Daniel Barenboim Makes his Met Debut conducting 'Tristan und Isolde' on November 28
Katarina Dalayman and Peter Seiffert sing the title roles for the first time at the Met, and René Pape reprises his acclaimed portrayal of King MarkeOn December 14, Barenboim plays the first solo piano recital at the Met since Horowitz's legendary performance, featuring Liszt opera transcriptionsRenowned maestro Daniel Barenboim conducts at the Metropolitan Opera for the first time in his illustrious career on November 28, leading an acclaimed cast in Wagner's master opus of transcendent love, Tristan und Isolde. Singing the title roles for the first time with the company are Swedish soprano Katarina Dalayman and German heldentenor Peter Seiffert. The opening night cast also includes German bass René Pape as King Marke, reprising one of his most admired portrayals; American mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as Brangäne; and, in his Met debut, German bass-baritone Gerd Grochowski as Kurwenal. Korean bass Kwangchul Youn portrays King Marke in later performances. At all performances, Stephen Gaertner is Melot and Matthew Plenk the Sailor's Voice. This 1999 production by Dieter Dorn continues through December 20.On Sunday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m., Barenboim, one of the world's great pianists, will play the first solo piano recital on the Met stage since Vladimir Horowitz's legendary performance in 1986. The program consists entirely of works by Franz Liszt: from the "Années de pèlerinage, Deuxième Année: Italie," he plays the three Petrarch sonnets, and "Après une lecture de Dante." Also in the first half of the program is "St. François d'Assise - La predication aux oiseaux" from "Légendes." Following intermission, he performs the virtuosic Paraphrases on three operas by Giuseppe Verdi: Il Trovatore, Aida, and Rigoletto.
On November 23, Barenboim joins Met Music Director James Levine and four members of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program—Lisette Oropesa, Sasha Cooke, Matthew Plenk, and Shenyang—at the season's second MET Chamber Ensemble concert in Weill Hall. He and Levine will play four-hand piano pieces, Schubert's Sonata in C "Grand Duo," and Brahms's Liebeslieder and Neues Liebeslieder Waltzes, accompanying the quartet of young singers.Live broadcasts to be seen and heard around the world
Tristan und Isolde will be heard by millions of people around the world this season on the radio and the web, through distribution platforms the Met has established with various media partners. The Saturday matinee performance on December 6, will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network. The season premiere on November 28 will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Channel 78). Sirius will also carry live broadcasts of the performances on December 2 and 16. The season premiere on November 28 will also be available via RealNetworks internet streaming at the Met's web site, www.metopera.org. About the MetUnder the leadership of General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director James Levine, the Met has a series of bold initiatives underway that are designed to broaden its audience and revitalize the company's repertory. The Met has made a commitment to presenting modern masterpieces alongside the classic repertory, with highly theatrical productions featuring the greatest opera stars in the world. The Metropolitan Opera's 2008-09 season pays tribute to the company's extraordinary history on the occasion of its 125th anniversary, while also emphasizing the Met's renewed commitment to advancing the art form. The season features six new productions, 18 revivals, the final performances of Otto Schenk's production of Wagner's Ring cycle conducted by Levine, and two gala celebrations; the galas include the season-opening performance featuring Renée Fleming as well as a 125th anniversary celebration on March 15. New productions include the company premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic as well as the Met's first staged production of Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust since 1906, Massenet's Thaïs, Puccini's La Rondine, Verdi's Il Trovatore, and Bellini's La Sonnambula. Building on its 77-year-old radio broadcast history – currently heard over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network – the Met now uses advanced media distribution platforms and state-of-the-art technology to attract new audiences and reach millions of opera fans around the world. The Emmy Award-winning The Met: Live in HD series reached more than 935,000 people in the 2007-08 season, more than the number of people who saw performances in the opera house. These performances began airing on PBS in March 2008, and eight of these HD performances are now available on DVD, on the EMI and Universal labels. In the 2008-09 season, the HD series expands to feature 11 live transmissions, starting with the Met's Opening Night Gala and spanning the entire season. The HD productions are seen this season in over 850 theaters in 28 countries around the world. Five new productions are featured, including the Met premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic. The Opening Night transmission was seen in the Americas only; the remaining ten high-definition productions are shown live worldwide on Saturdays through May 9 with encores scheduled at various times. Live in HD in Schools, the Met's new program offering free opera transmissions to New York City schools in partnership with the New York City Department of Education and the Metropolitan Opera Guild, reached more than 7,000 public school students and teachers during the 2007-08 season. This season, Live in HD in Schools expands to reach schools in 18 cities and communities nationwide. Continuing its innovative use of electronic media to reach a global audience, the Metropolitan Opera introduces Met Player, a new subscription service that will make its extensive video and audio catalog of full-length performances available to the public for the first time online, and in exceptional, state-of-the-art quality. During the first month of the new service, 120 historic audio recordings and 50 full-length opera videos were made available, including over a dozen of the company's acclaimed The Met: Live in HD transmissions, known for their extraordinary sound and picture quality. New content, including HD productions and archival broadcasts, is being added monthly. Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS channel 78 and XM Radio channel 79 is a subscription-based audio entertainment service broadcasting both an unprecedented number of live performances each week throughout the Met's entire season, as well as rare historical performances, newly restored and remastered, spanning the Met's 77-year broadcast history. In addition to providing audio recordings through the new Met on Rhapsody on-demand service, the Met also presents free live audio streaming of performances on its website once every week during the opera season with support from RealNetworks®.The company's groundbreaking commissioning program in partnership with New York's Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), provides renowned composers and playwrights with the resources to create and develop new works at the Met and at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater. The Met's partnership with LCT is part of the company's larger initiative to commission new operas from contemporary composers, present modern masterpieces alongside the classic repertory, and provide a venue for artists to nurture their work. The Met has launched several audience development initiatives such as the company's Open House Dress Rehearsals, which are free and open to the public. Two take place during the 2008-09 season: La Damnation de Faust on November 4 and La Sonnambula on February 27. Just prior to beginning the current season, the Met presented a free performance of the Verdi Requiem on September 18, in tribute to the late Luciano Pavarotti. Other company initiatives include the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Gallery Met which exhibits contemporary visual art; the immensely successful Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Rush Ticket program which provides deeply discounted orchestra seats two hours before curtain time; and an annual Holiday Series presentation for families. This season's special Holiday Presentation is Julie Taymor's production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, an abridged, English-language version of the opera which is given four special matinee performances and one holiday evening performance as a way for families to celebrate the holiday season.Videos