosca and Manon Lescaut, Tatiana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore, Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth, and the title role in Tchaikovsky's Iolanta. She was seen earlier this season in the title role of Verdi's Aida, which was seen in cinemas around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

American soprano Jennifer Rowley makes her role debut as Adriana. She made her Met debut as Musetta in Puccini's La Bohème in 2014, and received critical acclaim making her role debut at short notice as Roxane in Alfano's Cyrano de Bergerac in 2017. Last season, she sang the title role in the Met's new production of Puccini's Tosca, a part she has also sung with New Orleans Opera and Dresden State Opera. She reprises Tosca later this season at the Met.

Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili is the Princess of Bouillon. She made her Met debut singing the title role in Bizet's Carmen in 2011, which she also performed with the company in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Other Met performances have included Konchakovna in Borodin's Prince Igor and Azucena in Verdi's Il Trovatore. Earlier this season, she sang Amneris in Verdi's Aida, also opposite Anna Netrebko, which was seen in movie theaters around the world as a part of The Met: Live in HD series. She will be seen later this season as Dalila in the Met's new production of Saint-Saëns's Samson et Dalila.

Polish tenor Piotr Becza?a makes his Met role debut as Maurizio, a role he has previously sung at the Vienna State Opera opposite Anna Netrebko. He made his company debut in 2006 as the Duke in Verdi's Rigoletto, and his Met repertory includes Rodolfo in Puccini's Luisa Miller, Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème, Count Gottfried Vaudémont in the company premiere of Iolanta, Lensky in Eugene Onegin, the title role of Gounod's Faust, Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, the Chevalier des Grieux in Massenet's Manon, and Gustavo in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera. His other performances include Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca at the Vienna State Opera, des Grieux in Puccini's Manon at Opernhaus Zürich, and Rodolfo in Luisa Miller at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.

Italian tenor Carlo Bosi makes his role debut as the Abbé. He made his Met debut in 2013 as Dr. Cajus in the Met's new production of Verdi's Falstaff. Earlier this season at the Met, he sang Nick in Puccini's La Fanciulla del West, which was seen in cinemas around the world as a part of The Met: Live in HD series. Other recent performances include Goro in Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Dr. Cajus at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Spoletta in Puccini's Tosca at Paris Opera; and Nick in La Fanciulla del West at La Scala. This season he reprises Goro and sings L'Incredibile in Giordano's Andrea Chénier at Covent Garden.

Italian baritone Ambrogio Maestri sings Michonnet. He made his Met debut as Amonasro in Verdi's Aida in 2004 and returned in 2006 as Alfio in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. Other roles at the Met include Dulcamara in the new production of Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore and the title role in Verdi's Falstaff, which he reprises this season at the Met. Other performances include the title role of Donizetti's Don Pasquale and Dulcamara at the Vienna State Opera and the title role of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi at the Bavarian State Opera and La Scala.

Italian bass Maurizio Muraro makes his Met role debut as the Prince of Bouillon. This season at the Met he is performing the roles of Talpa and Simone in Puccini's Il Trittico, as well as Sulpice in Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment, which will be broadcast in cinemas as part of The Met: Live in HD series. He made his Met debut in 2005 as Dr. Bartolo in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. He has sung more than 100 performances with the company in roles including Dr. Bartolo in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte, the Bailiff in Massenet's Werther, and Sulpice.

Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda is the music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C; conductor laureate of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; principal conductor of the Orquestra de Cadaqués in Catalonia, Spain; and artistic director of Italy's Stresa Festival. He made his Met debut conducting Prokofiev's War and Peace in 2002 and has conducted nine other operas with the company, including Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor; Borodin's Prince Igor; Giordano's Andrea Chénier, and Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, and Macbeth. This season, he will also conduct Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1 and No. 4 with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Scottish director Sir David McVicar returns to the Met following two new productions in the 2017-2018 season: the season-opening production of Bellini's Norma and Puccini's Tosca, both of which were seen around the world as a part of The Met: Live in HD series. He made his Met debut in 2009 staging Verdi's Il Trovatore, followed by Handel's Giulio Cesare and the double bill of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. During the 2015-2016 season, he completed an ambitious directorial accomplishment: staging the Met premieres of all three operas in Donizetti's Tudor trilogy. He has also staged numerous operas around the world including at the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, English National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, Opera Australia, Frankfurt Opera, Scottish Opera, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as well as the Glyndebourne Festival and Salzburg Festival.