James Levine News

The Met's new production of Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, conducted by Music Director James Levine and directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher, premieres on December 3.

The Metropolitan Opera's fourth season of free final dress rehearsals continues on Monday, November 30 with Bartlett Sher's new production of Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, conducted by Met Music Director James Levine.

Baritone Thomas Hampson will give his first performances as the New York Philharmonic's Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence when he joins the Orchestra, led by Neeme Järvi, for performances of Zemlinsky's Lyric Symphony, Thursday, November 5, 2009, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, November 6, at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, November 7, at 8:00 p.m., and Tuesday, November 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Baritone Thomas Hampson will give his first performances as the New York Philharmonic's Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence when he joins the Orchestra, led by Neeme Järvi, for performances of Zemlinsky's Lyric Symphony, Thursday, November 5, 2009, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, November 6, at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, November 7, at 8:00 p.m., and Tuesday, November 10, at 7:30 p.m.

New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert will lead his first tour of Europe with the Orchestra: EUROPE / WINTER 2010, January 21-February 4, 2010.

Baritone Thomas Hampson will give his first performances as the New York Philharmonic's Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence when he joins the Orchestra, led by Neeme Järvi, for performances of Zemlinsky's Lyric Symphony, Thursday, November 5, 2009, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, November 6, at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, November 7, at 8:00 p.m., and Tuesday, November 10, at 7:30 p.m.

The Met: HD Live in Schools, the acclaimed educational program that brings live transmissions of opera to students in 18 school districts in 13 states, kicks off its second season on Saturday, November 7, at 1:00 pm with Puccini's Turandot.

On November 17, 19, 20, and 21 at 7:30pm, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus (BYC)-one of the country's leading children's choruses and the ensemble of choice for orchestras and artists, from the Boston Symphony and Philip Glass to Elton John and Grizzly Bear-is prominently featured in composer Phil Kline and choreographer Wally Cardona's Really Real at BAM's Harvey Theater, as part of the 2009 Next Wave Festival.

Patricia Racette is the first soprano since Teresa Stratas 20 years ago to sing all three leading soprano roles in Puccini's Il Trittico at the Met. Comprised of three one-act operas, Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi, Il Trittico returns to the Met in the production by Jack O'Brien that was a popular and critical hit at its premiere in 2007.

Baritone Thomas Hampson will give his first performances as the New York Philharmonic's Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence when he joins the Orchestra, led by Neeme Järvi, for performances of Zemlinsky's Lyric Symphony, Thursday, November 5, 2009, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, November 6, at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, November 7, at 8:00 p.m., and Tuesday, November 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Edo de Waart will conduct Der Rosenkavalier on October 22, replacing Jens Georg Bachmann who is ill. De Waart has conducted the season's previous three performances of the Strauss opera stepping in for James Levine, who underwent surgery for a herniated disk.

Karita Mattila will sing the title role in Puccini's Tosca as scheduled tomorrow evening, Saturday, October 17 at 8:00 p.m. She had cancelled Wednesday evening's performance due to illness.

Leo Janacek's final opera, From the House of the Dead, has its Metropolitan Opera premiere on November 12 in a new production by celebrated director Patrice Chereau, making his U.S. opera debut.

Franco Zeffirelli's glittering production of Puccini's Turandot returns on October 28 with Maria Guleghina in the title role and Marcello Giordani as Calàf, both singing these demanding roles for the first time in their Met careers. Marina Poplavskaya and Samuel Ramey make company role debuts as Liù and Timur respectively, and conductor Andris Nelsons makes his Met debut.

Lincoln Center: Celebrating 50 Years, the first exhibition to focus exclusively on the evolution and influence of America's first performing arts center, will feature an extensive collection of some 400 historic and contemporary objects including photographs, ephemera, correspondence, costumes, set pieces, props and video recordings.

Tickets for the fourth season of The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's popular, award-winning series of live transmissions in movie theaters around the world, are now on sale to the general public in the U.S. The 2009-10 season, featuring nine live opera transmissions, kicks off on Saturday, October 10 at 1:00 p.m. ET with a new production of Puccini's Tosca starring Karita Mattila.

Ravinia Festival's 2009-2010 Rising Stars series continues at 8 p.m. on Nov. 6 with bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni, who has performed internationally at the Metropolitian Opera in New York, Teatro Real in Madrid, Carnegie Hall in New York and Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris.

Robert Lepage's imaginative production of Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust, which premiered last season to sold out houses, returns to the Met on October 23. Three stars sing their roles for the first time at the Met: Olga Borodina as Marguerite, Ramón Vargas as Faust, and Ildar Abdrazakov as Méphistophélès.

The Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy (BYCA) board of directors is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Executive Director, Valerie G. Lewis. Ms. Lewis brings extensive and multi-faceted experience in leadership and marketing to BYCA, which provides performance-based music education to a diverse student body of 285 students and which supports the celebrated Brooklyn Youth Chorus (BYC), one of the foremost children's choruses in America.

Edo de Waart will conduct Der Rosenkavalier on October 13, 16, and 19, replacing Met Music Director James Levine who is having surgery to repair a herniated disc.