Live in High-Definition Program Schedule (2008 - 2009)
Casting subject to change.
PERFORMANCE TIMES:
SATURDAYS 11-30AM
SUNDAYS 1PM
THURSDAYS 11-30AM.
Visit the METOPERA WEBSITE [here] for more
information and a complete schedule.
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October 25, 26 & 30, 2008.
Running time 1 hour 37 minutes / no intermission.
Richard Strauss – SALOME
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. With baritone Juha Uusitalo as Jochanaan. Mikko Franck conducts.
Conductor Mikko Franck; Production Jürgen Flimm; Karita Mattila, Ildikó Komlósi, Kim Begley, Joseph Kaiser, Juha Uusitalo
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November 22, 23 & 27, 2008.
Running time 3 hours 21 minutes / one intermission
Adams – DOCTOR ATOMIC - NEW PRODUCTION
John Adams’s contemporary masterpiece explores a momentous episode of modern history: the creation of the atomic bomb. Director Penny Woolcock makes her Met debut with this gripping story that changed the course of history. Baritone Gerald Finley plays Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the title character and Sasha Cooke as his wife, Kitty, with Eric Owen and Richard Paul Fink.
Conductor Alan Gilbert; Production Penny Woolcock; Sasha Cooke, Meredith Arwady, Gerald Finley, Richard Paul Fink, Eric Owens
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December 6, 7 & 11, 2008.
Running time 2 hours 45 minutes / one intermission
Berlioz – LA DAMNATION DE FAUST - NEW PRODUCTION
Robert Lepage, one of theater’s most imaginative directors, applies his artistry to Berlioz’s contemplation of good and evil. Using ethereal projections, Lepage has created a vision for La Damnation de Faust that seamlessly marries art and technology. “The production focuses on the singers,” he says. “But there’s a trail of visual consequences and stagecraft that accompanies the events happening on the stage.” Marcello Giordani stars in the title role opposite Susan Graham as Marguerite and John Relyea as Méphistophéles. James Levine conducts this rarely staged masterwork.
Conductor James Levine; Production Robert Lepage; Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, John Relyea
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January 10, 11 & 15, 2009.
Running time 3 hours 21 minutes / two intermissions
Massenet – THAÏS - NEW PRODUCTION
The radiant Renée Fleming plays the Egyptian courtesan in search of spiritual sustenance. Thomas Hampson is the monk Athanaël who falls from grace. Massenet’s sensual score is presented in a new production by John Cox.
Conductor Jesús López-Cobos; Production John Cox; Renée Fleming, Michale Schade, Thomas Hampson
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January 31, February 1 & 5, 2009.
Running time 2 hours 15 minutes / one intermission
Puccini – LA RONDINE - NEW PRODUCTION
Opera’s charismatic real-life duo, 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
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February 14, 15 & 19, 2009.
Running time 1 hour 31 minutes / no intermission
Gluck – ORFEO ED EURIDICE
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 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; Danielle de Niese, Heidi Grant Murphy/Ying Huang, Stephanie Blythe
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March 7, 8 & 12, 2009.
Running time 3 hours 20 minutes / two intermissions
Donizetti – LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
Anna Netrebko stars in the title role of Donizetti’s fragile heroine. Tenor Rolando Villazón stars as Lucia’s lover, Edgardo. Baritone Mariusz Kwiecien is her tyrannical brother. Mary Zimmerman’s hit production is staged as a Victorian ghost story.
Conductor Marco Armillato; Production Mary Zimmerman; Diana Damarau/Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczala/Rolando Villazón, Vladimir Stoyanov/Mariusz Kwiecien, Ildar Abdrazakov
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March 21, 22 & 26, 2009.
Running time 3 hours 21 minutes / two intermissions
Puccini – MADAMA BUTTERFLY
Cristina Gallardo-Domâs, the original Butterfly of the production when it opened the 2006-07 season, returns to the title role of the late Anthony Minghella’s stunning production, a new classic of the Met repertory. Marcello Giordani stars as Pinkerton.
Conductor Patrick Summers; Production Anthony Minghella; Patricia Racette/ Cristina Gallardo-Domâs, Maria Zifchak, Roberto Aronica/Marcello Giordani, Dwayne Croft
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April 4, 5 & 9, 2009.
Running time 2 hours 40 minutes / one intermission
Bellini – LA SONNAMBULA - NEW PRODUCTION
Mary Zimmerman, who directed Natalie Desaay in last season’s hit new 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 in leading opera houses around the world.
Conductor Evelino Pidò; Production Mary Zimmerman; Natalie Dessay, Juan Diego Flórez, Michele Pertusi
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May 23, 24 & 28, 2009.
Running time 3 hours / one intermission
Rossini – LA CENERENTOLA
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, Don Ramiro. Veteran baritone Alessangro 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 |
