by Michael Sell » Wed Nov 19, 2008 1:40 pm
Thanks, Gary. "Faust" is this weekend and the reviews (with accompanying pictures) have us excited for a stunning performance. We gladly support and attend local opera when we can but frankly the local live programming is often a bit predictable and lacking. It's a pity that one has to go to Cincinnati or Chicago to see any Golijov performances, for example. The Met schedule is below, by the way.
La Damnation de Faust (New Production) – Berlioz
Saturday, November 22, 2008 (1:00 pm ET)
Robert Lepage, one of theater’s most imaginative directors, applies his artistry to Berlioz’s contemplation of good and evil. Using projections, Lepage has created a vision for La Damnation de Faust that seamlessly marries art and technology. Marcello Giordani stars in the title role opposite Susan Graham as Marguerite and John Relyea as Méphistophélès. James Levine conducts this rarely staged masterwork.
Conductor: James Levine; Production: Robert Lepage; Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, John Relyea
Thaïs (New Production) – Massenet
Saturday, December 20, 2008 (12:00 pm ET)
Renée Fleming stars as the Egyptian courtesan in search of spiritual sustenance. Thomas Hampson is the monk who falls from grace. Massenet’s sensual opera is presented in a new production by John Cox.
Conductor: Jesús López-Cobos; Production: John Cox; Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, Michael Schade
La Rondine (New Production) – Puccini
Saturday, January 10, 2009 (1:00 pm ET)
Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna provide the star power to deliver this ravishing romance from the world’s most popular opera composer. Gheorghiu plays the kept woman who gambles on true love, and Alagna is the man who makes her question the cost of her glittering existence. Nicolas Joël directs the new production of this gorgeously melodic look at love.
Conductor: Marco Armiliato; Production: Nicolas Joël; Angela Gheorghiu, Lisette Oropesa, Roberto Alagna, Marius Brenciu, Samuel Ramey
Orfeo ed Euridice – Gluck
Saturday, January 24, 2009 (1:00 pm ET)
Mark Morris’s acclaimed production returns. This complete vision for Gluck, with choreography by Morris and costumes by Isaac Mizrahi, features the artistry of Stephanie Blythe in the male title role. The alluring Danielle de Niese is Orfeo’s adored wife, Euridice, who inspires the hero to face the underworld for her sake. Music Director James Levine conducts.
Conductor: James Levine; Production: Mark Morris; Stephanie Blythe, Danielle de Niese
Lucia di Lammermoor – Donizetti
Saturday, February 7, 2009 (1:00 pm ET)
Anna Netrebko sings the title role of Donizetti’s fragile heroine for the first time at the Met, with tenor Rolando Villazón in the part of her lover, Edgardo. Baritone Mariusz Kwiecien is her tyrannical brother. Mary Zimmerman’s hit production is staged as a Victorian ghost story.
Conductor: Marco Armiliato; Production: Mary Zimmerman; Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón, Mariusz Kwiecien, Ildar Abdrazakov
Madama Butterfly – Puccini
Saturday, March 7, 2009 (1:00 pm ET)
Cristina Gallardo-Domâs returns to the title role of Anthony Minghella’s stunning production, a new classic of the Met repertory, opposite Marcello Giordani.
Conductor: Patrick Summers; Production: Anthony Minghella; Cristina Gallardo-Domâs, Marcello Giordani
La Sonnambula (New Production) – Bellini
Saturday, March 21, 2009 (1:00 pm ET)
Mary Zimmerman, who directed Natalie Dessay in last season’s hit production of Lucia di Lammermoor, underlines La Sonnambula’s dual elements of sleep and wakefulness in an intriguing staging set in the present. Bellini’s hauntingly lyrical score soars as performed by Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez, back from their sensational run together in La Fille du Régiment.
Conductor: Evelino Pidò; Production: Mary Zimmerman; Natalie Dessay, Juan Diego Flórez, Michele Pertusi
La Cenerentola – Rossini
Saturday, May 9, 2009 (12:30 pm ET)
Hot on the heels of her triumphant Met debut as Rosina in last season’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Elīna Garanča portrays another Rossini charmer in this bel canto Cinderella story. Lawrence Brownlee is her Prince Charming. Veteran baritone Alessandro Corbelli demonstrates his impeccable comic timing to match the gravitas of Met favorite John Relyea.
Conductor: Maurizio Benini; Production: Cesare Lievi; Elīna Garanča, Lawrence Brownlee, Simone Alberghini, Alessandro Corbelli, John Relyea