"Ladies and gentlemen from all over the world, welcome to this brand new forum destined to all those opera lovers. It is my intention to create a cultural space to remember the great composers such as Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, as well as all the stars that walked through the most famous stages around the world like Caruso, Gigli, di Stefano, Pavarotti... I also intend this forum to be a debating space where readers can state their opinions, ideas, advises, likes and dislikes.

Through the last years opera has been losing popularity at the expense of more modern music, and though the heyday of the latter is a social and cultural worldwide phenomenon, it would be of great value to retrieve the transcendental meaning of opera in the history of man.

Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, may the world take its seat, let the curtain raise, come up to the stage with me and be the performers of this experience..."


-NACHO VENTURA-
Showing posts with label SEASON. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SEASON. Show all posts

Saturday, March 15, 2008

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.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

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





"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





"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





"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





"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





"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





"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

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

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





"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





"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





"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





"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





"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





"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