Pierre Audi News

Franco Zeffirelli's glittering production of Puccini's Turandot returns on October 28 with Maria Guleghina in the title role and Marcello Giordani as Calàf, both singing these demanding roles for the first time in their Met careers. Marina Poplavskaya and Samuel Ramey make company role debuts as Liù and Timur respectively, and conductor Andris Nelsons makes his Met debut.

Robert Lepage's imaginative production of Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust, which premiered last season to sold out houses, returns to the Met on October 23. Three stars sing their roles for the first time at the Met: Olga Borodina as Marguerite, Ramón Vargas as Faust, and Ildar Abdrazakov as Méphistophélès.

Bartlett Sher?s hit production of Rossini?s comic masterpiece, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (?The Barber of Seville?), returns to the Met stage on October 3. Joyce DiDonato stars in the role of Rosina, with Barry Banks in his first Met performances as Count Almaviva and Rodion Pogossov in his company role debut as Figaro. John Del Carlo sings the role of Dr. Bartolo, and Orlin Anastassov makes his Met role debut as Don Basilio. Maurizio Benini conducts.

The Metropolitan Opera's Opening Night Gala performance of Puccini's Tosca, which kicks off the Met season on Monday, September 21, at 6:30 p.m., will be transmitted onto multiple screens in Times Square and to a large screen at Lincoln Center's Josie Robertson Plaza where the live performance will be experienced by thousands of people for free.

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 Harris Theater for Music and Dance continues Harris Theater 5.0, its Fifth Anniversary Season, and concludes its inaugural Harris Theater Presents 2008-2009 series with a special engagement featuring legendary countertenor David Daniels with The English Concert, directed by Harry Bicket, Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets for this performance, which range from $30-$110, are on-sale now and available at the Harris Theater box office located in Millennium Park at 205 E. Randolph Dr., by calling 312-334-7777 or by visiting www.harristheaterchicago.org.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance continues Harris Theater 5.0, its Fifth Anniversary Season, and concludes its inaugural Harris Theater Presents 2008-2009 series with a special engagement featuring legendary countertenor David Daniels with The English Concert, directed by Harry Bicket, Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets for this performance, which range from $30-$110, are on-sale now and available at the Harris Theater box office located in Millennium Park at 205 E. Randolph Dr., by calling 312-334-7777 or by visiting www.harristheaterchicago.org.

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).

Bill Kenwright and Marla Rubin announce that they will present the Almeida Theatre production of FESTEN, the hugely successful London play about a family with a dark secret, on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre (239 W. 45th St.), with performances beginning Thursday, March 23. Larry Bryggman, Michael Hayden, Ali MacGraw and Julianna Margulies have been cast in the Broadway production. Directed by Rufus Norris, in a dramatization by David Eldridge from the Danish 1998 film, FESTEN will have its official press opening on Sunday, April 9.