Mariusz Kwiecien News

Piotr Beczala will sing Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor on Saturday, February 7 at 1:00 p.m., replacing Rolando Villaz?n who is ill. The performance is being transmitted worldwide as part of The Met: Live in HD series. Mr. Beczala sang the role of Edgardo this past October at the Met to both public and critical acclaim. He is currently singing Lensky in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin at the Met, with remaining performances on February 5, 9, 14 matinee, 18, and 21 evening.

Puccini's most popular work returns to the Metropolitan Opera on Monday, December 15, at 8:00 p.m. in the visually stunning classic production by Franco Zeffirelli. Fr?d?ric Chaslin conducts the performances which run through Saturday, January 10, 2008 and feature Mexican tenor Ram?n Vargas and Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska as Puccini's star-crossed lovers, Rodolfo and Mim?. Fellow Bohemians in the cast are portrayed by Susanna Phillips as Musetta in her Met debut, Mariusz Kwiecien as the painter Marcello, Tommi Hakala as the musician Schaunard, and Oren Gradus as the philosopher Colline. Paul Plishka sings both Benoit and Alcindoro. Massimo Giordano sings Rodolfo in the final two performances.

Puccini's most popular work returns to the Metropolitan Opera on Monday, December 15, at 8:00 p.m. in the visually stunning classic production by Franco Zeffirelli. Fr?d?ric Chaslin conducts the performances which run through Saturday, January 10, 2008 and feature Mexican tenor Ram?n Vargas and Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska as Puccini's star-crossed lovers, Rodolfo and Mim?. Fellow Bohemians in the cast are portrayed by Susanna Phillips as Musetta in her Met debut, Mariusz Kwiecien as the painter Marcello, Tommi Hakala as the musician Schaunard, and Oren Gradus as the philosopher Colline. Paul Plishka sings both Benoit and Alcindoro. Massimo Giordano sings Rodolfo in the final two performances.

Today, November 29, the Metropolitan Opera Radio Saturday Matinee Broadcasts launches its 78th season of world-class opera heard over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network with the network premiere of Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust.

The Metropolitan Opera celebrates its 125th anniversary year with a unique gala performance on March 15, 2009 at 6:00 p.m., featuring Met stars in recreations of historic classic productions and high points in the company's past. Music Director James Levine conducts the evening of 26 staged scenes that, with the use of projections, and scenic and costume recreations, will evoke the Met's illustrious history.

On November 29, the Metropolitan Opera Radio Saturday Matinee Broadcasts launches its 78th season of world-class opera heard over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network with the network premiere of Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust.

Two of opera's leading sopranos - both acclaimed for their dramatic and vocal skills - sing the demanding title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor for the first time at the Met this season. In the opening performance, October 3, 2008, Diana Damrau - who last season became the first soprano to achieve the feat of singing both leading soprano roles in Mozart's Die Zauberflote, Pamina and the Queen of the Night, in the same Met season - sings the role of Lucia for the first time in her career. Polish tenor Piotr Beczala is her beloved Edgardo in his Met role debut.

Theatre directors Mary Zimmerman, Adrian Noble, Richard Jones and John Doyle will be among those staging operas at the Met during the opera company's 2007-2008 season.