Peter Gelb News

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, has announced the recipients of the 2012 National Opera Trustee Recognition Award.

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Donizetti's Anna Bolena, starring soprano Anna Netrebko in her highly anticipated first North American performances of the tour-de-force title role, will be the 2012 season opener of THIRTEEN's Great Performances at the Met Friday, January 20 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).

Following a highly successful run of performances in the Metropolitan Opera's season-opening production of Donizetti's Anna Bolena, Stephen Costello returns to the Vienna State Opera for a second consecutive season, singing the role of Nemorino in another (and far more light-hearted) Donizetti opera, L'elisir d'amore.

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Donizetti's Anna Bolena, starring soprano Anna Netrebko in her highly anticipated first North American performances of the tour-de-force title role, will be the 2012 season opener of THIRTEEN's Great Performances at the Met Friday, January 20 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).

Music Director James Levine will not conduct at the Metropolitan Opera for the remainder of this season, or during the 2012-13 season, in order to allow for a full recovery from the spinal injury he suffered last August. After falling while on vacation last summer, Levine underwent emergency surgery that forced him to withdraw from his performances in the first part of this season.

The legendary Grotta Azzurra Ristorante, located on the corner of Broome and Mulberry Streets in one of lower Manhattan's historic neighborhoods - Little Italy -- is transforming its famous lower-level 'grotto' into an intimate live music room on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 PM starting in mid-December. The policy will be a $20 cover charge plus a two drink minimum. Dinner at this fabled Italian restaurant will be available upstairs in the main dining room at 6 PM. A limited snacks menu will be available in the 'grotto" during the performances. The capacity of the 'grotto" is 50 people.

Dark Sisters is a suspenseful, emotional, and lyrical depiction of one woman's struggle with life and faith and the universal dilemma of whether to stay or leave. The opera opens a window into the lives of Eliza and her sister wives, members of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), a polygamous sect based in the southwestern United States. Creators Muhly and Karam have drawn inspiration from the crush of media attention surrounding two of the many raids on FLDS compounds (the 2008 raid at the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, TX and the 1953 raid at Short Creek, AZ), as well as from the stories of the more than 80 wives of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.

Following a highly successful run of performances in the Metropolitan Opera's season-opening production of Donizetti's Anna Bolena, Stephen Costello returns to the Vienna State Opera for a second consecutive season, singing the role of Nemorino in another (and far more light-hearted) Donizetti opera, L'elisir d'amore.

NYC & Company, New York City's marketing, tourism and partnership organization, today announced that The Metropolitan Opera is the Culture Spot pick for November, the City's monthly cultural program that encourages local and visitor exploration by spotlighting a different arts organization each month. Located at Lincoln Center in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City's iconic opera company has been presenting world-class productions since 1883.

National CineMedia (NCM), the operator of the largest digital in-theater network for cinema advertising, entertainment and events in North America, today announced an agreement with the Metropolitan Opera (the 'Met') to bring the Emmy and Peabody award-winning The Met: Live in HD series to U.S. movie theaters for the 2011-12 Met season.

Stephen Costello continues his winning run as Lord Percy opposite Anna Netrebko in the title role of the Metropolitan Opera's production of Donizetti's Anna Bolena this Saturday, October 15, in a matinee performance that will be transmitted to movie theaters worldwide in the company's popular 'Live in HD' series.

The Metropolitan Opera Guild has announced its Lectures and Community Programs for the 2011-12 Season: an extensive - 20 events in October alone! - and wide-ranging calendar of individual events and courses of study designed to deepen the love and appreciation of opera by fans and performers alike, at every level of engagement and expertise.

Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb will share the highlights of the new opera season on the next SundayArts Primetime Special, hosted by Paula Zahn from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center, Thursday, September 29 at 9 p.m. (WLIW will air the program on Monday, October 3 at 9:30 p.m.)

The Metropolitan Opera's 2011-12 season will feature the world's leading singers, conductors, and stage directors in seven new productions, including a world premiere, a Met premiere, and the first complete performances of a new Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle conducted by Music Director James Levine and directed by Robert Lepage.

Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) today announced that its Metropolitan Opera Radio channel will broadcast its sixth season of live performances from the Metropolitan Opera, beginning with the Russian soprano Anna Netrebko's starring appearance in the company premiere of Donizetti's Anna Bolena on Monday, September 26 at 6:00 pm ET on SiriusXM channel 74. The live broadcasts will be hosted by Margaret Juntwait, joined by commentator William Berger.

Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb will share the highlights of the new opera season on the next SundayArts Primetime Special, hosted by Paula Zahn from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center, Thursday, September 29 at 9 p.m. (WLIW will air the program on Monday, October 3 at 9:30 p.m.)

After a fall last week that damaged one of his vertebrae, James Levine underwent emergency surgery on Thursday in New York, forcing him to withdraw from his performances at the Metropolitan Opera this fall.

Verdi's Il Trovatore, starring four of the world's most celebrated interpreters of the leading roles and conducted by Marco Armiliato, will air on THIRTEEN's Great Performances at the Met Sunday, August 28 at 12 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).

Renee Fleming sings one of her signature roles, the elegant Countess in Richard Strauss's Capriccio, on Great Performances at the Met Sunday, August 14 at 12 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).

Verdi's Il Trovatore, starring four of the world's most celebrated interpreters of the leading roles and conducted by Marco Armiliato, will air on THIRTEEN's Great Performances at the Met Sunday, August 28 at 12 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).