David McVicar's Critically Acclaimed Production of Il Trovatore Returns to the Met 10/26

David McVicar's production of Verdi's Il Trovatore will return to the Metropolitan Opera on Tuesday, October 26, headlined by Met stars Marcelo Álvarez as Manrico and Patricia Racette in her house role debut as Leonora. Marco Armiliato will conduct the fall run of performances, which also stars Željko Lu?i? as Count di Luna, Marianne Cornetti as Azucena, and Alexander Tsymbalyuk in his Met debut as Ferrando.

McVicar's production of Il Trovatore, which is notoriously difficult to stage due to its complex plot, won critical acclaim for its straightforward emotional power when it debuted at the Met in 2009 with Álvarez in the title role. The New York Times, reviewing the new production's premiere, applauded McVicar's "clear-headed, psychologically insightful and fluid staging" of a work that has long daunted opera directors. It is the first new Met Trovatore production in half a century to receive largely favorable reviews for the staging itself.
Álvarez's co-star in the production's October and November performances will be Racette, whose reputation as a consummate singing actress has been solidified in recent years by her performances in Madama Butterfly and Peter Grimes; last season, she made her role debut as the tempestuous title character in Tosca and became the third singer in Met history to play all three leading female roles in the demanding Puccini triple bill Il Trittico.
In April 2011, James Levine will conduct a new cast in the production. Marcelo Álvarez will again play Manrico, joined by three singers who earned rave reviews for their performances in the production's premiere engagement: Sondra Radvanovsky as Leonora, Dolora Zajick as Azucena, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Count di Luna. This cast will star in four performances, including the April 30 matinee that will be transmitted to movie theaters around the globe as part of The Met: Live in HD series.
Korean tenor Alfred Kim will make his Met debut as Manrico on November 11, and will also sing the role on November 15 and 16. Julianna di Giacomo and Vitaliy Bilyy will make their role debuts as Leonora and Count di Luna, respectively, on November 11; Stefan Kocán will make his, as Ferrando, in the April run of performances.
This staging of Il Trovatore, which is visually inspired by Francisco Goya's series of prints entitled "The Disasters of War," features sets by Charles Edwards, costumes by Brigitte Reiffenstuel, lighting by Jennifer Tipton, and choreography by Leah Hausman.

Live Broadcasts Around the World
Il Trovatore will be experienced by millions of people around the world this season in movie theaters, on the radio and on the internet, through distribution platforms the Met has established with various media partners.
The April 30 matinee will be transmitted to more than 1,500 movie theaters in more than 40 countries around the world as part of the Met's rapidly expanding Live in HD series.

The October 26 opening performance will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS channel 78 and XM channel 79, as will the performances on November 3, November 19, and April 27.

The November 19 and April 27 performances will also be available via internet streaming at the Met's web site www.metopera.org. The April 30 matinee at 1:00 p.m. will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

 

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