The Metropolitan Opera
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Original transmission date: Saturday, March 24, 2007
One of the most beloved operatic comedies of all time, The Barber of Seville is presented in a production by Tony® Award-winning director Bartlett Sher. Superstar tenor Juan Diego Flórez as Count Almaviva is joined by American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato as Rosina and Peter Mattei in the title role of the swaggering barber.
Conductor: Benini; Production: Bartlett Sher; Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Flórez, Peter Mattei, John Del Carlo, John Relyea
Original transmission date: Saturday, April 5, 2008
Original transmission date: Saturday, November 22, 2008
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
John Adams’s contemporary masterpiece explores a momentous episode of modern history: the creation of the atomic bomb. Director Penny Woolcock made her Met debut with this gripping story that changed the course of history. Baritone Gerald Finley plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the title character.
Conductor: Alan Gilbert; Production: Penny Woolcock; Sasha Cooke, Meredith Arwady, Gerald Finley, Eric Owens, Richard Paul Fink
Original transmission date: Saturday, February 24, 2007
Tchaikovsky’s setting of Pushkin’s masterpiece is one of the most romantic and lyrical works ever written for the stage. Valery Gergiev conducts, and Renée Fleming and Dmitri Hvorostovsky star in this moving tale of mistimed love.
Conductor: Valery Gergiev Production: Robert Carsen; Renée Fleming, Ramon Vargas, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Sergei Aleksashkin
Original transmission date: Saturday, April 26, 2008
Laurent Pelly’s hilarious new production, called “the operatic show of the season” by The Times of London during its Covent Garden run, features Natalie Dessay’s fearless coloratura and impeccable comic timing and Juan Diego Flórez’s remarkable musicality—complete with the famous nine high Cs. The production also boasts stage legend and Tony Award® winner Marian Seldes as the Duchess of Krakenthorp.
Conductor: Marco Armiliato; Production: Laurent Pelly; Natalie Dessay, Felicity Palmer, Juan Diego Flórez, Alessandro Corbelli, Marian Seldes
Original transmission date: Saturday, January 13, 2007
Chinese composer Tan Dun’s epic opera features legendary tenor Plácido Domingo as Emperor Qin, who founded an empire that would survive for 2,000 years. Tan Dun’s music is a fascinating mix of East and West, and the monumental production is by revered Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern and House of Flying Daggers) with costumes by designer Emi Wada (Kurosawa’s Ran).
Conductor: Tan Dun; Production: Zhang Yimou; Jill Groves, Elizabeth Futral, Plácido Domingo,
Original transmission date: Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Original transmission date: Saturday, February 7, 2009
Anna Netrebko sings the title role of Donizetti’s fragile heroine in her Met role debut, with tenor Piotr Beczala 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, Piotr Beczala, Mariusz Kwiecien, Ildar Abdrazakov
Original transmission date: Saturday, January 11, 2008
Giuseppe Verdi’s longstanding affinity for Shakespeare is explored in Adrian Noble's dark yet exhilarating vision for this disturbing work. James Levine conducts and acclaimed baritone Željko Lucic stars in the towering title role, opposite Maria Guleghina as his ambitious wife. Bass-baritone John Relyea plays the role of the doomed Banquo. Conductor: James Levine; Production: Adrian Noble; Maria Guleghina, Roberto Aronica, Željko Lucic, John Relyea
Original transmission date: Saturday, March 7, 2009
Patricia Racette sings the title role in Anthony Minghella’s stunning production, a new classic of the Met repertory, opposite Marcello Giordani.
Conductor: Patrick Summers; Production: Anthony Minghella; Patricia Racette, Marcello Giordani
Original transmission date: Saturday, December 30, 2006
Enter a magical world of dancing bears, giant birds, and colorful adventure in Mozart’s ever-popular masterpiece The Magic Flute. This abridged 100-minute version, sung in English, is perfect for opera fans of all ages. Tony® Award winner Julie Taymor (The Lion King) directs a youthful cast conducted by Metropolitan Opera Music Director James Levine. Sung in English.
Conductor: James Levine; Production: Julie Taymor; Ying Huang, Erika Miklósa, Matthew Polenzani, René Pape, Nathan Gunn
Finnish phenomenon Karita Mattila stars as the free-spirited beauty Manon Lescaut in Puccini’s first hit opera. The story of the magnetic attraction between two young lovers is the perfect vehicle for the soprano’s exhilarating charisma, especially when matched by the ardent tenor of Marcello Giordani. Music Director James Levine conducts.
Conductor: James Levine; Karita Mattila, Marcello Giordani, Dwayne Croft, Dale Travis
La Traviata (Act II) – VerdiManon (Act III) – MassenetCapriccio (Final Scene) – Richard Strauss The Opening Night Gala of the 2008–09 season stars Renée Fleming in fully staged performances of the second act of Verdi’s La Traviata, the third act of Massenet’s Manon, and the final scene from Richard Strauss’s Capriccio. Music Director James Levine, Marco Armiliato, and Patrick Summers conduct. Fleming is joined by tenor Ramón Vargas and baritones Thomas Hampson and Dwayne Croft.
Conductors: James Levine and Marco Armiliato; Renée Fleming, Ramón Vargas, Thomas Hampson, Dwayne Croft
Original transmission date: Saturday, January 24, 2009
This acclaimed production, directed and choreographed by Mark Morris, with 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
Original transmission date: Saturday, March 15, 2008
Peter Grimes is under investigation for unthinkable transgressions, yet Benjamin Britten’s probing exploration of the nature of guilt and judgment implicates an entire village. Tony Award®-winner John Doyle directs tenor Anthony Dean Griffey in the complex title role of this engrossing and haunting theatrical journey. The riveting Patricia Racette plays Ellen Orford, the woman who refuses to abandon Grimes.
Conductor: Donald Runnicles; Production: John Doyle; Patricia Racette, Anthony Dean Griffey, Anthony Michaels-Moore
Original transmission date: Saturday, January 6, 2007
The sensational Russian soprano Anna Netrebko takes on the role of the fragile Elvira in Bellini’s I Puritani, who goes mad when abandoned at the altar. This has been a supreme role for great singing actresses from Maria Callas to Beverly Sills.
Original transmission date: Saturday, January 10, 2009
Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna star in 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, in a new production by Nicolas Joël.
Conductor: Marco Armiliato; Production: Nicolas Joël; Angela Gheorghiu, Lisette Oropesa, Roberto Alagna, Marius Brenciu, Samuel Ramey
Original transmission date: Saturday, October 11, 2008
Karita Mattila caused a sensation when she sang Salome at the Met for the first time in 2004. She reprises her stunning interpretation of the part, including her unforgettable Dance of the Seven Veils.
Conductor: Patrick Summers; Production: Jürgen Flimm; Karita Mattila, Ildikó Komlósi, Juha Uusitalo, Kim Begley, Joseph Kaiser
Original transmission date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Mary Zimmerman underlines La Sonnambula’s dual elements of sleep and wakefulness in an intriguing staging set in the present. Natalie Dessay, who previously worked with Zimmerman on Lucia di Lammermoor, is reunited for this production with her La Fille du Régiment co-star, Juan Diego Flórez.
Conductor: Evelino Pidò; Production: Mary Zimmerman; Natalie Dessay, Juan Diego Flórez, Michele Pertusi
Original transmission date: Saturday, December 20, 2008
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
This spectacular production by Tony® Award-winning theater luminary Jack O’Brien and a team of leading designers showcases the amazing technical resources of the Met stage as well as a brilliant ensemble cast. Created at Puccini’s peak, the operas present the composer most lyrical and dramatic. The Met’s celebrated Music Director James Levine conducts.
Conductor: James Levine Production: Jack O’Brien; Il Tabarro: Maria Guleghina, Stephanie Blythe, Salvatore Licitra, Juan Pons Suor Angelica: Barbara Frittoli, Heidi Grant Murphy, Stephanie Blythe Gianni Schicchi: Olga Mykytenko, Stephanie Blythe, Massimo Giordano, Alessandro Corbelli
Performances marked with this symbol are available on Met Player.