On New Year's Eve, the Metropolitan Opera unveiled a new production of Cilea's ADRIANA LECOUVREUR, with a high-powered, audience-pleasing cast--headed by Anna Netrebko--in a production by Met favorite David McVicar, appealingly designed and costumed, and played elegantly by the Met orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda's sweeping baton.
Gianandrea Noseda-Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and newly-appointed General Music Director of the Zurich Opera starting in 2021-returns to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time since 2017 to conduct a new production of Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur starring Anna Netrebko in her house role debut, December 31, 2018 through January 26, 2019. The 2018-2019 season marks Noseda's second as Music Director of the NSO, including a full schedule of subscription concerts that recently included critically-acclaimed performances of Britten's War Requiem in November and Mahler's Symphony No. 1 earlier this month. On May 19, 2019, Noseda will bring the NSO to Carnegie Hall in a program that includes Rossini's rarely-performed Stabat Mater.
Anna Netrebko brings her acclaimed portrayal of the passionate real-life French actress at the heart of Francesco Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time in a new production that opens in a special New Year's Eve gala performance and continues through January 26, 2019. Anita Rachvelishvili, who starred opposite Netrebko in Verdi's Aida earlier this season, is the Princess of Bouillon, renewing their onstage rivalry. Piotr Becza?a is Maurizio and Ambrogio Maestri is Michonnet, the two men in love with Adriana. Rounding out the cast are Carlo Bosi as the Abbé and Maurizio Muraro as the Prince of Bouillon. Maestro Gianandrea Noseda returns to the Met to conduct Cilea's elegant score. Sir David McVicar's production—the work's first new staging at the Met in more than 50 years—brings the world of the theater to vivid life, with all of the drama playing out in a working replica of a Baroque playhouse. On January 23 and 26, the title role is sung by Jennifer Rowley.
The Metropolitan Opera marks the 100th anniversary of the world premiere of Puccini's Il Trittico, which took place at the Met's original opera house in 1918, with performances November 23 to December 15, 2018. The three one-act operas of Il Trittico include the verismo-inspired Il Tabarro, featuring Amber Wagner as Giorgetta, Marcelo Álvarez as Luigi, George Gagnidze as Michele, MaryAnn McCormick as Frugola, and Maurizio Muraro as Talpa. Suor Angelica, a tale of religious redemption, features Kristine Opolais in the title role, Stephanie Blythe as La Principessa, and Maureen McKay as Suor Genovieffa.
Kathleen Turner will join the cast of Donizetti's comedy La Fille du Régiment at the Metropolitan Opera February 7–March 2, in the non-singing role of the Duchess of Krakenthorp. She will perform alongside Pretty Yende in the role of Marie, and Javier Camarena as Tonio. Stephanie Blythe will play the Marquise of Berkenfield, with Alessandro Corbelli and Maurizio Muraro sharing the role of Sergeant Sulpice. Laurent Pelly's staging will be conducted by Enrique Mazzola.
The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live high-definition cinema simulcasts, will begin its 13th season on October 6, with the Met's grand production of Verdi's Aida, starring one of the world's most acclaimed sopranos, Anna Netrebko.
Accelerating his arrival as Music Director by two seasons, Yannick Nezet-Seguin will take up the post in time for the start of the Metropolitan Opera's 2018-19 season, it was announced today.
It's just about time to wish you all a happy 2018--but I'm not quite ready to put 2017 to rest. Though it won't go into the annals as one of the best years ever, there were quite enough performances and performers that made this year a winner for me, operatically speaking at least, in my corner of the world.
The 2017 national radio broadcast series of San Francisco Opera performances on the WFMT Radio Network begins on Saturday, September 2 with a 1979 archival broadcast of Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda. The cast features soprano Renata Scotto in the title role and tenor Luciano Pavarotti as Enzo Grimaldi, each singing their role for the first time on any stage.
Tenor Vittorio Grigolo always seems most at home on stage when he's living close to the edge--portraying a character who's losing control (or about to) of his emotions. It was true earlier this season as Romeo, in Gounod's ROMEO ET JULIETTE at the Met opposite Diana Damrau and, in 2015, as Chevalier Des Grieux in Massenet's MANON, also with Damrau. (Might as well add Offenbach's Hoffmann to the mix.) Well, Massenet's back at the Met with WERTHER, also starring the gorgeous, sultry-voiced mezzo Isabel Leonard and all should be well with the world, with Grigolo as the poet who's losing his head (and mind) over a woman who can't (or won't) reciprocate. And yet…
The partnership between San Francisco Opera and the Bay Area's Classical KDFC continues with monthly broadcasts of performances captured during the Fall 2016 Season, including the world premiere of Bright Sheng and David Henry Hwang's Dream of the Red Chamber, and a historic broadcast from the Company's archives. All performances were recorded live at the War Memorial Opera House and feature the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus (Ian Robertson, Chorus Director).
It didn't strike me until the lights were going down for the start of CARMEN last Thursday that this was the second night in a row that Met audiences were being transported to the same town in sunny Spain. Truth be told, “sunny” is hardly an adjective I'd hardly use to describe Bizet's tragedy in the shadow of the bullring, while it's just about right for dizzy events of Rossini's charmer, IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA, which I'd heard the night before.
Edward Parks and Maurizio Muraro will sing the roles of Figaro and Dr. Bartolo respectively, in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia at this Saturday evening's performance. They will replace the originally scheduled Peter Mattei and Valeriano Lanchas, who are ill.
San Francisco Opera's 2016-17 Season continues with Donizetti's Don Pasquale in six performances from September 28-October 15, 2016. After a 32-year absence from the Company's repertory, the sparkling comedy of cruel games and young love returns in Laurent Pelly's fanciful staging, which is a co-production with Santa Fe Opera and Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu.
San Francisco Opera's 2016-17 Season continues with Donizetti'sDon Pasquale in six performances from September 28-October 15, 2016. After a 32-year absence from the Company's repertory, the sparkling comedy of cruel games and young love returns in Laurent Pelly's fanciful staging, which is a co-production with Santa Fe Opera and Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu. Maestro Giuseppe Finzi conducts the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Chorus and a cast including bass-baritone Maurizio Muraro in the title role, soprano Heidi Stober as Norina, tenor Lawrence Brownlee in his Company debut as Ernesto and baritones Lucas Meachem and Edward Nelson as Dr. Malatesta.
AAA Northeast at the Playhouse Live in HD Series brings a summer encore presentation of The Met Opera in HD: Mozart's Cosi fan tutte back to the big screen today, July 22 at 12 p.m.
AAA Northeast at the Playhouse Live in HD Series brings a summer encore presentation of The Met Opera in HD: Mozart's Cosi fan tutte back to the big screen on Friday, July 22 at 12 p.m.
Met music director Emeritus James Levine leads charismatic cast in Mozart's joyful and heartrendering masterpiece Cosi fan tutte on Wednesday July 20th at 7pm.
AAA Northeast at the Playhouse Live in HD Series brings a summer encore presentation of The Met Opera in HD: Mozart's Cosi fan tutte back to the big screen on Friday, July 22 at 12 p.m.
San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley and Music Director Nicola Luisotti today announced the Company's 2016–17 Season repertory and roster of international guest artists, conductors and creative teams scheduled to appear at the War Memorial Opera House, as well as initial programming for SF Opera Lab 2017 presentations at the Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera's Taube Atrium Theater. The Company's 94th Season will also mark Matthew Shilvock's inaugural year as San Francisco Opera's new general director, succeeding his mentor and internationally respected impresario, David Gockley, who will step down on July 31, 2016.
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