Matthew Polenzani News

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, will present the first Making Connections session of the 2009-2010 season on Wednesday, September 30 at 6:30 p.m. Making Connections is OPERA America's professional development program for early-career opera artists, including singers, composers, librettists, designers and directors. ??

Mozart's enchanting masterpiece, Die Zauberflöte ('The Magic Flute'), returns to the Met on September 23 in the acclaimed production by Julie Taymor, performed in its original German-language version.

Mozart's enchanting masterpiece, Die Zauberflöte ('The Magic Flute'), returns to the Met on September 23 in the acclaimed production by Julie Taymor, performed in its original German-language version.

The Metropolitan Opera has reason to celebrate; $2.5 million worth of tickets were sold on Sunday, the first day of sales, through its box office, telephone call center and Web site, up from $2 million on the first day of sales last year, according to the Associated press.

The Collegiate Chorale returns for its fourth appearance as part of the 16th annual Verbier Festival in Switzerland from July 18 - 20, 2009.

Bass John Relyea has been named the recipient of the fourth annual Beverly Sills Artist Award for young singers at the Metropolitan Opera. The $50,000 award, the largest of its kind in the United States, is designated for extraordinarily gifted singers between the ages of 25 and 40 who have already appeared in featured solo roles with the Met.

Matthew Jocelyn, the incoming Artistic and General Director of The Canadian Stage Company and acclaimed director of theatre and opera on the world stage, is slated to direct Lucia di Lammermoor at Oper Frankfurt, an internationally renowned showcase for opera, next month.

Eight new productions, four of which are company premieres, will highlight the Metropolitan Opera's 2009-10 season. General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director James Levine jointly announced plans that include: the Met premieres of Rossini's Armida, Verdi's Attila, Jan?ček's From the House of the Dead, and Shostakovich's The Nose; new productions of Bizet's Carmen, Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Thomas's Hamlet, and Puccini's Tosca; and 18 revivals from the company's repertory. The season is the first to be entirely planned under Gelb's leadership, in collaboration with Levine (the past three seasons were planned before Gelb became General Manager in 2006-07 but included some productions, repertoire, and casting changes made by Gelb).

The Metropolitan Opera will release the DVD of its abridged, English-language production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, the inaugural transmission of the company's Emmy award-winning Live in HD series from December 2006. The first self-produced DVD by the Met, The Magic Flute DVD will retail for $25.00. It will be available exclusively at the Met Opera Shop beginning December 18, timed to performances of The Magic Flute on the Met stage beginning December 22.

The Metropolitan Opera will release the DVD of its abridged, English-language production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, the inaugural transmission of the company's Emmy award-winning Live in HD series from December 2006. The first self-produced DVD by the Met, The Magic Flute DVD will retail for $25.00. It will be available exclusively at the Met Opera Shop beginning December 18, timed to performances of The Magic Flute on the Met stage beginning December 22.

When Erwin Schrott took on the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni last year at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, The New York Times wrote: 'The surprise was the riveting Giovanni: the seductively handsome young Uruguayan bass Erwin Schrott, who boasts a strong, dusky voice and chiseled physique. Exuding charisma, he galvanized the audience with his unabashedly narcissistic portrayal.' Now Schrott, who sang the role when the Met toured Japan in 2006, is bringing his portrayal to the Met stage for the first time beginning Saturday, September 27.

Julie Taymor, Bartlett Sher, Jack O'Brien and other acclaimed directors will stage works at the Metropolitan Opera House.

San Francisco's PBS affiliate has a great collection of theatre-related specials for the month of August, including the 3-part 'Broadway Lost Treasures' series and 'Liza with a Z.'

Broadway sensation and self-proclaimed megastar Dame Edna Everage will make a special guest appearance in the METROPOLITAN OPERA'S New Year's Eve gala performance of Rossini's comic masterpiece, 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' ('The Barber of Seville') on Friday, December 31, 2004.