Jonas Kaufmann, Marina Poplavskaya Leads Met's Faust

Three of the opera world's leading stars-Jonas Kaufmann, Marina Poplavskaya, and René Pape-will take the principal roles in a new production of Gounod's Faust, directed by Tony Award winner Des McAnuff in his Met debut. Yannick Nézet-Séguin will conduct his first Met performances of the opera, which has its premiere on November 29. Kaufmann makes his Met role debut as the title character, and Poplavskaya makes hers as Faust's love interest and eventual victim, Marguerite; Pape returns to one of his greatest Met roles, the wicked tempter Méphistophélès. In the opening night cast, French-Canadian mezzo-soprano Michèle Losier makes her house role debut as the student Siébel and Russell Braun makes his in the role of Marguerite's soldier brother, Valentin. In later casts, Roberto Alagna and Joseph Calleja will each sing Faust and Ferruccio Furlanetto will assume the role of Méphistophélès. The December 10 performance, with the premiere cast, will be transmitted live around the world as part of the The Met: Live in HD series, which is now seen in more than 1600 movie theaters in 54 countries.

McAnuff, a Tony Award winner for Big River and The Who's Tommy and the Artistic Director of Canada's prestigious Stratford Shakespeare Festival, makes his Met debut with a new staging of Gounod's classic opera. McAnuff's production of Faust, a co-production with the English National Opera, where it premiered last season, sets the action in the mid-20th century, with Faust as a nuclear scientist who sees the terrible effects of his life's work and longs to return to a simpler time. The main action of the opera takes place in a flashback to an earlier part of the 20th century, with the plot unfolding in the moments before Faust dies from drinking a fatal potion. Gounod's opera has been a staple of the Met's repertory since 1883, when it was the first opera ever presented at the old Metropolitan Opera House.

Nézet-Séguin, the Music Director Designate of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will lead his first Met performances of this opera. His two previous Met engagements-the new productions of Bizet's Carmen (2009) and Verdi's Don Carlo (2010), both transmitted worldwide through the Live in HD series-were met with critical acclaim. Kaufmann is currently one of the world's most in-demand tenors, starring in a varied repertory that has included Met performances of Siegmund in Wagner's Die Walküre (2011 new production), Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca, Don José in Carmen, Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata, and Tamino in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Last month, he became the first Met artist since Luciano Pavarotti (in 1984) to sing a solo recital from the Met stage, and this spring, he will reprise his Siegmund in complete Ring cycles.

Last season, Poplavskaya received critical praise for her singing and acting in two Met role debuts. She sang Elisabeth de Valois in the new production of Don Carlo, a role she reprised on the Met's summer 2011 tour of Japan, and she also starred as Violetta in Willy Decker's staging of La Traviata. Both productions were seen Live in HD. Pape, whose last Met engagement was as King Philip to Poplavskaya's Elisabeth on the Japan tour, sang Méphistophélès in the Met's 2004-05 season. Last season, he starred in the title role of a new production of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov (seen Live in HD). His other recent Met appearances were as Fasolt and Hunding in complete Ring cycles, King Marke in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, and Gurnemanz in Wagner's Parsifal.

On December 23 and 28, Roberto Alagna, a celebrated Met Faust in the 2002-03 and 2004-05 seasons, joins the new production in the title role. His Marguerite will be the Swedish soprano Malin Byström, who makes her Met debut in this production. She sang Marguerite earlier this season in a new production at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. Pape continues as Méphistophélès for these two performances.

On January 5, Alain Altinoglu will conduct a new cast in McAnuff's production. Poplavskaya will remain as Marguerite, with Joseph Calleja assuming the title role and Ferruccio Furlanetto taking on Méphistophélès. This will be the first Met Faust for both artists. Last season, Calleja had a triple success with Met performances of Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème, the Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto, and Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor (transmitted to movie theaters around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD series). Furlanetto's most recent Met appearance was as King Philip II in Don Carlo (the 2010 new production); later this season, he will sing de Silva in Verdi's Ernani and Don Basilio in Rossini's IL Barbiere di Siviglia. The January performances of Faust will also feature Kate Lindsey as Siébel and George Petean as Valentin.

Pierre Vallet will conduct the December 17 performance in his Met debut, and on December 23, Brian Mulligan will sing Valentin.

McAnuff's design team for Faust includes two Tony nominees in their Met debuts: scenic designer Robert Brill and costume designer Paul Tazewell. Peter Mumford, whose work at the Met includes Madama Butterfly, Carmen, and Peter Grimes, designed the lighting for the production. Choreographer Kelly Devine and video designer Sean Nieuwenhuis will also make their Met debuts with this production.

Faust Live in HD and on the Radio
The December 10 matinee of Faust, hosted by mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, will be transmitted worldwide as part of The Met: Live in HD series, which is now seen in 1,600 movie theaters in 54 countries.

The November 29 opening performance will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 74, as will the performances on December 6, 10, 20, 28, January 9 and 19. The November 29 and December 20 performances will also be streamed live on the Met's Web site, www.metopera.org.

The December 10 performance will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

To post a comment, you must register and login.