Markus Werba as Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Photo by Marty Sohl/Metropolitan OperaMUSIC News:
SANTA FE — The Lensic and Santa Fe Opera are proud to present the 2017-2018 season of The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of high-definition live cinema simulcasts.
The HD season includes ten operas, with five new productions and starry revivals starring the world’s leading opera artists.
The 2017-18 Live in HD season will feature the series’ first broadcast of Bellini’s Norma, starring Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role; the Met premiere of Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel;Rossini’s Semiramide, which has not been staged at the Met in 25 years; Verdi’s tragedy Luisa Millerstarring Sonya Yoncheva and Plácido Domingo; and the Met premiere of Massenet’s Cendrillon,starring Joyce DiDonato in the title role.
In addition to the productions new to Live in HD, audiences can see the Met’s new stagings of Puccini’s Tosca, starring Sonya Yoncheva and Vitorio Grigolo, and Mozart’s Così fan tutte, set in 1950s Coney Island, with an ensemble cast including Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara.
The season will also feature Mozart’s full-length German opera Die Zauberflöte, conducted by Met Music Director Emeritus James Levine (the abridged version of The Magic Flute was the first Live in HD transmission in the series); Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, starring Pretty Yende in her first Met performances as the spirited Adina, with Matthew Polenzani reprising Nemorino; and Puccini’s La Bohème, featuring Sonya Yoncheva and Michael Fabiano as the young Parisian lovers, Mimì and Rodolfo.
See below for dates, times, and details about each opera. Please note that due to scheduling conflicts, this year two operas (Tosca and Così fan tutte ) will not be broadcast live, but will instead be featured as rebroadcasts.
Met: Live in HD 2017‒2018 Season at The Lensic
Oct. 7, 2017
Norma
11 a.m. live (no encore)
New Production! Vincenzo Bellini’s tragic masterpiece stars Sondra Radvanovsky as the Druid priestess and Joyce DiDonato as her rival, Adalgisa—a casting coup for bel canto fans. Tenor Joseph Calleja is Pollione, Norma’s unfaithful lover, and Carlo Rizzi conducts. Sir David McVicar’s evocative production sets the action deep in a Druid forest, where nature and ancient ritual rule. Sung in Italian. Estimated Run Time: 3 hours, 4 minutes.
Oct. 14, 2017
Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
11 a.m. live, 6 p.m. encore
Met Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducts the full-length, German version of Mozart’s magical fable. It’s a spectacular production—directed by Tony Award-winner Julie Taymor—that captures both the earthy comedy and the noble mysticism of the opera. The fine cast includes Golda Schultz, who makes her Met debut as Pamina; Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night; Charles Castronovo as the fairy tale prince, Tamino; Markus Werba as the bird-catching Papageno; Christian Van Horn as Sprecher; and René Pape as Sarastro. This is the first time the full-length German opera will be seen in the Met’s HD series. Sung in German. Estimated Run Time: 3 hours, 9 minutes.
Nov. 18, 2017
The Exterminating Angel
11 a.m. live (no encore)
Met Premiere/American Premiere! The Met presents the American premiere of Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel, inspired by the classic Luis Buñuel film of the same name. Hailed by the New York Times at its 2016 Salzburg Festival premiere as “inventive and audacious . . . a major event,” TheExterminating Angel is a surreal fantasy about a dinner party from which the guests can’t escape. Tom Cairns, who wrote the libretto, directs the new production, with Adès conducting his own adventurous new opera. Sung in English. Estimated Run Time: 2 hours, 27 minutes.
Feb. 3, 2018
Tosca
11 a.m. rebroadcast, 6 p.m. encore
New Production! Sir David McVicar’s ravishing new production of Puccini’s tragic opera offers a splendid backdrop for extraordinary singing. Sonya Yoncheva stars as the title prima donna alongside Vittorio Grigolo and Bryn Terfel. James Levine conducts. Sung in Italian. Estimated Run Time: 2 hours, 53 minutes. Please note: Due to scheduling conflicts, this opera will not be broadcast live.
Feb. 10, 2018
L’Elisir d’Amore (The Elixir of Love)
10 a.m. live, 6 p.m. encore
Donizetti’s comic gem features South African soprano Pretty Yende, who debuts a new role at the Met as the feisty Adina. She sings opposite Matthew Polenzani, who enthralled Met audiences as Nemorino in 2013 with his ravishing “Una furtiva lagrima.” Bartlett Sher’s production is charming, with deft comedic timing, but also emotionally revealing. Domingo Hindoyan conducts. Sung in Italian. Estimated Run Time: 2 hours, 39 minutes.
Feb. 24, 2018
La Bohème
10:30 a.m. live, 6 p.m. encore
The world’s most popular opera—and the most performed opera in Met history—returns in Franco Zeffirelli’s classic production! Puccini’s La Bohème features a stellar cast, including Bulgarian sopranoSonya Yoncheva as the fragile Mimì and tenor Michael Fabiano as the passionate poet Rodolfo.Susanna Phillips reprises the role of the flirtatious Musetta and Lucas Meachem sings the role of her lover, the painter Marcello. Marco Armiliato conducts. Sung in Italian. Estimated Run Time: 2 hours, 55 minutes.
March 10, 2018
Semiramide
11 a.m. live, 6 p.m. encore
Rossini’s masterpiece of dazzling vocal fireworks makes a rare Met appearance—its first in nearly 25 years—with Maurizio Benini conducting. The all-star bel canto cast features Angela Meade in the title role of the murderous Queen of Babylon, who squares off in breathtaking duets with Arsace, a trouser role sung by Elizabeth DeShong. Rounding out the cast are Javier Camarena as the Indian king Idreno, Ildar Abdrazakov as the prince Assur, and Ryan Speedo Green as the high priest Oroe. Sung in Italian. Estimated Run Time: 4 hours.
April 7, 2018
Così fan tutte
11 a.m. rebroadcast (no encore)
New Production! A winning cast comes together for Phelim McDermott’s clever vision of Mozart’s comedy about the sexes, set in a carnivalesque environment inspired by 1950s Coney Island. Manipulating the action are the Don Alfonso of Christopher Maltman and the Despina of Tony Award–winner Kelli O’Hara, with Amanda Majeski, Serena Malfi, Ben Bliss, and Adam Plachetka as the pairs of young lovers who test each other’s faithfulness. David Robertson conducts. Sung in Italian. Estimated Run Time: 3 hours, 31 minutes. Please note: Due to scheduling conflicts, this opera will not be broadcast live.
April 14
Luisa Miller
10:30 a.m. live, 6 p.m. encore
James Levine and Plácido Domingo add yet another chapter to their legendary Met collaboration with this rarely performed Verdi gem, a heart-wrenching tragedy about a young woman who sacrifices her own happiness in an attempt to save her father’s life. Sonya Yoncheva sings the title role as the peasant girl Luisa, opposite Piotr Beczała as Rodolfo. Plácido Domingo plays Miller, Luisa’s father; Olesya Petrova is Federica; and Alexander Vinogradov (in his Met debut) and Dmitry Belosselskiy are Walter and Wurm, respectively—the ruthless men determined to tear Luisa and Rodolfo apart. Luisa Miller was last performed at The Met in 2006. Sung in Italian. Estimated Run Time: 3 hours, 38 minutes.
April 28, 2018
Cendrillon (Cinderella)
11 a.m. live, encore May 5 at 6 p.m.
Met Premiere! For the first time ever, Massenet’s sumptuous take on the Cinderella story comes to the Met. Joyce DiDonato adds another role to her Met repertory as the title character, a role she has sung to acclaim at the Grand Teatre del Liceu, Santa Fe Opera, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. The cast also stars Alice Coote in the trouser role of Prince Charmant, Stephanie Blythe as the evil stepmother Madame de la Haltière, Kathleen Kim as the Fée (fairy godmother), and Laurent Naouri as Pandolfe.Cendrillon is produced in association with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London; Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona; Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie, Brussels; and Opéra de Lille. This production was first performed at The Santa Fe Opera. Sung in French. Estimated Run Time: 2 hours, 47 minutes.