MOBY DICK
Jake Heggie amd Geme Scheer
Three hours, including one intermission
SUNG IN ENGLISH
LA Opera On Air
“Call it a success… A whale tale with staying power” – Los Angeles Times
“Theatrically stunning… epic in scale. A vibrant, compelling piece of musical theater” – San Francisco Chronicle
Epic in every sense of the word, Moby-Dick comes to Los Angeles after a series of sold out triumphs around the world. Returning as Captain Ahab is the sensational Jay Hunter Morris, whose “fiery brilliance in his resplendent upper range captured both Ahab’s inner strength and demonic possession” (SanDiego.com). Based on Herman Melville’s classic novel, Jake Heggie’s sweeping, gorgeously detailed score has already taken its rightful place as a true contemporary masterpiece.
With astonishing visual effects and a magnificent musical score, one of the very greatest of all American novels comes thrillingly to life on the stage. A fanatical sea captain’s unrelenting obsession for revenge drives his entire crew into the face of death and destruction as they explore the vast and mysterious oceans in search of a monster.
CAST
CAPTAIN AHAB ….. Jay Hunter Morris
GREENHORN ….. Joshua Guerrero
STARBUCK, FIRST MATE ….. Morgan Smith
QUEEQUEG, A HARPOONER ….. Musa Ngqungwana
PIP, CABIN BOY ….. Jacqueline Echols
STUBB, SECOND MATE ….. Malcolm MacKenzie
FLASK, THIRD MATE ….. Matthew O’Neill
CAPTAIN GARDINER ….. Nicholas Brownlee
TASHTEGO, A HARPOONER ….. Sal Malaki
DAGGOO, A HARPOONER ….. Babatunde Akinboboye
NANTUCKET SAILOR ….. Todd Strange
SPANISH SAILOR ….. James Martin Schaefer
COMPOSER ….. Jake Heggie
LIBRETTIST ….. Gene Scheer
CONDUCTOR ….. James Conlon
CARMEN:Bizet
Nezet-Seguin; Frittoli, Garanca, Alagna, Tahu Rhodes
Original Air Date: 01/16/2010
Live in HDMOD Video
SID.20120100
Go to metopera.org: click on link there or download app to your mobile device or add to your ROKU or Apple TV or Smart TV
Overall, the afternoon gets an A; not that there werent things to NOT like, but the balance of elements was extremely satisfying, and you understand why Carmen can survive anything from Spike Jones (set in a bubble gum factory decades before regie theatre was thought of) to Carmen Jones to whatever some crazy director somewhere in the EU is cooking up. What a score, even if you’re listening mostly to Choudens and Guiraud recitatives. The melodies, the characters, the everything. Elina Garanca voice’s is both fruity and clear. Her middle and upper voice are technically very satisfying and if there is a little weakness at the bottom in a theare the size of the Met, she has baby blue eyes and a command of the role that clearly put her as a favorite Carmen (Stevens, but Resnik (Dallas, 1963), Bumbry, Verrett, Borodina, De Los Angeles (Newark), Crespin, Horne, Baltsa are the ones most worthy of mention. Alagna is such a theatre performer that you go with him even when everything is not perfect. He is a very fine Jose, had to make the high climax of the Flower song pure falsetto to avoid a crack, but overall one of my favorite Joses. That he is arguably the best with the text of any doesn’t hurt, and visually he’s quite a specimen at 47. Carmen has to give him up because he’s immature not because he isn’t the hottest guy in Seville. Frittoli has many roles her Fiordiligi in the house, many Desdemonas, and her wrenching Suor Angelica. Her vibrato is always 10% too “loose” to be ideal, but when she needs to get out a big climax, she’s right there. only Freni and Lidia Marimpietri (Dallas, 1963) have made a greater impact. Teddy Tahu Rhodes was a late (10 am this morning) replacement for Kwiecien who was ill. Though he is often portrayed as a bari hunk, he looked skinny in the costume, and I wasn’t much impressed. The vocal if not stylistic standard is Merrill. Better Escamillos – Jose van Dam, Sam Ramey, Rene Pape, Norman Treigle (also in that first Carmen). Conducting. Yannick Nezet-Seguin. The musical preparation was outstanding. He started the first act prelude like a house of fire, but as he was accompanying the singers, came into more traditional tempi; he got a nice Gallic tang out of the orchestra. Where the preparation showed was in the many numbers that mix in the quintet of smugglers with chorus and 1 or more of the principals. Elizabeth Caballero as Frasquita sounded VERY good; we should hear more of her, but the ensemble was really terrific today. Except for the final tableau , the production is very satisfactory, and a good visual Carmen.
LA BOHEME :Puccini
Luisotti; Gheorghiu, Arteta, Vargas, Tezier
Original Air Date: 04/05/2008
Live in HDMOD Video
SID.20120200
IL TROVATORE:Verdi
Armiliato, Netrebko, Zajick, Hvorostovsky, Lee
Original Air Date: 10/03/2015
Live in HD
SID.20120300
?pubId=610394115001&videoId=5980651036001
LA TRAVIATA:Verdi
Nézet-Séguin; Damrau, Flórez, Kelsey
Original Air Date: 12/15/2018
Live in HD
SID.20120400
Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Michael Mayer’s richly textured new production, featuring a dazzling 19th-century setting that changes with the seasons. Soprano Diana Damrau plays the tragic heroine, Violetta, and tenor Juan Diego Flórez returns to the Met for the first time since 2015 to sing the role of Alfredo, Violetta’s hapless lover. Baritone Quinn Kelsey is Alfredo’s father, Germont, who destroys their love. Later performances feature Anita Hartig, Stephen Costello, Artur Ruciński, and Plácido Domingo.
REVIEW: The Met Turns the Tragedy of ‘Traviata’ Into Dull Disney Schmaltz By James Jorden • 12/05/18 – Well, you have to give the Met credit for accomplishing a feat no other opera company in the world could—or should. At Tuesday’s gala new production of La Traviata, the company managed to downgrade Verdi’s masterpiece of musical drama to a kitschy Disney musical. The prime culprit in this act of artistic vandalism is director Michael Mayer, who seems to have no handle at all on this classic tale of a courtesan inspired by true love to make the most profound sacrifice. In the great duet in the second act, for example, when the penitent Violetta confronts Germont, the morally outraged father of her lover, the singers circled listlessly around a bed that hogged center stage through all three acts.
Review: ‘La Traviata’ Opens a New Era at the Met Opera By Anthony Tommasini Dec. 5, 2018 ….””To begin his tenure as the company’s music director, Mr. Nézet-Séguin led an uncommonly fine rendition of Verdi’s “La Traviata,” in a new staging by Michael Mayer that stars the soprano Diana Damrau and the tenor Juan Diego Flórez. And in a rare gesture of respect and good will, the Met’s musicians joined Mr. Nézet-Séguin on stage for a bow after the show.
LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT :Donizetti
Armiliato; Dessay, Palmer, Florez, Corbelli
Original Air Date: 04/26/2008
Live in HDMOD Video
SID.20120500
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR:Donizetti
Armiliato; Netrebko, Beczała, Kwiecień
Original Air Date: 02/07/2009
Live in HD SID.20120699
February 7, 2009 Matinee /HD Transmission/Simulcast
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR {580}
Donizetti–Cammarano
Lucia……………….Anna Netrebko
Edgardo……………..Piotr Beczala
Enrico………………Mariusz Kwiecien
Raimondo…………….Ildar Abdrazakov
Normanno…………….Michael Myers
Alisa……………….Michaela Martens
Arturo………………Colin Lee
Flute Solo: Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson
Harp Solo: Mariko Anraku
Armonica Solo: Cecilia Brauer
Conductor……………Marco Armiliato
Production…………..Mary Zimmerman
Set designer…………Daniel Ostling
Costume designer……..Mara Blumenfeld
Lighting designer…….T. J. Gerckens
Choreography…………Daniel Pelzig
TV Director…………Gary Halvorson
READ Robert W White’s Review
EUGENE ONEGIN:Tchaikovsky
Gergiev; Hvorostovsky, Fleming, Vargas, Zaremba, Aleksashkin
Original Air Date: 02/24/2007
Live in HD MOD Audio MOD Video SID.20120700
This performance is well known as one of the first season hits from the Met Live in HD. It is available on video in Blu-Ray (not so many of the Met performances are), as well as in MOoD. Gergiev, Hvorostovsky and Fleming deliver on their superstar standing both in audio and video.
EUGENE ONEGIN {122}
P. I. Tchaikovsky-P. I. Tchaikovsky/Shilovsky
Eugene Onegin………..Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Tatiana……………..Renée Fleming
Lensky………………Ramón Vargas
Olga………………..Elena Zaremba
Prince Gremin………..Sergei Aleksashkin
Larina………………Svetlana Volkova *Debut
Filippyevna………….Larisa Shevchenko
Triquet……………..Jean-Paul Fouchécourt
Captain……………..Keith Miller
Zaretsky…………….Richard Bernstein
Dance……………….Sam Meredith
Dance……………….Linda Gelinas
Conductor……………Valery Gergiev
Production…………..Robert Carsen
Designer…………….Michael Levine
Lighting Designer…….Jean Kalman
Choreographer………..Serge Bennathan
Stage Director……….Peter McClintock
AIDA:Verdi
Luisotti; Netrebko, Rachvelishvili, Antonenko, Kelsey, Belosselskiy, Speedo Green
Original Air Date: 10/06/2018
Live in HDMOD Video
SID.20150107
In what should be a highlight of the new season, soprano Anna Netrebko sings her first Met Aida, going toe-to-toe with mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili as Amneris. Later in the season, a second star-studded cast takes over, with Sondra Radvanovsky and Dolora Zajick as the leading ladies.Tenors Aleksandrs Antonenko and Yonghoon Lee alternate as Radamès, and Nicola Luisotti and Plácido Domingo take the podium for the Met’s monumental production. Production a gift of Mrs. Donald D. Harrington Revival a gift of Viking Cruises
LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST:Puccini
Nicola Luisotti: Deborah Voigt, Marcello Giordani, Lucio Gallo
Original Air Date: 01/08/2011
Live in HD
SID.20150215
FALSTAFF:Verdi
James Levine: Ambrogio Maestri, Angela Meade, Stephanie Blythe
Original Air Date: 12/14/2013
Live in HD
SID.20150323
RWW Review: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RMiPKOgCMMZcpJOyf4zIeCwiMaNWIjI3Wx7i1Z7etM4
PARSIFAL:Wagner
Original Air Date: 03/02/2013 Live in HD SID.20150431
Conductor……………Daniele Gatti
Parsifal…………….Jonas Kaufmann
Kundry………………Katarina Dalayman
Amfortas…………….Peter Mattei
Gurnemanz……………René Pape
Klingsor…………….Evgeny Nikitin
Titurel……………..Rúni Brattaberg
Voice……………….Maria Zifchak
First Esquire………..Jennifer Forni
Second Esquire……….Lauren McNeese
Third Esquire………..Andrew Stenson
Fourth Esquire……….Mario Chang
First Knight…………Mark Schowalter
Second Knight………..Ryan Speedo Green
Flower Maidens: Kiera Duffy, Lei Xu, Irene Roberts, Haeran Hong, Katherine Whyte, Heather Johnson
Production…………..François Girard
Set Designer…………Michael Levine
Costume Designer……..Thibault Vancraenenbroeck
Lighting Designer…….David Finn
Video Designer……….Peter Flaherty
Choreographer………..Carolyn Choa
Dramaturg……………Serge Lamothe
TV Director………….Barbara Willis Sweete
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE:Gounod
Noseda; Damrau, Grigolo, Petrenko, Madore, Verrez
Original Air Date: 01/21/2017 Live in HD SID.20150539
Roméo……………….Vittorio Grigolo
Juliette…………….Diana Damrau
Frère Laurent………..Mikhail Petrenko
Stéphano…………….Virginie Verrez
Mercutio…………….Elliot Madore
Benvolio…………….Tony Stevenson
Gertrude…………….Diana Montague
Capulet……………..Laurent Naouri
Tybalt………………Diego Silva
Pâris……………….David Crawford
Grégorio…………….Jeongcheol Cha
Duke of Verona……….Oren Gradus
Conductor……………Gianandrea Noseda
Production…………..Bartlett Sher
Set Designer…………Michael Yeargan
Costume Designer……..Catherine Zuber
Lighting designer…….Jennifer Tipton
Choreographer………..Chase Brock
Fight Director……….B. H. Barry
TV Director………….Gary Halvorson
DON PASQUALE:Donizetti
Original Air Date: 11/13/2010 Live in HD SID.20150646
Don Pasquale…………John Del Carlo
Norina………………Anna Netrebko
Ernesto……………..Matthew Polenzani
Dr. Malatesta………..Mariusz Kwiecien
Notary………………Bernard Fitch
Conductor……………James Levine
Production…………..Otto Schenk
Designer…………….Rolf Langenfass
Lighting designer…….Duane Schuler
TV Director………….Gary Halvorson
This season Don Pasquale was performed with one intermission, between Acts II and III
The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a gift of its founding sponsor, the Neubauer Family Foundation Bloomberg is the global corporate sponsor of The Met: Live in HD.
COSÌ FAN TUTTE:Mozart
Robertson; Majeski, Bliss, Malfi, Plachetka, O’Hara, Maltman
Original Air Date: 03/31/2018 Live in HD SID.20150754
Fiordiligi…………..Amanda Majeski
Ferrando…………….Ben Bliss
Dorabella……………Serena Malfi
Guglielmo……………Adam Plachetka
Despina……………..Kelli O’Hara
Don Alfonso………….Christopher Maltman
Skills Ensemble: Betty Bloomerz, Nicholas DeCegli, Sarah Folkins, *
Leo the Human Gumby, Jonathan Nosan, Titano Oddfellow,,
Cristina Pitter, Sage Sovereign, Ray Valenz, Anna Venizelos,
Josh Walker, Zoe Ziegfeld *Jeff Stilt and Kelsey Strauch replaced Valenz and Bloomer as Skills for the first half of Act I
Harpsichord Continuo….Natalia Katyukova
Conductor……………David Robertson
Production…………..Phelim McDermott
Set Designer…………Tom Pye
Costume Designer……..Laura Hopkins
Lighting Designer…….Paule Constable
TV Director………….Gary Halvorson
RUSALKA:Dvorak
Nézet-Séguin; Fleming, Beczala, Magee, Zajick, Relyea
Original Air Date: 02/08/2014
Live in HD
SID.20160107
Read RWW’s Review of the Live in HD broadcast of this cast.
BORIS GODUNOV:Mussorgsky
Gergiev; Semenchuk, Antonenko, Balashov, Nikitin, Pape, Petrenko, Ognovenko
Original Air Date: 10/23/2010
Live in HDMOD Video
SID.20160215
LA RONDINE:Puccini
Marco Armiliato [it]: Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Samuel Ramey
Original Air Date: 01/10/2009
Live in HD
SID.20160323
LE COMTE ORY:Rossini
Maurizio Benini: Juan Diego Flórez, Joyce DiDonato, Diana Damrau
Original Air Date: 04/09/2011
Live in HD
SID.20160431
MADAMA BUTTERFLY:Puccini
Patrick Summers: Patricia Racette, Marcello Giordani, Dwayne Croft
Original Air Date: 03/07/2009
Live in HD
SID.20160539
ADRIANA LECOUVREUR:Cilea
Noseda; Netrebko, Rachvelishvili, Beczala, Bosi, Maestri, Muraro
Original Air Date: 01/12/2019
Live in HDMOD Video
SID.20160647
Based on a play by Eugène Scribe, the story was inspired by the real-life intrigues of famed actress Adrienne Lecouvreur and the legendary soldier—and lover—Maurice of Saxony. Cilea’s operatic retelling quickly became a favorite of charismatic soloists. The title character in particular is a quintessential diva role. Drama Queen (Article by William Berger) “On New Year’s Eve, Francesco Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur returns to the Met with soprano Anna Netrebko in the touchstone title role. She teams up with tenor Piotr Beczała as her lover, Maurizio—a brilliant pairing of stars fresh off a joint triumph in performances of Adriana in Vienna. Mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili rounds out the all-star principal trio, and maestro Gianandrea Noseda is on the podium. Sir David McVicar’s new staging—the Met’s first new production of the work in more than half a century—embraces Cilea’s glamorous 18th-century Parisian setting but also mines for deeper artistic significance in an opera that is often underestimated.” (William Berger) Co-Production of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London; Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona; Wiener Staatsoper; San Francisco Opera; and L’Opéra National de Paris Production a gift of The Sybil B. Harrington Endowment Fund
DER ROSENKAVALIER:Strauss
Weigle; Garanca, Fleming, Groissböck, Morley, Brück, Polenzani
Original Air Date: 05/13/2017
MOD VideoLive in HD
SID.20160755