Robert Carsen News

Verdi's Falstaff starring Ambrogio Maestri will be Live in HD at The Ridgefield Playhouse from the stage of The Metropolitan Opera in New York today, December 15, at 5 p.m.

During curtain calls for the Met's recent Cosi Fan Tutte, when conductor James Levine rotated his wheelchair so he could face the audience, a prolonged ovation shook the building. He looked overcome and, perhaps, surprised. Many thought this day would never come.

During curtain calls for the Met's recent Cosi Fan Tutte, when conductor James Levine rotated his wheelchair so he could face the audience, a prolonged ovation shook the building. He looked overcome and, perhaps, surprised. Many thought this day would never come.

Verdi's Falstaff starring Ambrogio Maestri will be Live in HD at The Ridgefield Playhouse from the stage of The Metropolitan Opera in New York on Sunday, December 15, at 5 p.m. What a comfortable way to enjoy the grand spectacle of opera! For dinner-and-opera, Bernard's (22 West Lane, Ridgefield) is offering a special $45 prix-fixe menu, or a free glass of wine with dinner, before this event, when tickets are presented; reservations suggested. Visit ridgfieldplayhouse.org for video previews of the Met Live in HD Series which is underwritten by the following supporters: Jeanne Cook, Anita and Nicholas Donofrio, Liz and Steven Goldstone, Marilyn and Joe Kreitz, Joanne and John Patrick, Starbucks Coffee, Sabina and Walter Slavin, Taylor Zemo Foundation and The Ridgefield Press.

The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live transmissions to movie theaters, will feature 10 productions in the 2013-14 season, offering a significant portion of the Met season to opera lovers around the world.

Verdi's Falstaff starring Ambrogio Maestri will be Live in HD at The Ridgefield Playhouse from the stage of The Metropolitan Opera in New York on Sunday, December 15, at 5 p.m.

The Metropolitan Opera will open its 2013-14 season on September 23 at 6:30 p.m. with a new production of Tchaikovsky's romantic tragedy Eugene Onegin, directed by Deborah Warner in her Met debut. Valery Gergiev returns to the Met for the first time since 2010 to conduct the performance, which will feature Anna Netrebko-the first soprano in Met history to star in three consecutive opening night performances-in her first company performances as the naive heroine Tatiana, whose infatuation with the title character has tragic repercussions. Mariusz Kwiecien brings his acclaimed interpretation of Onegin to the Met for the first time, opposite Piotr Beczala, who reprises his celebrated portrayal of Lenski. Oksana Volkova sings the role of Tatiana's sister, Olga, and Alexei Tanovitski sings Prince Gremin, the older man who offers Tatiana security. This cast sings eight performances of the opera through October 19, with the October 5 matinee performance transmitted live to more than 1,900 movie theaters in 64 countries around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD series. Due to an unexpected surgical procedure, Warner was unable to travel to the Met to stage Eugene Onegin, which is being directed here by her longtime collaborator Fiona Shaw.

· Robin Ticciati will conduct his first Glyndebourne Festival as Music Director. He is only the seventh conductor to hold the post in Glyndebourne's 80- year history, following in the distinguished line of Fritz Busch, Vittorio Gui, John Pritchard, Bernard Haitink, Andrew Davis and Vladimir Jurowski.

The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live transmissions to movie theaters, will reach its widest-ever global audience in its eighth season, which begins on October 5 with a new production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. Met Music Director James Levine makes his highly-anticipated return to the screen with Verdi's Falstaff on December 14 and the first Live in HD performance of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte on April 26. The Live in HD series, the world's largest provider of alternative content, reaches more than 1,900 theaters in 64 countries, and offers subtitles in nine languages, including Swedish for the first time this season. To accommodate audience demand in Europe, more than 85 cinemas have been added to the HD network in Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Cape Town Opera opened its 2013 season in April to rave reviews with Verdi's Otello, an international collaboration between Cape Town Opera and five major Australian and New Zealand opera companies, set to tour for five years. Next on the calendar were two short operas from South Africa and Sweden, entitled TWO:30, staged in Cape Town and in Stockholm to critical acclaim.

Cape Town Opera opened its 2013 season in April to rave reviews with Verdi's Otello, an international collaboration between Cape Town Opera and five major Australian and New Zealand opera companies, set to tour for five years. Next on the calendar were two short operas from South Africa and Sweden, entitled TWO:30, staged in Cape Town and in Stockholm to critical acclaim.

When Fabio Luisi took up his post as General Music Director of the Zurich Opera last fall, he helped launch a new era, marked by bold productions and inspired artistic collaborations. For the great Swiss opera house's newly announced 2013-14 season, he continues to build on this auspicious start. As the Intermezzo blog reports, "Zurich's programming is showing an increasingly adventurous touch," and Luisi has succeeded once again in attracting some of today's most visionary directors and conductors - with such young stars as Mikko Franck, Teodor Currentzis, Cornelius Meister, and Pavel Baleff - and in drawing together first-rate casts that juxtapose living legends like Cecilia Bartoli, Edita Gruberova, Anne-Sofie von Otter, Rene Pape, and Nina Stemme with emerging singers on the cusp of international stardom. Anchoring the new season are eleven new productions, 18 revivals, and six orchestral concerts. Having just won a Grammy Award for his leadership of Wagner at the Metropolitan Opera, in Zurich Luisi sets his sights on this year's other great operatic bicentennial, with four operas by Giuseppe Verdi. The conductor himself will play a major part in the new season, premiering important productions of Fidelio and Aida, as well as leading four programs with the Philharmonia Zurich and revivals of Don Carlo, Les contes d'Hoffmann, and Bellini's La straniera. By way of a prelude to the upcoming season, the company's new take on this bel canto classic will form the centerpiece of Luisi's summer in Zurich, which also sees him directing Rigoletto, Der Rosenkavalier, and concerts of Schumann's orchestral and choral music.

Following their landmark revival of Atys in 2011, esteemed conductor William Christie and his early music ensemble Les Arts Florissants return to BAM with another French Baroque gem: David et Jonathas, in a production directed by the general manager of Zurich Opera House Andreas Homoki, making his US debut.

The Dallas Opera presents Dominick Argento's riveting 1988 opera, THE ASPERN PAPERS, in a brand-new production to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of its TDO world premiere. THE ASPERN PAPERS will open tonight, April 12, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House.

In honor of this year's Verdi bicentennial, there will be a number of upcoming opportunities to hear her perform the great Italian composer's music. The first of these takes place this Monday, April 8, when Meade - winner of the 2011 Richard Tucker and 2012 Beverly Sills Awards - stars as Giselda in a concert performance of I Lombardi at New York's Lincoln Center.

Following their landmark revival of Atys in 2011, esteemed conductor William Christie and his early music ensemble Les Arts Florissants return to BAM with another French Baroque gem: David et Jonathas, in a production directed by the general manager of Zurich Opera House Andreas Homoki, making his US debut.

The Dallas Opera presents Dominick Argento's riveting 1988 opera, THE ASPERN PAPERS, in a brand-new production to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of its TDO world premiere. THE ASPERN PAPERS will open on the evening of Friday, April 12, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House.

The Canadian Opera Company closes its 2012/2013 season with a production of Francis Poulenc's operatic masterpiece, Dialogues des Carmelites, described by Variety as "subtle, yet gut-wrenching." Internationally renowned Canadian director Robert Carsen returns to the COC for a third consecutive season to direct a cast of 161 performers, led by three Canadian opera stars: Isabel Bayrakdarian, Adrianne Pieczonka andJudith Forst. COC Music Director Johannes Debus makes his fourth conducting appearance of the 12/13 season leading his first Dialogues des Carmelites. He conducts the COC Orchestra and Chorus through what is considered to be Poulenc's most haunting score and a work that contains one of opera's most devastating and unforgettable final scenes. Dialogues des Carmelites is sung in French with English SURTITLES. Last performed by the COC in 1997, the opera returns to the company for eight performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on May 8, 11, 14, 17, 19, 21, 23 and 25, 2013.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 season will feature many of the world's greatest singers, conductors, and theater artists in 26 operas, including six new productions, of a varied repertory that ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st century. Met Music Director James Levine will return to the Met podium for the first time in two years, conducting three operas with which he has long been associated: a new production of Verdi's final masterpiece Falstaff, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, and Berg's Wozzeck. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will be conducting two operas in the 2013-14 season, Rossini's La Cenerentola and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 season will feature many of the world's greatest singers, conductors, and theater artists in 26 operas, including six new productions, of a varied repertory that ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st century. Met Music Director James Levine will return to the Met podium for the first time in two years, conducting three operas with which he has long been associated: a new production of Verdi's final masterpiece Falstaff, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, and Berg's Wozzeck. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will be conducting two operas in the 2013-14 season, Rossini's La Cenerentola and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.