Sondra Radvanovsky to Lead MARIA STUARDA at the Met

Sondra Radvanovsky sings the second of the three Queens in Donizetti's "Tudor trilogy" when she stars as the devout, doomed Mary, Queen of Scots in Maria Stuarda, opening January 29. Maria Stuarda tells the story of the political and personal rivalry between two queens: Mary, Queen of Scots and her cousin and rival, Queen Elizabeth I. Radvanovsky is the first soprano in Met history who will sing the lead roles in all three Donizetti Queen operas in the course of a single New York season, a feat famously accomplished by Beverly Sills at New York City Opera in the 1970s.

Riccardo Frizza conducts all performances of Sir David McVicar's production of Maria Stuarda, which premiered on New Year's Eve 2013. Elza van den Heever reprises Queen Elizabeth I, Mary's arch-nemesis, a role she sang to acclaim in the Met premiere in 2012. Celso Albelo makes his Met debut as Mary's lover Leicester; Patrick Carfizzi sings the role of Cecil, a chancellor who helps sign away Mary's fate; and Kwangchul Youn makes his Met role debut as the Earl Talbot.

Sondra Radvanvosky has previously sung the role of Maria Stuarda with ABAO in Bilbao, Spain in 2012. After winning the National Council Auditions, she made her Met debut in 1996 as the Countess Ceprano in Verdi's Rigoletto and has sung 186 performances with the company to date. Recent roles at the Met include Amelia in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore, the title characters in Bellini's Norma and Verdi's Aida, and earlier this season, the title role of Anna Bolena. In the spring, along with starring in the Met premiere of Roberto Devereux, she will also sing the title characters in Puccini's Tosca at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Aida at the Paris Opera.

Elza van den Heever made her Met debut during the 2012-13 season as Elisabetta, a role she has also sung at Frankfurt Opera. The South African soprano has previously sung Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Met. Later this season, she will sing Giorgetta in Puccini's Il Tabarro and the title role of Puccini's Suor Angelica at the Frankfurt Opera and Elisabetta in Verdi's Don Carlos at the Opéra National du Rhin.

Celso Albelo has previously sung the role of Leicester at the Ópera de Tenerife in Spain. His credits with other opera companies include the title role of Roberto Devereux and Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Ernesto in Donizetti's Don Pasquale and Beppe in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci at La Scala, Tonio in Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment at the Paris Opera, and Elvino in Bellini's La Sonnambula at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. Later this season, the Spanish tenor will star as Tebaldo in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Gran Teatre del Liceu and Arturo in Bellini's I Puritani at the Teatro Real in Madrid.

Patrick Carfizzi makes his Met role debut after previously singing Cecil at the Washington Concert Opera. He has sung over 315 performances with the company since his Met debut in 1999 as Ceprano in Rigoletto. Other credits with the company include Schaunard in Puccini's La Bohème, Frank in Strauss's Die Fledermaus, Quince in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Paolo in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra. Earlier this season, he sang the Mandarin in Puccini's Turandot at the Met, and he will sing Dulcamara in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Dr. Bartolo in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Austin Opera later this year.

Kwangchul Youn made his Met debut as Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte in 2004. Since then, he has sung over 70 performances in ten different operas with the company including roles such as Mercury and Narbal in Berlioz's Les Troyens, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Ferrando in Il Trovatore, and King Marke in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. In February, he will also sing Ferrando in Il Trovatore at the Met, and later this season he will sing Heinrich der Vogler in Wagner's Lohengrin at the Vienna State Opera, Ramfis in Aida at the Paris Opera, and Raimondo Bidebent in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

Riccardo Frizza made his Met debut conducting Rigoletto in 1999, and since then, he has conducted multiple operas with the company including Norma, Tosca, Il Trovatore, La Bohème and Rossini's Armida. From 1994 to 2000, he was the resident conductor of the Symphonic Orchestra of Brescia and has conducted at multiple opera houses around the world including the Paris Opera, Bavarian State Opera, La Scala, La Fenice, San Francisco Opera, and Washington National Opera. This season, Maestro Frizza will conduct Lucia di Lammermoor at the Palermo Opera, I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix at the Rome Opera.

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