ADRIANA LECOUVREUR : Cilea
Original Air Date: 12/31/2018
Noseda; Netrebko, Rachvelishvili, Beczala, Bosi, Maestri, Muraro
Live Broadcast
New Year’s Eve Gala
New Production Premiere
Program
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
ADRIANA LECOUVREUR:Cilea
Original Air Date: 01/12/2019
Noseda; Netrebko, Rachvelishvili, Beczala, Bosi, Maestri, Muraro
Live in HD SID.19020640
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.
Pre-Show
Backstage Pass: General Manager Peter Gelb interviews Anna Netrebko
First Intermission
Backstage Pass: HD Host Matthew Polenzani interviews Anita Rachvelishvilli
TOLL BROTHERS – METROPOLITAN OPERA QUIZ
Guest Artist: Paul Appleby Host: Brian Zeger
Panelists: Jon Tolins, George Preston, and Melanie Spector
Second Intermission
Backstage Pass: HD Host Matthew Polenzani interviews Piotr Beczala
Backstage Pass: General Manager Peter Gelb interviews Director David McVicar
Backstage Pass: HD Host Matthew Polenzani interviews maestro Gianandrea Noseda
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
SAMSON ET DALILA:Saint-Saens
Original Air Date: 03/23/2019
Elder; Rachvelishvili, Antonenko, Naouri, Konieczny, Groissböck
SID.19120640
Following triumphant performances in Aida and Adriana Lecouvreur earlier this season, mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili gives a commanding … exhilarating (New York Times) performance as the seductive Dalila, opposite tenor Gregory Kunde, who sings Samson with strong, focused tone and … genuine nobility (New York Times). Darko Tresnjak, who won a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical in 2014 for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, makes his Met debut directing a vivid staging of Saint-Saëns’s biblical epic, featuring a monumental setting for the last-act Temple of Dagon, where the hero crushes his Philistine enemies. Sir Mark Elder conducts the first new Met production of the work in 20 years.
Conductor Sir Mark Elder
Samson Gregory Kunde
Abimélech Tomasz Konieczny
The high priest of dagon Laurent Naouri
First philistine Eduardo Valdes
Second philistine Jeongcheol Cha
A philistine messenger Scott Scully
An old hebrew Günther Groissböck
Dalila Anita Rachvelishvili
First Intermission
-Backstage Pass: Loren Toolajian interviews Anita Rachvelishvilil
-Backstage Pass: Loren Toolajian interviews Gregory Kunde and Laurent Naouri
-Backstage Pass: Loren Toolajian interviews Tomasz Konieczny and Günther Groissböck
-Mary Jo Heath interviews maestro Carlo Rizzi
Second Intermission
-Mary Jo Heath interviews chorus master Donald Palumbo
-TOLL BROTHERS – METROPOLITAN OPERA QUIZ
Guest Artist: Erin Morley; Host: Gerald Martin Moorel Panelists: Ken Benson, Brad Cresswell and Peter Kazaras
Pianist: Howard Watson
?pubId=610394115001&videoId=5839999932001
AIDA:Verdi
Original Air Date: 10/02/2018
Luisotti; Netrebko, Rachvelishvili, Antonenko, Kelsey, Belosselskiy, Green
SID.19350535
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
AT HOME GALA:Various
Featured Artists
Ildar Abdrazakov Moscow, Russia
Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak Le Raincy, France
Marco Armiliato Lugano, Switzerland
Jamie Barton Atlanta, Georgia
Piotr Beczała Zabnica, Poland
Angel Blue Alpine, New Jersey
Lawrence Brownlee Niceville, Florida
Joseph Calleja Mellieha, Malta
Javier Camarena Zurich, Switzerland
Nicole Car and Etienne Dupuis Paris, France
David Chan Closter, New Jersey
Anthony Roth Costanzo New York, New York
Stephen Costello and Yoon Kwon Costello New York, New York
Diana Damrau and Nicolas Testé Orange, France
Michael Fabiano Bonita Springs, Florida
Renée Fleming Virginia
Elīna Garanča Riga, Latvia
Christine Goerke Teaneck, New Jersey
Gunther Groissböck Lugano, Switzerland
Jonas Kaufmann Munich, Germany
Quinn Kelsey Toronto, Canada
Isabel Leonard New York, New York
Ambrogio Maestri Lugano, Switzerland
Peter Mattei Bromma, Sweden
Erin Morley New Haven, Connecticut
Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov Vienna, Austria
Lisette Oropesa Baton Rouge, Louisiana
René Pape Dresden, Germany
Ailyn Pérez and Soloman Howard Chicago, Illinois
Matthew Polenzani Pelham, New York
Anita Rachvelishvili Tbilisi, Georgia
Golda Schultz Bavaria, Germany
Nadine Sierra Valencia, Spain
Bryn Terfel and Hannah Stone Wales
Elza van den Heever Montpellier, France
Michael Volle Berlin, Germany
Sonya Yoncheva Geneva, Switzerland
Original Air Date: 04/25/2020
SID.20170646
In its most ambitious effort yet to bring the joy and artistry of opera to audiences everywhere during the Met’s closure, the company will present an unprecedented virtual At-Home Gala, featuring more than 40 leading artists performing in a live stream from their homes all around the world. The event will take place Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m. EDT, and will be available for free on the Met’s website. General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will host from their homes in New York City and Montreal, respectively. Mr. Nézet-Séguin will also participate in the gala as a pianist, and will be featured as conductor in pre-recorded performances by the Met Orchestra and Chorus, which will be created from individual takes from the homes of each of the musicians in the days leading up to the gala. After the live showing, the gala will be made available for on demand viewing on the Met website until 6:30 p.m. EDT the following day. The At-Home Gala is part of the Met’s urgent “The Voice Must Be Heard” fundraising campaign to support the company and protect its future.”