LUISA MILLER:Verdi
Original Air Date: 04/14/2018
de Billy; Yoncheva, Beczala, Domingo, Vinogradov, Belosselskiy, Petrova
Live in HD SID.19359997
Plácido Domingo adds yet another role to his legendary Met career in this rarely performed Verdi gem, a heart-wrenching tragedy of fatherly love. Sonya Yoncheva sings the title role opposite Piotr Beczała in the first Met performances of the opera in more than ten years. Bertrand de Billy conducts. Production a gift of Catherine and Ephraim Gildor Revival a gift of Rolex and Mrs. Jayne Wrightsman
ADRIANA LECOUVREUR:Cilea
Original Air Date: 01/12/2019
Noseda; Netrebko, Rachvelishvili, Beczala, Bosi, Maestri, Muraro
Live in HD SID.19369991
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
RIGOLETTO:Verdi
Original Air Date: 05/01/2019
Luisotti; Feola, Zaharia, Hymel, Gagnidze, Ivashchenko
SID.19360535
Verdi’s tragic jester returns in Michael Mayer’s neon-bedecked, Las Vegas–themed production. Baritones Roberto Frontali and George Gagnidze share the title role, and soprano Nadine Sierra reprises her portrayal of Gilda, the role that helped launch her now-blossoming Met career. Tenors Vittorio Grigolo, Francesco Demuro, Matthew Polenzani, and Stephen Costello share the role of the lascivious Duke, and Nicola Luisotti conducts.
DIALOGUES DES CARMÉLITES:Poulenc
Original Air Date: 05/11/2019
Nézet-Séguin; Leonard, Pieczonka, Morley, Cargill, Mattila, Portillo, Croft
Live in HD SID.19370535
DAS RHEINGOLD:Wagner
Original Air Date: 03/14/2019
Jordan; Harmer, Barton, Cargill, Ernst, Siegel, Grimsley, Konieczny, Groissböck, Belosselskiy
SID.19380428
Wagner’s visionary initial installment of the Ring Cycle depicts the original sin of the theft of the sacred golden treasure, the vanity of the gods, the greed of the Nibelungen, the fratricide of the giants, and the building of Valhalla. Bass-baritone Greer Grimsley and baritone Michael Volle share the role of Wotan, the conflicted lord of the gods. Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton sings her first Wagner role at the Met as Wotan’s embattled wife, Fricka. In collaboration with Ex Machina
DIE WALKÜRE:Wagner
Original Air Date: 03/30/2019
Jordan; Goerke, Westbroek, Barton, Skelton, Grimsley, Groissböck
Live in HD SID.19380534
In what is expected to be a Wagnerian event for the ages, soprano Christine Goerke, in her MET role debut, plays Brünnhilde, Wotan’s willful warrior daughter, who loses her immortality in opera’s most famous act of filial defiance. Tenor Stuart Skelton and soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek play the incestuous twins Siegmund and Sieglinde. Greer Grimsley sings Wotan. Philippe Jordan conducts.
SIEGFRIED:Wagner
Original Air Date: 04/13/2019
Jordan; Goerke, Morley, Cargill, Vinke, Siegel, Volle, Konieczny, Belosselskiy
SID.19380640
Review: In the Met’s ‘Siegfried,’ Singers Transcend the Staging – By Joshua Barone April 14, 2019
Pity the opera directors who decide to stage Wagner’s “Ring” — for in doing so they have to figure out what to do with “Siegfried.” The third installment of Wagner’s epic, which returned to the Metropolitan Opera in Robert Lepage’s tech-happy production on Saturday, has tripped up even the smartest of “Ring” directors. Blame the source material: a title role both tedious and impractically difficult; a repetitive libretto sitting somewhere between coming-of-age adventure and dark comedy; a singing dragon. Mr. Lepage’s staging doesn’t do much to help the problems baked into “Siegfried,” a weak spot of the “Ring” that lacks the breakneck pace of “Das Rheingold,” the heart-rending humanity of “Die Walküre” or the textbook-perfect tragedy of “Götterdämmerung.” What it does help, however, is the problem of the 45-ton machine so central to his production as its primary set piece. Instead of relying on the unreliable behemoth to be as kinetic as in the earlier “Ring” operas, Mr. Lepage here treats the machine as more of a canvas for Pedro Pires’s impressive projections. Three-dimensional, interactive videos create the illusion of leaves rustling beneath Siegfried’s feet, of a pond’s surface being truly reflective.
***
But good singers can lift a subpar staging. In this “Siegfried,” they transcend it. Stefan Vinke is making his Met debut in the titular heldentenor role, armed with insouciant high notes and a bright smile. His heroism occasionally veers into howling, and the strain in his voice doesn’t always befit a boyish naïf who knows no fear. (He shares the run with Andreas Schager, who is capable of breezing through the role’s most challenging passages with the shocking ease of Siegfried wrangling a bear.) But Mr. Vinke is a pleasure to watch; he leans into the opera’s comedy — and his character’s ignorance, which often comes off as idiocy. As the scheming Mime, who takes in the orphaned Siegfried in the hope of using the boy’s strength to gain the ring, Gerhard Siegel infused his tenor with venom. Mime’s brother, Alberich, who in “Das Rheingold” commits the original sin of the “Ring,” only returns in “Siegfried” for brief moments in Act II. But those scenes were among the most memorable on Saturday. That’s because Alberich is sung by Tomasz Konieczny, who is also making his Met debut and continues to stand out even among extraordinary colleagues. His resonant bass ricochets off the planks of the machine as he imbues Alberich with dignified authority. His confrontation with Wotan — presented in “Siegfried” as the Wanderer, dressed like a Gandalf of the Wild West and performed by Michael Volle — is a high point of the opera. Or, rather, low: They are both booming basses, equally mighty in a way that illustrates, with only music, how alike these antipodal characters may be.
If women seem absent, it’s because there are so few: the whistle-high Erin Morley as the Woodbird; the solemn Karen Cargill as Erda; and, of course, the fiery soprano Christine Goerke as Brünnhilde. It’s remarkable that anyone in this cast was singing so well in a matinee that began at 11:30 a.m. But Ms. Goerke also had to feign sleep onstage for nearly 20 minutes before letting out a resounding “Heil dir, Sonne!” that penetrated through swelling fortes in the orchestra, crisp and controlled under the baton of Philippe Jordan. Ms. Goerke’s vigor only grew in a crescendo toward all-out majesty in the final scene, a courtship with Mr. Vinke that ended with their leaping into love and matching high C’s. For this climax of old-fashioned operatic thrills, they weren’t even standing on the machine — as if they existed outside Mr. Lepage’s production entirely. @NYTimes
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG:Wagner
Jordan; Goerke, Haller, Schuster, Schager, Nikitin, Konieczny, Owens
Original Air Date: 04/27/2019 SID.19380746
PROGRAM
The opening night performance in the conclusion of the 2019 revival of the LePage RING CYCLE.
NYTimes Review (Tommasini) – In a role that can easily make Siegfried seem like some rowdy, clueless, clunky youth, he conveyed genuine romantic longing for Brünnhilde (the soprano Christine Goerke at her best). And during the long stretch of the story at the hall of powerful Gibichung family, when Siegfried — under the spell of a potion that makes him forget Brünnhilde and fall for Gutrune (the gleaming soprano Edith Haller, in her Met debut) — Mr. Schager’s vulnerable Siegfried often seems poignantly confused, with flashes of memory when he appears to know something is not right. Until a dream-come-true Siegfried arrives, Mr. Schager will do just fine. Jacqueline Woodson Transformed Children’s Literature. Now She’s Writing for Herself. The bass-baritone Eric Owens made a prideful, calculating and vocally formidable Hagen. And, once again, the conductor Philippe Jordan is proving the hero of the Met’s “Ring.” He led an inexorably unfolding and incisive account of the score, drawing velvety string sound and blazing yet never blaring crescendos from the Met Orchestra, which has seldom sounded finer. Ms. Goerke was magnificent. With unfailing energy, fearless abandon and gleaming sound, she was a mesmerizing Brünnhilde. She caught all the mood shifts of this volatile character, one moment coming across like a smitten young lover, the next a betrayed and embittered woman, a former Valkyrie warrior who by the end, in a self-immolating act of transcendence, brings down the entire edifice of the gods.
PORGY AND BESS
George Gershwin Dubose and Dorothy Heyward, Ira Gershwin
Robertson; Blue, Schultz, Moore, Graves, Ballentine, Owens, Walker, Speedo Green
OAD 9/23/2019 – Season Premiere, 2019-2020 Opening Night
SID.19390106
One of America’s favorite operas returns to the Met for the first time in nearly 30 years. James Robinson’s stylish production transports audiences to Catfish Row on the Charleston waterfront, vibrant with the music, dancing, emotion, and heartbreak of its inhabitants. “If you’re going to stage Gershwin’s opera, this is how,” raved the Guardian when the new production premiered in London in 2018. David Robertson conducts a dynamic cast, featuring the sympathetic duo of Eric Owens and Angel Blue in the title roles
The worldwide copyrights in the works of George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for this presentation are licensed by the Gershwin family. GERSHWIN is a registered trademark of Gershwin Enterprises. Porgy and Bess is a registered trademark of Porgy and Bess Enterprises. A co-production of the Metropolitan Opera; Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam; and English National Opera Production a gift of The Sybil B. Harrington Endowment Fund and Douglas Dockery Thomas
MANON Massenet
Benini: Oropesa, Fabiano, Bosi, Rucinski, Polegato, Youn
OAD 9/24/2019 Season Premiere SID.19390212
Program
Exhilarating soprano Lisette Oropesa stars as the irresistible title character, the tragic beauty who yearns for the finer things in life, in Laurent Pelly’s revealing production. Tenor Michael Fabiano is the besotted Chevalier des Grieux, whose desperate love for Manon proves their undoing. Maurizio Benini conducts Massenet’s sensual score.
A co-production of the Metropolitan Opera; Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London; Teatro alla Scala, Milan; and Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse Production a gift of The Sybil B. Harrington Endowment Fund
VICTORY LAP Interview with Lisette Oropesa from metopera.org
MACBETH Verdi
Armiliato; Netrebko, Pirozzi, Polenzani, Lucic, Abdrazakov
OAD 9/25/2019 Season Premiere
SID.19390319 PROGRAM
Soprano Anna Netrebko created a sensation when she made her Met role debut as Lady Macbeth in 2014. Tonight, she returns to Verdi’s gripping Shakespeare adaptation. Baritone Željko Lučić, who starred in the 2007 premiere of Adrian Noble’s evocative production, sings the title role. Marco Armiliato conducts a cast that also features tenor Matthew Polenzani as Macduff and bass Ildar Abdrazakov as Banquo.
Production a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul M. Montrone Additional funding from Mr. and Mrs. William R. Miller; Hermione Foundation, Laura Sloate, Trustee; and The Gilbert S. Kahn & John J. Noffo Kahn Endowment Fund Revival a gift of Rolex
[Note: Placido Domingo was scheduled to sing MacBeth but withdrew from his appearances in this opera and at the MET on 9-24-19]
Photos: MET OPERA
ELEKTRA:Strauss
Nezet-Seguin; Goerke, van den heever, Schuster, Morris, Petrenlo
Original Air Date: 03/18/2018
SID.19400106
Christine Goerke sings her first Elektra at the Met in Patrice Chéreau’s landmark production, a sensation at its Met premiere last spring, which the Wall Street Journal called “revolutionary … a triumph on all fronts.” Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Strauss’s shattering score, a tour de force for the singers and the orchestra alike. Opening night (3-1-2018) is dedicated to the memory of Patrice Chéreau.
ELEKTRA:Strauss
Nezet-Seguin; Goerke, van den heever, Schuster, Morris, Petrenlo
Original Air Date: 03/18/2018
SID.19400317
Christine Goerke sings her first Elektra at the Met in Patrice Chéreau’s landmark production, a sensation at its Met premiere last spring, which the Wall Street Journal called “revolutionary … a triumph on all fronts.” Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Strauss’s shattering score, a tour de force for the singers and the orchestra alike. Opening night (3-1-2018) is dedicated to the memory of Patrice Chéreau.
TURANDOT:Puccini
Nézet-Séguin; Goerke, Buratto, Aronica, Morris
Original Air Date: 10/03/2019
SID.19400426
Two of opera’s most thrilling dramatic sopranos, Christine Goerke and Nina Stemme, reprise their fierce portrayals of the title princess. Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium to conduct Franco Zeffirelli’s dazzling production of Puccini’s final masterpiece, which also features tenors Yusif Eyvazov and Riccardo Massi as Calàf, sopranos Eleonora Buratto and Hibla Gerzmava as Liù, and bass-baritone James Morris as Timur.
MACBETH:Verdi
Armiliato; Netrebko, Polenzani, Lucic, Abdrazakov
Original Air Date: 10/04/2019
SID.19400533
Soprano Anna Netrebko created a sensation when she made her Met role debut as Lady Macbeth in 2014 opposite baritone Željko Lučić in the title role. Now, the two stars reunite to reprise their acclaimed portrayals in Verdi’s gripping Shakespeare adaptation. Marco Armiliato conducts a cast that also features tenor Matthew Polenzani as Macduff and bass Ildar Abdrazakov as Banquo. Production a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul M. Montrone Additional funding from Mr. and Mrs. William R. Miller; Hermione Foundation, Laura Sloate, Trustee; and The Gilbert S. Kahn & John J. Noffo Kahn Endowment Fund Revival a gift of Rolex
ELEKTRA:Strauss
Nezet-Seguin; Goerke, van den heever, Schuster, Morris, Petrenlo
Original Air Date: 03/18/2018
SID.19400535
Christine Goerke sings her first Elektra at the Met in Patrice Chéreau’s landmark production, a sensation at its Met premiere last spring, which the Wall Street Journal called “revolutionary … a triumph on all fronts.” Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Strauss’s shattering score, a tour de force for the singers and the orchestra alike. Opening night (3-1-2018) is dedicated to the memory of Patrice Chéreau.
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TURANDOT:Puccini
Nézet-Séguin; Goerke, Buratto, Aronica, Morris
Original Air Date: 10/09/2019
SID.19410317
NYTIMES (Tommasini): Mr. Nézet-Séguin led an exciting and insightful account of Puccini’s “Turandot,” a revival of Franco Zeffirelli’s glittering, over-the-top and popular 1987 production. The strong cast was headed by the blazing soprano Christine Goerke as Puccini’s icy Princess Turandot, the ardent tenor Yusif Eyvazov as Calaf, and the plush-voiced soprano Eleonora Buratto as Liù. The chorus, during the crowd scenes, sounded superb. What stood out, though, was the textured, tart and lushly beautiful playing Mr. Nézet-Séguin drew from the orchestra. He seemed intent on making a case for Puccini’s final opera, first performed in 1926, nearly two years after the composer’s death, as a musically daring score — as contemporary, in its way, as any other opera of the 1920s.
MADAMA BUTTERFLY:Puccini
Morandi; He, DeShong, Pretti, Szot
Original Air Date: 10/11/2019
SID.19410530
TURANDOT:Puccini
Original Air Date: 10/12/2019
Yannick Nézet-Séguin: Christine Goerke, Roberto Aronica, Eleonora Buratto, James Morris
Live in HD SID.19410000
PORGY AND BESS:Gershwins
Robertson; Blue, Brugger, Moore, Graves, Ballentine, Owens, Walker, Green
Original Air Date: 10/16/2019
SID.19420319
One of America’s favorite operas returns to the Met for the first time in nearly 30 years. James Robinson’s stylish production transports audiences to Catfish Row on the Charleston waterfront, vibrant with the music, dancing, emotion, and heartbreak of its inhabitants. “If you’re going to stage Gershwin’s opera, this is how,” raved the Guardian when the new production premiered in London in 2018. David Robertson conducts a dynamic cast, featuring the sympathetic duo of Eric Owens and Angel Blue in the title roles The worldwide copyrights in the works of George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for this presentation are licensed by the Gershwin family. GERSHWIN is a registered trademark of Gershwin Enterprises. Porgy and Bess is a registered trademark of Porgy and Bess Enterprises. A co-production of the Metropolitan Opera; Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam; and English National Opera Production a gift of The Sybil B. Harrington Endowment Fund and Douglas Dockery Thomas
MADAMA BUTTERFLY:Puccini
Morandi; He, DeShong, Pretti, Szot
Original Air Date: 10/18/2019
SID.19420533
Leading sopranos Hui He and Ana María Martínez share the heartbreaking title role of the doomed geisha, with tenors Piero Pretti and Andrea Carè as the American naval officer who abandons her. Paulo Szot and Markus Brück share the role of Sharpless, and Elizabeth DeShong is Suzuki, alternating with Maria Zifchak. Pier Giorgio Morandi is on the podium for Anthony Minghella’s sweeping production, a perennial audience favorite.
ORFEO ED EURIDICE:Gluck
Wigglesworth; Hong, Park, Barton
Original Air Date: 10/24/2019
SID.19430428
Mark Morris’s spirited take on the ancient Orpheus myth stars mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as Orfeo, the grieving lover on a quest through the underworld. Soprano Hei-Kyung Hong sings the plaintive Euridice. Mark Wigglesworth conducts Gluck’s elegant score, a pinnacle of the Baroque repertoire. Production a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Wilmer J. Thomas, Jr.
LA BOHÈME:Puccini
Armiliato; Pérez, Kulchynska, Polenzani, Bizic, Zhilikhovsky, Park, Woodley
Original Air Date: 10/25/2019
SID.19430535
Three casts of captivating artists bring Puccini’s classic tragedy of bohemian friends and lovers to life in Franco Zeffirelli’s immortal staging. Tenors Matthew Polenzani, Roberto Alagna, and Joseph Calleja trade off as the exuberant Rodolfo, alongside sopranos Ailyn Pérez, Hei-Kyung Hong, and Maria Agresta as the fragile Mimì. Marco Armiliato and Emmanuel Villaume share conducting duties.
MANON:Massenet
Maurizio Benini: Lisette Oropesa, Michael Fabiano, Artur Ruciński, Carlo Bosi
Original Air Date: 10/26/2019
Live in HD
SID.19430640
Exhilarating soprano Lisette Oropesa stars as the irresistible title character, the tragic beauty who yearns for the finer things in life, in Laurent Pelly’s revealing production. Tenor Michael Fabiano is the besotted Chevalier des Grieux, whose desperate love for Manon proves their undoing. Maurizio Benini conducts Massenet’s sensual score. A co-production of the Metropolitan Opera; Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London; Teatro alla Scala, Milan; and Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse Production a gift of The Sybil B. Harrington Endowment Fund
VICTORY LAP Interview with Lisette Oropesa from metopera.org
ORFEO ED EURIDICE:Gluck
Wigglesworth; Hong, Park, Barton
Original Air Date: 11/01/2019
SID.19440535
NYT Tommasini [10/21/2019] … The excellent British conductor Mark Wigglesworth, best known for his work with the English National Opera in London, drew out the warmth and refinement of Gluck’s score. But the Met Orchestra’s playing lacked precision and crispness, especially during the bustling overture, which sounded somewhat wan and limp. …. The veteran soprano Hei-Kyung Hong, who made her Met debut in 1984, was a winning Euridice. Though there were moments of patchy tone and shaky pitch in her singing, the radiance of her voice came through. She sang with a vigor and clarity that brought out the best from Ms. Barton. …During the final celebration of the reunion of Orfeo and Euridice, the Mark Morris ensemble took over the show with a suite of joyous dances. The orchestra responded with its most crisp and animated playing.once the god of love, Amore, here the bright-voiced soprano Hera Hyesang Park, arrived: Winged and wearing a peach-colored shirt, floppy pants and sneakers, she descended (on wires) from the heavens. In her vibrant singing and sassy manner, Ms. Park brought a touch of jaded exuberance to the proceedings: This Amore admits to being baffled by the romantic entanglements of mortals…..The veteran soprano Hei-Kyung Hong, who made her Met debut in 1984, was a winning Euridice. Though there were moments of patchy tone and shaky pitch in her singing, the radiance of her voice came through. She sang with a vigor and clarity that brought out the best from Ms. Barton. During the final celebration of the reunion of Orfeo and Euridice, the Mark Morris ensemble took over the show with a suite of joyous dances. The orchestra responded with its most crisp and animated playing.
MADAMA BUTTERFLY:Puccini
Morandi; He, DeShong, Caré, Domingo
Original Air Date: 11/06/2019
SID.19450321
Leading sopranos Hui He and Ana María Martínez share the heartbreaking title role of the doomed geisha, with tenors Piero Pretti and Andrea Carè as the American naval officer who abandons her. Paulo Szot and Markus Brück share the role of Sharpless, and Elizabeth DeShong is Suzuki, alternating with Maria Zifchak. Pier Giorgio Morandi is on the podium for Anthony Minghella’s sweeping production, a perennial audience favorite.
AKHNATEN:Glass
Kamensek; Larusdottir, Bridges, Costanzo, Blake, Liverman, Bernstein, James
Original Air Date: 11/08/2019
SID.19450535
Director Phelim McDermott tackles another one of Philip Glass’s masterpieces, following the now-legendary Met staging of Satyagraha. Star countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo is the title pharaoh, the revolutionary ruler who transformed ancient Egypt, with the striking mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges in her Met debut as his wife, Nefertiti. To match the opera’s hypnotic, ritualistic music, McDermott has created an arresting vision that includes a virtuosic company of acrobats and jugglers. Karen Kamensek conducts in her Met debut. This production was originally created by English National Opera and LA Opera; In collaboration with Improbable; Production gift of the Rosalie J. Coe Weir Endowment Fund and the Wyncote Foundation, as recommended by Frederick R. Haas and Rafael Gomez; Additional funding from The H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang, Ph.D. and Oscar Tang Endowment Fund, Dominique Laffont, Andrew J. Martin-Weber, The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Endowment Fund, American Express, and the National Endowment for the Arts
Puccini
Original Air Date: 11/13/2019
Morandi; He, DeShong, Caré, Domingo
SID.19460000
Mozart
Original Air Date: 11/16/2019
Manacorda; Phillips, Sierra, Arquez, Bishop, Plachetka, Pisaroni, Sherratt
SID.19460000
Two outstanding casts—including sopranos Nadine Sierra, Anita Hartig, Susanna Phillips, and Hanna-Elisabeth Müller; mezzo-sopranos Gaëlle Arquez and Marianne Crebassa; baritone Mariusz Kwiecien; and bass-baritones Luca Pisaroni and Adam Plachetka—come together for Mozart’s scintillating class comedy. Antonello Manacorda and Cornelius Meister conduct Sir Richard Eyre’s fast-paced production.
AKHNATEN:Glass
Kamensek; Larusdottir, Bridges, Costanzo, Blake, Liverman, Bernstein, James
Original Air Date: 11/19/2019
SID.19470000