Met Opera to Present Return of LA BOHEME, 11/23

New York, NY (November 11, 2015) - Franco Zeffirelli's production of Puccini's La Bohème, the most-performed opera in Met history, returns to the Met stage on Monday, November 23 for the first of seventeen performances throughout the season. The November and December performances, conducted by Paolo Carignani,will star Barbara Frittoli and Ramón Vargas as the lovers Mimì and Rodolfo, opposite American soprano Ana María Martínez as the spitfire Musetta in her first Met performances since 2005. Romanian baritone Levente Molnár makes his Met debut as the painter Marcello, with Alexey Lavrov as Schaunard, Christian Van Horn as Colline, and John Del Carlo as Benoit and Alcindoro.

On January 6, Italian soprano Maria Agresta-who has sung Mimì to acclaim at numerous major European houses including La Scala, the Vienna State Opera, and Paris Opera-will make her Met debut in the role. The January performances will feature Susanna Phillips as Musetta, a role she has sung more than 30 times with the company, with fellow American soprano Ailyn Pérez adding the role to her Met repertory in April. Bryan Hymel and Quinn Kelsey sing Rodolfo and Marcello, roles they first performed with the Met last season. The winter and spring performances, conducted by Dan Ettinger, will also feature David Pershall and Alessio Arduini as Schaunard; South Korean bass Kihwan Sim and Italian bass Roberto Tagliavini in their respective Met debuts as Colline; Hei-Kyung Hong as Mimì, a role she has sung more than 60 times with the company; and Jean-François Borras as Rodolfo. Complete casting by date is available below or by clicking here.

Artist Bios

Barbara Frittoli has previously sung the role of Mimì at the Met in 1995 and 2014, and on the company's tour of Japan in 2011. Following her Met debut as Micaëla in Bizet's Carmen in 1995, she has sung over 100 performances with the company, including roles such as Elisabeth de Valois in Verdi's Don Carlo, Vitellia in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, and Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni. She can be seen later this season in a new Met role, Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.

Maria Agresta makes her Met debut as Mimì after previously singing the role at La Scala, Paris Opera, Vienna State Opera, Teatro La Fenice, and Teatro Regio di Torino, among others. Recent credits with other companies include the title role of Bellini's Norma at Teatro Regio di Torino and Zurich Opera, Liù in Puccini's Turandot at La Scala, and Amelia Grimaldi in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra at La Fenice. She can be seen later this season as Leonora in Verdi's Oberto in concert at the Frankfurt Opera and Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata at the Paris Opera, Bavarian State Opera, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

Hei-Kyung Hong has sung more than 360 Met performances over the course of her three-decade career with the company, including 64 performances as Mimì. Later this season, she will add a new role to her extensive Met repertory when she sings her first-ever performances of Cio-Cio-San in Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

Ana María Martínez makes her role debut as Musetta, in her first Met performances since her 2005 company debut as Micaëla in Carmen. She can be seen later this season singing at a Gala Concert with Plácido Domingo at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, in the title role of Dvo?ák's Rusalka at the Houston Grand Opera, and as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly at the Los Angeles Opera.

Susanna Phillips has sung more than 75 Met performances, including 32 as Musetta. Past roles with the company include Stella and Antonia in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. This season, she also sings Rosalinde in Strauss's Die Fledermaus at the Met.

Ailyn Pérez makes her role debut as Musetta. The American soprano made her Met debut last season as Micaëla in Carmen. Her other engagements this season include the Countess in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro at the Houston Grand Opera, the title character in Massenet's Manon at the Dallas Opera, and Juliette in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at the Santa Fe Opera.

Ramón Vargas has sung the role of Rodolfo 33 times at the Met, where he has sung more than 215 performances in total over the course of his 23-year career with the company. Later this season, he sings Riccardo in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, the Chevalier des Grieux in Manon, and the title role of Verdi's Don Carlo at the Vienna State Opera, and Gabriele in Simon Boccanegra at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Bryan Hymel made his company role debut as Rodolfo last season. His other roles with the company have included Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and the role of his debut, Aeneas in Berlioz's Les Troyens. He will sing the Duke in Verdi's Rigoletto at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Alfredo Germont in La Traviata at the Paris Opera later this season.

Levente Molnár makes his company debut after previously singing the role of Marcello at the Bavarian State Opera, Hungarian State Opera, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. He will also sing Dr. Malatesta in a revival of Donizetti's Don Pasquale at the Met this spring. His other performances this season include Wolfram in Wagner'sTannhäuser at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Enrico in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at the Bavarian State Opera.

Last season at the Met, Quinn Kelsey made his Met role debuts as Marcello and as Giorgio Germont in La Traviata. The winner of the 2015 Beverly Sills Artist Award, his other company credits include Monterone inRigoletto and Schaunard in La Bohème. He will sing Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Oper Frankfurt, the title character in Rigoletto at the Zurich Opera and Paris Opera, and Germont in La Traviata at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden later this season.

Alexey Lavrov sang the role of Schaunard last season at the Met. He made his company debut in 2013 as a Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo, followed by roles such as Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, Dominik in Strauss's Arabella, and most recently Silvio in the new production of Pagliacci. He can be seen later this season at the Met as both Silvio and as Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale.

David Pershall makes his Met role debut after previously singing Schaunard with Norwegian National Opera. The American baritone will make his Met debut as Figaro in Rossini's The Barber of Seville in December and will also Cecil in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda this season at the Met.

Alessio Arduini made his Met debut singing Schaunard last season and has previously sung the role at the Vienna State Opera, Rome Opera, La Fenice, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. He will sing the title character in Le Nozze de Figaro at the Vienna State Opera and Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Paris Opera later this season.

Christian Van Horn's past Met performances include both Colline and the role of his debut, Pistola in the new production of Verdi's Falstaff. Later this season, he will sing Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Escamillo in Carmen at the Canadian Opera Company, and make his company debut as Il Prefetto in Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix at Rome Opera.

Kihwan Sim makes his Met debut after previously singing Colline at the Oper Frankfurt. He will reprise this role at the Cologne Opera followed by performances as Zuniga in Carmen, Tiridate in Händel's Radamisto, and the title role of Oberto at Opera Frankfurt.

Roberto Tagliavini makes his company debut as Colline. He sang the role previously at Opéra de Toulon and in Bilbao. He can be seen later this season as Giorgio in Bellini's I Puritani and Jacopo Loredano in Verdi's I Due Foscari at the Teatro Real Madrid.

John Del Carlo reprises Benoit and Alcindoro, roles he sang last season at the Met. He made his company debut in 1993 as Kothner in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnburg and has since sung over 260 performances with the Met. His recent credits with the company include Dr. Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro, Gonzalo in Adès's The Tempest, the title character in Don Pasquale, and Prince de Bouillon in Adriana Lecouvreur. He can also be seen at the Met this season as the Sacristan in Puccini's Tosca.

La Bohème Fun Facts

Puccini first staged La Bohème at the Teatro Regio in Turin in 1896 with the help of librettists Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, who also collaborated with Puccini on his next two operas, Tosca and Madama Butterfly, both of which are also being performed at the Met this season. The Met first staged La Bohème on tour in Los Angeles in 1900, and it is the most-staged opera at the Met with this season's opening performance on November 23marking the 1275th time this opera has been performed with the company.

La Bohème Radio Broadcasts

The November 23 performance of La Bohème will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 74, as will the performances on December 5, January 13, January 19, and April 25. The performance on November 23, January 13, and April 25 will also be streamed live on the Met's website, www.metopera.org.

The December 5 matinee performance will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

For More Information

For more information on La Bohème including casting by date, please click here.