John Relyea News

Tenor Javier Camarena will be making his Met role debut as the Duke of Mantua in tonight’s final performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto, replacing Stephen Costello, who has withdrawn due to illness.

Last season, the company gave its first presentation of the French version (that’s the one called DON CARLOS, with a final S to his first name), in the five-act version that lasted almost 5 hours. This year, we’re back to Italian, under Carlo Rizzi’s firm baton, in one of a number of versions (this one running about 4 hours) of DON CARLO, which uses shortcuts to tell the story elements deleted with the excision of the first act (usually referred to as “the Fontainebleau scene”).

Tenor Benjamin Bernheim, one of Europe’s most sought-after tenors, will make his highly anticipated company debut when Verdi’s Rigoletto returns to the Met for 14 performances beginning November 10.

Verdi’s sweeping historical tragedy Don Carlo will return to the Metropolitan Opera for nine performances of the four-act Italian version November 3–December 3, 2022,  following the successful company premiere of the five-act French version last season.

Canadian bass-baritone John Relyea, who just ended a highly acclaimed run as Boris Ismailov in the Met's production of Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, will also be singing the role of the Grand Inquisitor in all of the Met's upcoming performances of Verdi's Don Carlo, which opens on November 3.

Afraid of Shostakovich? Don’t be. LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK is a glory to behold, in Graham Vick’s knockout production, designed and costumed by Paul Brown, staged this time by Paula Suozzi, with Ron Howell’s choreography. And there were times when the music, with the Met orchestra under the firm, smart baton of Keri-Lynn Wilson, almost sounded like, yes, Puccini, while it was clearly expressionist as well.

Yulia Matochkina will make her Met role debut as Eboli in Verdi's Don Carlo, replacing Anita Rachvelishvili. Russian mezzo-soprano Yulia Matochkina, who made her Met debut last season as Maddalena in Verdi's Rigoletto, has previously sung Eboli at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, and the New National Theatre in Tokyo.

Maestro Keri-Lynn Wilson, following a triumphant tour leading the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra last summer, makes her Metropolitan Opera debut conducting Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk for six performances beginning September 29.

Svetlana Sozdateleva will make her Met debut singing Katerina Ismailova in all performances of Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, replacing Eva-Maria Westbroek.

Carlo Rizzi will return to The Metropolitan Opera to open the 2022/23 season, marking his 30th anniversary year with the Company.

Is there another Shakespearean drama filled with as many quotable quotes as “Hamlet” (even when they’re used out of context and given a foreign meaning)? But “To be or not to be” is surely the most referenced and, certainly, in the new operatic HAMLET currently at the Met by Brett Dean and Matthew Jocelyn, in Neil Armfield’s thoughtful, urgent production, it's given the best showcase. Indeed, it helps shed a different light on the hero of the story.

On May 13, the Metropolitan Opera will present the company premiere of Australian composer Brett Dean’s Hamlet, a bold adaptation of Shakespeare’s timeless drama, with six additional performances through June 9.

The Metropolitan Opera has named baritone Will Liverman the winner of the 2022 Beverly Sills Artist Award. The annual $50,000 award recognizes extraordinarily gifted singers with rising Met careers.

Patrick Furrer will conduct the final performance of Verdi’s Don Carlos today, Saturday, March 26th, replacing Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who has withdrawn due to illness. Furrer previously conducted the March 18 and 22 performances.

Metropolitan Opera has announced cast changes for their produciions of Don Carlo and Der Fliegende Holländer.

Ying Fang will sing Susanna in the April performances of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro this season, replacing Aida Garifullina.

DON CARLOS--Verdi’s original French language version, for the first time at the Met, of the opera better known in these parts as the Italian DON CARLO--was as grim as its setting in the Spanish inquisition in the new David McVicar production introduced last night. And about as long (though for once it ended earlier than expected)--Verdi's longest opera.

Before the opening night performance of Verdi's Don Carlos, the audience observed a moment of silence, followed by the Ukrainian national anthem, performed by the Met Orchestra and Chorus and conducted by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

For the first time in company history, the Metropolitan Opera will present the original five-act French version of Verdi’s Don Carlos, with eight performances February 28–March 26. Verdi’s epic opera about doomed love during the Spanish Inquisition first premiered in French at the Paris Opera in 1867.

The Metropolitan Opera today announced its 2022–23 season, which features seven new productions, the most in ten seasons. Opening Night is September 27 with the company premiere of Cherubini’s Medea, starring soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role alongside tenor Matthew Polenzani in David McVicar’s new staging, conducted by Carlo Rizzi.