The Metropolitan Opera' 2008 - 2009 season

Brand new season for the Metropolitan Opera House! And certainly not without a reason. In its 125th Anniversary, Opera Forum decided to publish a brief review of the marvellous titles that the Met will offer in the upcoming season.

125th Anniversary Gala - James Levine will conduct a gala performance of fully staged scenes from classic Met productions, which will be realized with scenic projections and new costumes made from the original designs. The gala will also celebrate Plácido Domingo’s 40th anniversary with the company.

"Adriana Lecouvreur" - Guleghina, Borodina, Álvarez, Frontali; Domingo.

"La Bohème" - Kovalevska / Netrebko, Phillips, Vargas, Kwiecien, Hakala, Gradus, Plishka; Chaslin.

"Cavalleria Rusticana" / "I Pagliacci" - Gruber, Alagna / Cura, Taylor, Focile, Alagna / Cura, Mastromarino / Maestri, Maltman / Ladyuk; Rizzo.

"La Cenerentola" - Garanca, Brownlee, Alberghini, Corbelli, Relyea; Benini.

"La Damnation de Faust" - Graham, Giordani, Relyea; Levine.

Daniel Barenboim Recital - For this special solo recital, the renowned maestro has chosen an all-Liszt program, including transcriptions of three beloved Verdi operas.

"Doctor Atomic" - Cooke, Arwady, Finley, Fink, Owens; Gilbert.

"Don Giovanni" - Stoyanova, Graham, Leonard, Polenzani, Schrott, D'Arcangelo, Bloom, Ens; Langrée | Iveri, Schnitzer, Leonard, Polenzani, Schrott, D'Arcangelo, Bloom, Youn; Koenigs | Frittoli, Isokoski, Bayrakdarian, Breslik, Mattei, Ramey, Shenyang, Aceto; Langrée.

"L'Elisir d'Amore" - Gheorghiu / Cabell, Villazón, Vassallo, Terfel; Benini.

"Eugene Onegin" - Mattila, Semenchuk, Beczala, Hampson, Morris; Belohlávek.

"La Gioconda" - Voigt, Borodina, Podles, Machado, Guelfi, Morris; Callegari.

"Götterdämmerung" - The Ring’s final chapter is a saga of passion and vengeance, culminating in an act of self-sacrifice and redemption.

"Lucia di Lammermoor" - Damrau / Netrebko, Beczala / Villazón, Stoyanov / Kwiecien, Abdrazakov; Armiliato.

"Madama Butterfly" - Racette / Gallardo-Domâs, Zifchak, Aronica / Giordani, Croft; Summers.

"The Magic Flute" - Cabell, Sieden, Pittas, Pogossov, Owens; Fisch.

"La Rondine" (New Year's Eve Gala) - Gheorghiu, Alagna; Joël.

Opening Night Gala - For the season-opening gala starring Renée Fleming on September 22, James Levine and Marco Armiliato will conduct 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. Ramón Vargas, Thomas Hampson and Dwayne Croft join the soprano for this season-opener.

"Orfeo ed Euridice" - de Niese, Murphy / Huang, Blythe; Levine.

"The Queen of Spades" - Guleghina, Domashenko, Palmer, Heppner, Delavan, Stoyanov; Ozawa.

"Das Rheingold" - Harmer, Naef, Grove, Begley, Siegel, Morris, Fink, Selig, Tomlinson; Levine.

"Rigoletto" - Kurzak, Vizin, Filianoti / Beczala, Lucic, Petrenko; Frizza | Damrau, Mumford / Vizin, Calleja, Frontali, Aceto; Frizza.

"Rusalka" - Fleming, Goerke, Blythe, Antonenko, Sigmundsson; Belohlávek.

"Salome" - Mattila, Komlósi, Begley, Kaiser, Uusitalo; Franck.

"Siegfried" - Gods and monsters vanish before the greater power of human love as the young hero Siegfried, played by Christian Franz, pursues his destiny to unite with Brünnhilde.

"La Sonnambula" - Dessay, Flórez, Pertusi; Pidò.

"Thaïs" - Fleming, Schade, Hampson; López-Cobos.

"La Traviata" - Harteros, Giordano, Dobber / Lucic; Carignani.

"Tristan und Isolde" - Dalayman, DeYoung, Seiffert, Grochowski, Pape / Youn; Barenboim.

"Il Trovatore" - Radvanovsky, Zajick / D'Intino, Licitra, Hvorostovsky, Youn; Noseda | Papian, D'Intino, Berti, Lucic, Flores; Frizza.

"Die Walküre" - Brewer, Meier, Naef, Botha, Morris, Tomlinson; Levine.

Rolando Villazón, the new production of Latin America

Rolando Villazón was born in 1972 in Mexico City, Mexico. He is the new star opera tenor of Latin America, together with many other great opera singers such as the also Mexicans Francisco Araiza and Ramón Vargas, the Argentinian Marcelo Álvarez and the Peruvians Juan Diego Flórez and Luis Alva.

At the age of 11, he began studying music, acting, contemporary dancing and ballet at the Espacios Academy for the Performing Arts. It was the baritone Arutro Nieto, his first voice teacher, who introduced Villazón in the world of opera in 1990. He continued his vocal preparation at the National Conservatory of Music in 1992, under the guidance of Enrique Jaso. There, he sang Dorvil from "La Scala di Sieta", Florville from "Il Signor Bruschino", and Alessandro from "Il Re Pastore". After winning two national contests in Mexico City and Guanajuato, Villazón became a student of baritone Gabriel Mijares, with whom he continued his studies before launching an international career.

He became a member of the Pittsburgh Opera's Young Artists Program in 1998 where he appeared in productions of "I Capuleti ed i Montecchi", "Lucia di Lammermoor" and Samuel Barber's "Vanessa". He subsequently entered the Merola Opera Program of the San Francisco Opera where he performed the role of Alfredo in "La Traviata" and also participated in master classes with Joan Sutherland. Rolando Villazón won the second prize in Plácido Domingo's 1999 Operalia competition as well as the first prize for Zarzuela and the Prize of the Public.

He made his European debut as Des Grieux in Massenet's "Manon" at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, and immediately after came his first appearance in France, appearing as Rodolfo for the Opéra de Lyon in December of 1999, the role of his subsequent debut in Rome. He made then his debut at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste in "La Traviata" and was then invited to replace an ailing colleague in the same work at the Opera Bastille in Paris. These performances in May 2000 brought the artist to international attention.

Rolando Villazón is internationally recognized as one of the leading lyric tenors of our day and has been acclaimed for performances at leading theatres across the world including the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Berlin State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Hamburg State Opera, Opéra de Lyon, Opéra de Nice, Berlin State Opera, New York City Opera and many others. Some call him, and fairly, "the heir of Plácido Domingo".

In August 2005, he sang a highly regarded Alfredo in Verdi's "La Traviata" at the Salzburg Festival, conducted by Carlo Rizzi and directed by Willy Decker, with Anna Netrebko, his frequent singing partner, as Violetta Valéry. They have also appeared together in a video version of Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'amore", available on DVD. For the rest of the 2007 season Villazón cancelled all his performances, including his debut recital at the Carnegie Hall and "Roméo et Juliette" at the Metropolitan Opera House, due to controversial health problems.

After a compulsory five months-rest prescripted by his personal physician, this year Rolando Villazón is back onto the stages full of energy and will to face all kinds of challenges.

"All the odds and hard moments are welcome. That's what makes us complete human beings. These five months have been really important and came when they had to come"

He felt terribly for canceling all his commitments, moreover, he didn't know wether he was facing the end of a successful career or not. Despite all odds, Villazón assures he had full support of two good friends of him, Plácido Domingo and Daniel Baremboin.

The good news is that Rolando Villazón is back, with his voice fully recovered and willing to delight us with his extraordinary talent.

Juan Diego Flórez, the King of Bel Canto

Juan Diego Flórez was born in Lima, Peru on January 13, 1973 where his father, Rubén Flórez, was a noted guitarist and singer of Peruvian popular and criolla music. In an interview in the Peruvian newspaper Ojo, Flórez recounted his early days when his mother managed a pub with live music and he worked as a replacement singer whenever the main attraction called in sick. "It was a tremendous experience for me, since most of those who were regulars at the pub were of a certain age, so I had to be ready to sing anything from huaynos to Elvis Presley music and, in my mind, that served me a great deal because, in the final analysis, any music that is well structured - whether it is jazz, opera, or pop - is good music".

Initially intending to pursue a career in popular music, he entered the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Lima at the age of 17. His classical voice emerged in the course of his studies there under Maestro Andrés Santa María. During this time, he became a member of the Coro Nacional of Peru and sang as a soloist in Mozart's “Coronation Mass” and Rossini's “Petite Messe Solennelle”.

He received a scholarship to the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia where he studied from 1993 to 1996 and began singing in student opera productions in the repertory which is still his specialty today, Rossini and the Bel Canto operas of Bellini and Donizetti. During this period, he also studied with Marilyn Horne at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. In 1994 the Peruvian tenor, Ernesto Palacio invited him to Italy to work on a recording of Vicente Martín y Soler's opera “Il Tutore Burlato”. He subsequently became Flórez's teacher, mentor and manager and has had a profound influence on his career.

Flórez's first big breakthrough and professional debut came at the Rossini Festival in 1996. At the age of 23, he stepped in to take the leading tenor role in “Matilde di Shabran” when Bruce Ford became ill. He made his debut at La Scala in the same year as the Chevalier danois in Gluck's Armide. His Covent Garden debut followed in 1997 where he sang the role of Count Potoski in the world premiere of Donizetti's “Elisabetta”. Debuts followed at the Vienna Staatsoper in 1999 as Count Almaviva in “Il barbiere di Siviglia” and at the New York Metropolitan Opera in 2002, again as Count Almaviva. On February 20, 2007, the opening night of Donizetti's “La Fille du régiment” at La Scala, Flórez broke the theater's 74 year old tradition of no encores when he reprised "Ah! mes amis" with its nine high Cs following an "overwhelming" ovation from the audience.

Flórez is also active on the concert stages of Europe, North America, and South America. Amongst the many venues in which he has given concerts and recitals are the Wigmore Hall in London, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, the Palau de la Música in Barcelona and the Mozarteum in Salzburg. In a departure from his usual repertoire, he sang 'You'll never walk alone' from the Broadway musical, Carousel, at the Berlin Live 8 concert in 2005.

He was signed by Decca in 2001 and since then has released five solo recital CDs on the Decca label: Rossini Arias which won the 2003 Cannes Classical Award; Una furtiva lagrima, which won the 2004 Cannes Classical Award; Great Tenor Arias which won the 2005 Echo Klassik award for the best arias and duets recital; Sentimiento Latino; and most recently, Arias for Rubini. In addition to his official discography, almost all his professionally performed roles have been preserved in radio broadcasts, and many also by television.

Juan Diego Flórez has been recognized by his native country with several awards and distinctions. In May 2004, he received the Orden al Mérito Cultural de Lima, from the Mayor of Lima; the Orden al Mérito por servios distinguidos en el grado de Gran Cruz from President Alejandro Toledo; and was named an Honorary Professor of San Martín de Porres University. On November 29th of that year, he appeared on the 2 sol stamp, part of a series of five stamps honouring contemporary Peruvian musicians. On June 4, 2007, he received his country's highest honor, the Gran Cruz de la Orden El Sol del Perú, from President Alan García.

From the classical music world he has received the Premio Abbiati 2000 (awarded by Italian critics for the best singer of the year); the Rossini d'oro; the Bellini d'oro; the Premio Aureliano Pertile; the Tamagno Prize; and the L'Opera award (Migliore Tenore) for his 2001 performance in “La Sonnambula” at La Scala.

Flórez is the possessor of a light lyric tenor voice of exceptional beauty which, while not of great size, is nevertheless audible in even the largest houses due to its unusual harmonic structure. Its compass is two octaves, up to and including the high D natural, the higher part of its range being particularly strong and brilliant, with almost no sense of effort, while the lowest notes are comparatively weak. The head and chest registers are perfectly integrated, with no audible break in the passaggio. His breath control is impeccable, allowing the longest phrases to be sustained with apparent ease. The ornaments of bel canto, including the trill, are well executed, and stylistic errors such as intrusive aspirates generally eschewed. Perhaps the most distinctive technical accomplishment is the singer's total mastery of coloratura to a degree probably not matched by any other tenor who has recorded, and to be heard to best effect in his Idreno (“Semiramide”) and Corradino (“Matilde di Shabran”).

Anna Netrebko, the superstar for the 21st century

Born in September 1971 in Russia, Anna Netrebko is a well reknown soprano, not only for her lovely voice and excellent technique but also for her unparalleled beauty.

While studying at the Saint Petersburg' conservatory, Netrebko worked as a floor cleaner as an odd-job at the Mariinsky Theatre (home of the Kirov Opera) where she called the attention of the conductor Valery Gergiev, who subsequently became her vocal mentor. Guided by him, Netrebko made her debut in that theatre as Susanna in Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro". She kept on singing prominent roles with the Kirov Opera in "La Sonnambula", "Die Zauberflöte", "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" and "Lucia di Lammermoor".

In 1995, the 24-year-old Netrebko made her American debut as Lyudmila in Glinka's "Ruslan and Lyudmila" at the San Francisco Opera. She is known as an acclaimed interpreter of Russian operatic roles such as Natasha in Prokofiev's "War and Peace", Louisa in "Betrothal in a Monastery" and Marfa in "The Tsar's Bride", and also made successful forays into belcanto repertoire as in "Rigoletto", "La Bohème" and "I Capuleti e i Montecchi".

In 2002, Anna Netrebko made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Natasha in the premiere of "War and Peace". In the same year, she sang her first Donna Anna in "Don Giovanni" conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Her 2003 repertoire included performances as Violetta in "La Traviata", the title role in "Lucia di Lammermoor" and Donna Anna at the Royal Opera House. In the same year Netrebko released her first studio album, "Opera Arias", which became one of the best selling classical recordings of the year. The following year she released her second album, "Sempre Libera", and she sang "Roméo et Juliette" with Rolando Villazón, her couple, with whom she sang "L'elisir d'amore" in 2005. Her most recent role (2007) is Elvira in Bellini's "I Puritani" at the Metropolitan Opera.

In December of 2007 Netrebko will be reprising her role as Juliette in "Roméo et Juliette" with Joseph Kaiser, Roberto Alagna and Matthew Polenzani at the Metropolitan Opera, and she will be singing at the annual New Year's Eve Gala conducted by Paul Nadler.

The Metropolitan Opera' 2007 - 2008 season (sixth part)

Ok, here's the last part of the Met's new Opera Season productions. Wagner and Prokofiev are the stars of this part.

"Tristan und Isolde" - 2008 - Mar 10, 14, 18, 22, 25, 28
Composer: Richar Wagner - Librettist: Richard Wagner
Approximate running time: 5hs. 0min.

Isolde: Deborah Voigt
Brangäne: Michelle De Young / Margaret Jane Wray
Tristan: Ben Heppner
Kurwenal: Eike Wilm Schulte / Richard Paul Fink
King Mark: Matti Salmine
Conductor: James Levine

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"Die Walküre" - 2008 - Jan 7, 14, 28 | Feb 2, 6, 9
Composer: Richard Wagner - Librettist: Richard Wagner
Approximate running time: 5hs. 0min.

Brünnhilde: Lisa Gasteen
Sieglinde: Adrianne Pieczonka / Deborah Voigt
Frika: Stephanie Blythe / Michelle De Young
Siegmund: Clifton Forbis / Simon O'Neill
Wotan: James Morris
Hunding: Mikhail Petrenko
Conductor: Lorin Maazel

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"War and Peace" - 2007 - Dec 10, 13, 15, 18, 22, 26, 28 | 2008 - Jan 3
Composer: Sergei Prokofiev - Librettist: Sergei Prokofiev, Mira Mendelson
Approximate running time: 4hs. 15min.

Natasha: Irina Mataeva / Marina Poplavskaya
Sonya: Ekaterina Semenchuk
Mme. Akhrosimova: Larisa Shevchenko
Count Bezukhov: Kim Begley / Alexei Steblianko
Prince Andrei: Vasili Ladyuk / Alexej Markov
Napoleon: Vassily Gerello
Kutuzov: Samuel Ramey / Mikhail Kit
Conductor: Valery Gergiev / Gianandrea Noseda

The Metropolitan Opera' 2007 - 2008 season (fifth part)

Fifth part ef the Met's new season. Great productions! Hope you like them!

"Otello" - 2008 - Feb 11, 15, 18, 22, 26 | Mar 1, 4, 8
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi - Libretist: Arrigo Boito
Approximate running time: 3hs. 5min.

Desdemona: Renée Fleming
Otello: Johan Botha
Iago: Carlo Guelfi
Conductor: Semyon Bychkov

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"Roméo et Juliette" - 2007 - Dec 8, 12, 15, 20, 27, 31
Composer: Charles Gounod - Librettist: Jules Barbier, Michel Carré
Approximate running time: 3hs. 5min.

Juliette: Anna Netrebko
Stéphano: Isable Leonard / Kate Lindsay
Roméo: Joseph Kaiser / Roberto Alagna / Matthew Polenzani
Mercutio: Jeff Mattsey / Nathan Gunn
Frère Laurent: Robert Lloyd
Conductor: Plácido Domingo

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"La Traviata" - 2008 - Mar 6, 12, 15, 19, 22
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi - Librettist: Francesco Maria Piave
Approximate running time: 3hs. 5min.

Violetta: Ruth Ann Swenson
Alfredo: Matthew Polenzani / Jonas Kaufmann
Germont: Dwayne Croft
Conductor: Marco Armiliato

The Metropolitan Opera' 2007 - 2008 season (fourth part)

Great titles in this fourth part of the Met's Opera Season!

"Lucia di Lammermoor" - 2008 - Mar 5, 8, 13

Composer: Gaetano Donizetti - Librettist: Salvadore Cammarano
Approximate running time: 3hs. 25min.

Lucia: Nataly Dessay
Edgardo: Giuseppe Filianoti
Enrico: Mariusz Kwiecien
Raimondo: John Relyea
Composer: James Levine / Joseph Colaneri

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"Macbeth" - 2008 - Jan 5, 9, 12, 15 | May 9, 13, 17
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi - Librettist: Francesco Maria Piave
Approximate running time: 2hs. 50min.

Lady Macbeth: Maria Guleghina / Andrea Gruber
Macduff: Roberto Aronica / Dimitri Pittas / Jospeh Calleja
Macbeth: Lado Ataneli / Carlos Álvarez
Banquo: John Relyea / René Pape
Conductor: James Levine

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"Manon Lescaut" - 2008 - Jan 29 | Feb 1, 5, 9, 12, 16, 20, 23
Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Approximate running time: 3hs. 20min.

Manon Lescaut: Karita Mattila
des Grieux: Marcellio Giordani
Lescaut: Dwayne Croft
Geronte: Dale Travis
Conductor: James Levine / Donald Runnicles

The Metropolitan Opera' 2007 - 2008 season (third part)

More productions of the Met's new season! As one of the most popular Opera Houses, the Met presents several titles for its Opera Season which I will be publishing in the next posts. Hurry up and buy your tickets! There are very few left!

"Ernani" - 2008 - Mar 17, 21, 26, 29 | Apr 2, 5, 10
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi - Librettist: Francesco Maria Piave
Approximate running time: 3hs. 40min.

Elvira: Sondra Radvanovsky
Ernani: Marcello Giordani
Don Carlo: Thomas Hampson
de Silva: Ferruccio Furlanetto
Conductor: Roberto Abbado

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"La Fille du Régiment" - 2008 - Apr 21, 26, 29 | May 5, 8, 12, 16
Composer: Gaetano Donizetti - Librettist: Jules Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, Jean-Francois-Alfred Bayard
Approximate running time: 2hs. 45min.

Marie: Natalie Dessay
Marquise of Berkenfeld: Felicity Palmer
Tonio: Juan Diego Flórez / Barry Banks
Sulpice: Alessandro Corbelli
Duchess of Krakenthorp: Zoe Caldwell
Conductor: Marco Armiliato / Joseph Colaneri

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"The First Emperor" - 2008 - May 10, 14, 17
Composer: Tan Dun - Librettist: Ha Jin, Tan Dun
Approximate running time: 2hs. 55min.

Princess Yueyang: Sarah Coburn
Shaman: Ning Liang
Mother of Yueyang: Susanne Mentzer
Emperor Qin: Plácido Domingo
Gao Jianli: Paul Groves
Gan. Wzng Jong: Hao Jiang Tian
Conductor: Tan Dun

The Metropolitan Opera' 2007 - 2008 season (second part)

This is the second part of the Met's new season. Enjoy it!

"Carmen" - 2008 - Feb 4, 8, 13, 16, 19, 23, 27 | Mar 1
Composer: Georges Bizet - Librettist: Henri Meilhac, Ludovic Halévy
Approximate running time: 3hs. 35min.

Micaela: Maija Kovalevska / Krasimira Stoyanova
Carmen: Olga Borodina / Nancy Fabiola Herrera
Don José: Marcelo Álvarez
Escamillo: Lucio Gallo
Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume

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"La Clemenza di Tito" - 2008 - May 3, 6, 10, 15
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Librettist: Caterino Mazzolà
Approximate running time: 2hs. 50min.

Servilia: Heidi Grant Murphy
Vitellia: Tamar Iveri
Sesto: Susan Graham
Annio: Anke Vondung
Tito: Ramón Vargas
Publio: Oren Gradus
Conductor: Harry Bicket

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"Die Entführung aus dem Serail" - 2008 - Apr 26, 30 | May 3, 7
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Librettist: Chistoph Friedrich Bretzner
Approximate running time: 3hs. 5min.

Konstanze: Diana Damrau
Blondchend: Aleksandra Kurzak
Belmonte: Matthew Polenzani
Pedrillo: Steve Davislim
Osmin: Kristinn Sigmundsson
Pasha: Matthias von Stegmann
Conductor: David Robertson

The Metropolitan Opera' 2007 - 2008 season (first part)

Here's a brief review on the Met's new season for the ending of 2007 and 2008. Astonishing productions, great titles and excellent singers as only the Met can offer. Don't miss the oportunity to be part of the "Met Experience".

"Un Ballo in Maschera" - 2007 - Dec 17, 21, 24, 29 | 2008 - Jan 1, 5, 16, 19, 23
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi - Librettist: Antonio Somma
Approximate running time: 3hs. 20min.

Amelia: Michèle Crider / Angela M. Brown
Oscar: Ofelia Sala / Kathleen Kim
Ulrica: Stephanie Blythe
Riccardo: Salvatore Licitra
Renato: Dimitri Hvorostovsky
Conductor: Gianandrea Noseda

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"Il Barbiere di Siviglia" - 2008 - Jan 12, 22, 26, 30 | Feb 2, 7, 14, 21, 25, 29
Composer: Gioacchino Rossini - Librettist: Cesare Sterbini
Approximate running time: 3hs. 10min.

Rosina: Elina Garanca
Il Conte d'Almaviva: Michael Shade / José Manuel Zapata
Figaro: Franco Vasallo
Dr. Bartolo: Bruno Praticò / Maurizio Muraro
Don Basilio: Peter Rose / Ruggero Raimondi
Conductor: Frédéric Chaslin

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"La Bohème" - 2008 - Mar 29 | Apr 1, 5, 9, 12, 15, 18
Composer: Giacomo Puccini - Librttist: Giusppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica
Approximate running time: 2hs. 55min.

Mimì: Angela Gheorghiu
Musetta: Ainhoa Arteta
Rodolfo: Ramón Vargas
Marcello: Ludovic Tézier
Schaunard: Quinn Kelsey / Jeff Mattsey
Colline: Oren Gradus
Benoit / Alcindoro: Paul Plishka
Conductor: Nicola Luisotti