Serena Malfi News

The Met on Demand had another week of exciting performances, from the divine [Rossini's IL  BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA] to the, well, the divine [Adams's NIXON IN CHINA].

The Met has announced the Week 4 schedule for its Nightly Met Opera Streams, a free series of encore Live in HD presentations streamed on the company website during the coronavirus closure. The week begins with Verdi's Aida, starring Anna Netrebko in the title role.

Adam Plachetka will sing Guglielmo in all upcoming performances of Mozart's Così fan tutte, replacing Luca Pisaroni, who has withdrawn due to a family emergency.

Two years ago, when I first saw photos of the projected new COSI FAN TUTTE,which was a production that originated at English National Opera and was slated to come to the Met, I was circumspect. I had grown up on three previous incarnations of COSI, the first dating from the 1950's a very traditional production which starred Richard Tucker and Eleanor Steber, the subsequent one dating from the 1980's, which had featured Kiri TeKanawa, and the last from 1996, which starred Carol Vaness and Suzanne Mentzer as the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella. All were very much 'period' pieces which made no effort to update or change the locale from the original setting of eighteenth century Naples.

San Francisco Opera presents Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro) in a new production by director Michael Cavanagh at the War Memorial Opera House, October 11–November 1. The production marks the beginning of a multi-year project to weave together Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte's three operas—Le Nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte and Don Giovanni—as a trilogy set within an American manor house during three time periods. Conductor Henrik Nánási leads the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and an international cast in this enduring comic masterpiece.

San Francisco Opera presents Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro) in a new production by director Michael Cavanagh at the War Memorial Opera House, October 11a?"November 1. The production marks the beginning of a multi-year project to weave together Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte's three operasa?"Le Nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte and Don Giovannia?"as a trilogy set within an American manor house during three time periods. Conductor Henrik Nánási leads the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and an international cast in this enduring comic masterpiece.

San Francisco Opera announces a cast change for Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), opening on October 11. American soprano Nicole Heaston will make her Company debut in the role of Countess Almaviva, replacing Irish soprano Jennifer Davis who has withdrawn due to illness. Ms. Davis, who was due to make her American opera debut with this role, expects to make a full recovery but a lingering virus and persistent cough have prevented her from participating fully in rehearsals and therefore she has determined it best to withdraw from the production and recuperate at home.

Single (non-subscription) tickets for San Francisco Opera's 2019 Fall Season at the War Memorial Opera House are now available for purchase online at sfopera.com, in-person at the San Francisco Opera Box Office and by phone at (415) 864-3330. Tickets are also available for Full, Half and Design Your Own Flexible Series subscription packages, special events such as Opera Ball 2019, the San Francisco Opera Chorus in concert at the Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater and The Future Is Now: Adler Fellows Concert at Herbst Theatre.

Paul Appleby will sing Don Ottavio in tonight's performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni, replacing Pavol Breslik, who is ill.

Thomas Allen and five young operatic talents star in Mozart's theatrical and tuneful comedy about love and fidelity, Cosi Fan Tutte at the Royal Opera! Check out the video below!

The Royal Opera House revives its 2016 Cosi with all the mischievous wit and splendid music of Mozart and Da Ponte - but also lets us in on the game within the game - and the price that's paid

San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock today announced repertory and casting for the Company's 97th Season, opening Friday, September 6, 2019, with a gala performance of Charles Gounod's Romeo and Juliet (Rom o et Juliette) starring tenor Bryan Hymel and soprano Nadine Sierra in Op ra de Monte-Carlo Director Jean-Louis Grinda's production. In keeping with the Company's time-honored tradition, the new season will be inaugurated with San Francisco Opera Guild's elegant, signature benefit and celebration, Opera Ball 2019.

The Metropolitan Opera presents Mozart's timeless drama Don Giovanni, with 12 performances January 30, 2019, to April 18, 2019. All performances of Michael Grandage's production are conducted by Cornelius Meister in his Met debut.

It has been reported that this year's Metropolitan Opera production of Mozart's cosi fan tutti starring Tony Award-winner Kelli O'Hara will head to PBS Great Performances, July 29 at 12 PM. Check your local listings for details!

Tickets go on sale today for the Met's Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning Live in HD series' 2017-18 season, which begins on October 7 with the company's new production of Bellini's Norma.

In the video below, go backstage with Kelli O'Hara as she talks about performing in Cosi Fan Tutte at The Met!

To answer the most burning question for many: Yes, Broadway's Kelli O'Hara can sing opera, acquitting herself nobly and well in the company of “real” opera singers and filling the huge Met Opera without a mike. (FYI: She did study opera herself in her early days.) She brought theatrical pizzazz and was a great partner, as the maid, Despina, for the wonderful, resonant British baritone Christopher Maltman (Don Alfonso) as the co-conspirators of the piece, in director Phelim McDermott's manic production.

On Saturday, March 31 at 1:00pm the Peterborough Players present, Live from the Metropolitan Opera, a screening of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.

A new production of Cosi Fan Tutte, featuring Broadway's Kelli O'Hara is now open at The Metropolitan Opera! What did the critics have to say? A winning cast comes together for Phelim McDermott's clever vision of Mozart's comedy about the sexes, set in a carnival-esque, funhouse environment inspired by 1950s Coney Island-complete with bearded ladies, fire eaters, and a Ferris wheel. Manipulating the action are the Don Alfonso of Christopher Maltman and the Despina of Tony Award-winner Kelli O'Hara, with Amanda Majeski, Serena Malfi, Ben Bliss, and Adam Plachetka as the pairs of young lovers who test each other's faithfulness. David Robertson conducts.

In the video below Kelli O'Hara sings Despina's Act I aria in the final dress rehearsal for Cosii Fan Tutte at The Met.