Norma apre la stagione 2017-18
220 recite, 26 titoli, 5 nuove produzioni e 2 novità assolute per il Met
La stagione si aprirà il 25 settembre con un nuovo allestimento di Norma firmato da The season Sir David McVicar, protagonista Sondra Radvanovsky.
Sempre Sir David McVicar realizzerà una nuova produzione di Tosca, che debutterà il 31 dicembre con Andris Nelsons sul podio, Kristine Opolais, Jonas Kaufmann Bryn Terfel nel cast.
A Thomas Adès, a partire da 26 ottobre, è affidata la bacchetta per l'esordio nordamericano della sua nuova opera The Exterminating Angel, di cui il Met è fra i committenti.
Cendrillon di Massenet arriverà per la prima volta al Met dal 12 aprile, protagonista Joyce DiDonato nel title role.
Il 15 marzo sarà la volta di Così fan tutte nel nuovo allestimento di Phelim McDermott, ambientato a Coney Island negli anni '50, con la direzione di David Robertson.
Dal 24 novembre il direttore emerito James Levine sarà sul podio per quattro repliche del Requiem verdiano con le voci di Krassimira Stoyanova, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Aleksandrs Antonenko e Ferruccio Furlanetto.
Da segnalare anche il ritorno di Semiramide, assente dal Met dal 1993.
The Met: Live in HD prevede dieci trasmissioni live, a partire dal 7 ottobre con Norma.
New York, NY — La stagione lirica 2017-18 della Metropolitan Opera House prevede 220 recite di 26 diversi titoli, comprese due prime per il teatro, una delle quali è co-commissionata dal Met e una è un capolavoro del XIX secolo mai rappresentato prima dall'istituzione newyorkese. Tre nuove produzioni nel repertorio più consolidato e quattro appuntamenti con il capolavoro sacro di Giuseppe Verdi, il Requiem.
La stagione si apre il 25 settembre con una nuova produzione di Norma di Bellini diretta da Carlo Rizzi, regia di Sir David McVicar, protagonista Sondra Radvanovsky, una delle più apprezzate interpreti attuali del ruolo, con Joyce DiDonato come Adalgisa e Joseph Calleja come Pollione. Il 26 ottobre il compositore Thomas Adès dirige la prima nordamericana del suo The Exterminating Angel, una commissione internazionale, cui partecipa anche il Met, basata sulla sceneggiatura di Luis Buñuel e Luis Alcoriza per il surreale film (1962) dello stesso Buñuel’s 1962. L'opera, l'opera, cantata in inglese, sarà messa in scena dal librettista Tom Cairns, al suo esordio al Met. Una nuova produzione di Tosca di Puccini segnerà il passaggio al nuovo anno la sera del 31 dicembre con Andris Nelsons sul podio, ancora Sir David McVicar regista, Kristine Opolais e Jonas Kaufmann vestiranno i panni della protagonista e del suo amante Mario Cavaradossi, mentre Bryn Terfel sarà Scarpia. In seguito subentrerà Anna Netrebko con Marcelo Álvarez e Michael Volle. Nuova messa in scena anche per Così fan tutte, ambientata negli anni '50 a Coney Island, a partire dal 15 marzo sotto la direzione di David Robertson e con la regia di Phelim McDermott. Nel cast si segnala la presenza della vincitrice del Tony Award Kelli O’Hara per la prima volta nel ruolo di Despina. Il 12 aprile la versione della fiaba di Cenerentola musicata da Massenet, Cendrillon, farà il suo esordio assoluto al Met, diretta da Bertrand de Billy, con la regia di Laurent Pelly, Joyce DiDonato nel ruolo del titolo e Alice Coote come Prince Charmant. Fra novembre e dicembre il direttore musicale emerito James Levine dirigerà quattro concerti con il Requiem verdiano, solisti Krassimira Stoyanova, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Aleksandrs Antonenko, Ferruccio Furlanetto, l'orchestra e il coro del Met.
La stagione include anche le riprese di alcuni titoli meno consueti per il teatro newyorkese, come Luisa Miller (con Sonya Yoncheva, Piotr Beczala e Plácido Domingo) e Semiramide, assente dal 1993 e interpretata da Angela Meade nel ruolo del titolo. Due recenti allestimenti avranno la loro prima ripresa: quello di François Girard per Parsifal e quello ormai celeberrimo e celebrato di Patrice Chéreau per Elektra.
The Met: Live in HD trasmette gli spettacoli del teatro in oltre duemila cinema in settantuno diversi paesi del mondo ormai da dodici anni. Dieci recite saranno trasmesse per questa stagione, a partire dalla Norma del 7 ottobre.
Per il terzo anno consecutivo i prezzi rimangono invariati e il teatro incrementerà le iniziative per favorire l'accesso del pubblico.
Il General Manager Peter Gelb ha dichiarato: “Stiamo arricchendo il nostro repertorio con nuove produzioni di Così fan tutte, Norma e Tosca, ampliando i nostri orizzonti con The Exterminating Angel e Cendrillon. È una stagione di grandi classici e stimolanti rarità, con attrattive per neofiti e appassionati".
NUOVE PRODUZIONI
Norma – Vincenzo Bellini
SERATA INAUGURALE
Prima: 25 settembre 2017
Direttori: Carlo Rizzi / Joseph Colaneri
Regia: Sir David McVicar
Scene: Robert Jones
Costumi: Moritz Junge
Luci: Paule Constable
Movement Director: Leah Hausman
Live in HD: ottobre 7, 2017
La stagione si apre con Norma, la grande tragedia belcantista che vedrà Sondra Radvanovsky nel ruolo del titolo che già l'aveva vista acclamare al Met nel 2013, così come a Toronto, San Francisco, Monaco di Baviera, Barcellona e Chicago quale una delle principali interpreti attuali della parte. Joyce DiDonato l'affiancherà nei panni di Adalgisa, mentre Joseph Calleja sarà Pollione e Matthew Rose Oroveso. Il 16 e il 20 ottobre, Marina Rebeka interpreterà per la prima volta Norma al Met. Dal primo dicembre, invece, Angela Meade sarà protagonista con l'Adalgisa di Jamie Barton e la direzione di Joseph Colaneri. Sir David McVicar ha già curato al Met allestimenti del Trovatore, di Giulio Cesare, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda e Roberto Devereux.
The Exterminating Angel – Thomas Adès
MET PREMIERE
Prima: 26 ottobre 2017
Direttore: Thomas Adès
Libretto: Tom Cairns, in collaborazione con il compositore
Regia: Tom Cairns
Scene e costumi: Hildegard Bechtler
Luci: Jon Clark
Proiezioni: Tal Yarden
Coreografia: Amir Hosseinpour
Live in HD: 18 novembre 2017
The Exterminating Angel debutta al Met sotto la direzione dello stesso compositore, Thomas Adès. L'opera del 2016 opera, co-commissionata dal Met e cantata in inglese, è basata sulla scenengiatura di Luis Buñuel e Luis Alcoriza per l'acclamato film del 1962 dello stesso Buñuel. La regia è curata dallo stesso librettista Tom Cairns, nel cast figurano Audrey Luna come Leticia Maynar; Amanda Echalaz, Lucia de Nobile; Sally Matthews, Silvia de Ávila, e Sophie Bevan, Beatriz, entrambe esordienti al Met; Alice Coote, Leonora Palma; Christine Rice, Blanca Delgado; Iestyn Davies, Francisco de Ávila; Joseph Kaiser, Edundo de Nobile; Frédéric Antoun, al debutto nel teatro, quale Raúl Yebenes; David Portillo, Edmundo; David Adam Moore, anch'egli per la prima volta al Met, come Col. Álvaro Gómez; Rod Gilfry, Alberto Roc; Kevin Burdette, Señor Russell; Christian Van Horn, Julio; John Tomlinson, Dr Carlos Conde. The Exterminating Angel è una commissione e produzione del Met con Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Royal Danish Theatre; Salzburg Festival, dove ha avuto la prima assoluta nel 2016.
Tosca – Giacomo Puccini
NEW YEAR’S EVE GALA
Prima: 31 dicembre 2017
Direttore: Andris Nelsons / Bertrand de Billy
Regia: Sir David McVicar
Scene e costumi: John Macfarlane
Luci: David Finn
Movimenti scenici: Leah Hausman
Live in HD: January 27, 2018
Andris Nelsons dirige il nuovo allestimento, firmato da Sir David McVicar, del dramma pucciniano. Kristine Opolais e Jonas Kaufmann saranno l'eroina Floria Tosca e il suo amante Mario Cavaradossi, con Bryn Terfel quale perfido Scarpia. In aprile, Anna Netrebko aggiungerà questo ruolo al suo repertorio nel teatro di New York al fianco di Marcelo Álvarez come Cavaradossi. Michael Volle e George Gagnidze si alterneranno come Scarpia in Aprile e Maggio, sotto la direzione di Bertrand de Billy.
Così fan tutte – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Prima: 15 marzo 2018
Direttore: David Robertson
Regia: Phelim McDermott
Scene: Tom Pye
Costumi: Laura Hopkins
Luci: Paule Constable
Live in HD: marzo 31, 2018
Phelim McDermott torna al Met con un nuovo allestimento della commedia mozartiana, concertata David Robertson. Lo spettacolo, ambientato a Coney Island negli anni '50, vedrà Amanda Majeski e Serena Malfi nei panni di Fiordiligi e Dorabella; la vincitrice del Tony Award Kelli O’Hara sarà la cameriera Despina; Ben Bliss e Adam Plachetka i fidanzati Ferrando e Guglielmo; Christopher Maltmanil cinico Don Alfonso. Così fan tutte è coprodotto con la English National Opera, dove ha debuttato nel 2014, in collaborazione con Improbable.
Cendrillon – Jules Massenet
MET PREMIERE
Prima: 12 Aprile 2018
Direttore: Bertrand de Billy
Regia: Laurent Pelly
Scene: Barbara de Limburg
Costumi: Laurent Pelly
Luci: Duane Schuler
Coreografia: Laura Scozzi
Live in HD: April 28, 2018
L'incantevole versione della fiaba di Cenerentola musicata da Massenet appare per la prima volta al Met diretta da Bertrand de Billy in un allestimento di Laurent Pelly, già regista in questo stesso teatro della Fille du régiment e di Manon. Joyce DiDonato sarà interprete del ruolo del titolo, nel quale ha già riscosso successi al Gran Teatre del Liceu, The Santa Fe Opera e al Royal Opera, Covent Garden. Con lei, Kathleen Kim sarà la Fata, Alice Coote il Principe, Stephanie Blythe la terribile matrigna Madame de la Haltière e Laurent Naouri Pandolfe. Cendrillon è prodotta in collaborazione con Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London; Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona; Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie, Brussels; and Opéra de Lille. L'allestimento ha debuttato a Santa Fe Opera in 2006.
Requiem – Giuseppe Verdi
CONCERTO
Prima: 24 novembre 2017
Direttore: James Levine
Il direttore musicale emerito James Levine dirigerà tre concerti dedicati al Requiem verdiano, con solisti Krassimira Stoyanova, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Aleksandrs Antonenko, Ferruccio Furlanetto, l'orchestra e il coro del Met.
Debutti notevoli
Fra i debutti più significativi della stagione si segnalano quelli di Tara Erraught (Nicklausse in Les contes d’Hoffmann); Golda Schultz (Pamina in Die Zauberflöte); Alexander Soddy (direttore della Bohème dal 2 ottobre); Angel Blue (Mimì in La bohème ); Sally Matthews (Silvia de Ávila in The Exterminating Angel): Jader Bignamini (direttore di Madama Butterfly dal 2 novembre); Christiane Karg (Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro); Ward Stare (direttore di The Merry Widow dal 14 dicembre); Domingo Hindoyan (sul podio per L’elisir d’emore dal 16 gennaio); Davide Luciano (Belcore in L’elisir d’amore); Evelyn Herlitzius (Kundry in Parsifal); Michaela Schuster (Klytämnestra in Elektra); Alexander Vinogradov (Walter in Luisa Miller).
Il maestro lituano Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla dirigerà per la prima volta l'orchestra del Met in un concerto alla Carnegie Hall il 18 maggio.
Il repertorio
La stagione 2017-18 comprende 20 riprese di opere di 14 compositori con interpreti di spicco internazionale
Il direttore musicale emerito James Levine dirigerà Die Zauberflöte, cantata interamente nell'originale tedesco, con Golda Schultz, Pamina, Kathryn Lewek, Regina della notte, Charles Castronovo, Tamino, Markus Werba, Papageno, Christian Van Horn, Oratore, Tobias Kehrer, Sarastro.
Il trovatore, pure diretto da Levine, avrà protagonisti Maria Agresta, Leonora, Anita Rachvelishvili, Azucena, Yonghoon Lee, Manrico, Quinn Kelsey e Luca Salsi, Conte di Luna, Štefan Kocán e Kwangchul Youn come Ferrando.
Levine tornerà sul podio per Luisa Miller, assente dal Met dal 2006. Sonya Yoncheva sarà l'eroina eponima, affiancata da Piotr Beczala quale Rodolfo. Plácido Domingo interpreterà Miller, Olesya Petrova Federica, Alexander Vinogradov e Dmitry Belosselskiy Walter e Wurm.
Il direttore musicale designato Yannick Nézet-Séguin dirigerà la ripresa di Parsifal. Nel cast Klaus Florian Vogt, Evelyn Herlitzius, Kundry, Peter Mattei, Evgeny Nikitin e René Pape.
In marzo, Nézet-Séguin tornerà per Elektra con Christine Goerke, Elza van den Heever, Michaela Schuster, Jay Hunter Morris e Mikhail Petrenko.
La Semiramide di Rossini, a 25 anni dall'ultima rappresentazione al Met, sarà diretta da Maurizio Benini e vedrà Angela Meade protagonista, Elizabeth DeShong Arsace, Javier Camarena Idreno, Ildar Abdrazakov Assur, Ryan Speedo Green Oroe.
Ailyn Pérez debutterà come Thaïs al fianco di Gerald Finley quale Athanaël, Jean-François Borras Nicias e David Pittsinger Palémon. Sul podio Emmanuel Villaume.
Les contes d’Hoffmann, sotto la direzione di Johannes Debus, avrà Vittorio Grigolo come Hoffmann, Erin Morley Olympia, Anita Hartig Antonia/Stella, Oksana Volkova Giulietta, Tara Erraught Nicklausse/Muse, Laurent Naouri nelle quattro incarnazioni demoniache e Christophe Mortagne nei panni dei quattro servitori.
Tre riprese pucciniane saranno presentate nella stagione 2017-18. La bohème con Angel Blue, Mimì, Dmytro Popov, Rodolfo, Brigitta Kele, Musetta, e Lucas Meachem, Marcello. In seguito Anita Hartig e Sonya Yoncheva subentreranno quali Mimì; Jean-François Borras, Russell Thomas e Michael Fabiano come Rodolfo; Michael Todd Simpson per Marcello. Si alterneranno sul podio Alexander Soddy e Marco Armiliato.
Madama Butterfly vedrà protagoniste Hui He ed Ermonela Jaho come Cio-Cio-San, Maria Zifchak quale Suzuki, Roberto Aronica e Luis Chapa, Pinkerton, David Bizic, Dwayne Croft e Roberto Frontali, Sharpless. Jader Bignamini e Marco Armiliato dirigeranno le recite.
In Turandot Oksana Dyka e Martina Serafin impersoneranno la principessa di gelo, Maria Agresta, Hei-Kyung Hong e Guanqun Yu Liù. Marcelo Álvarez torna come Calàf, James Morris e Alexander Tsymbalyuk saranno Timur.
Le nozze di Figaro prevedono Rachel Willis-Sørensen e Sonya Yoncheva come Contessa, Christiane Karg e Nadine Sierra come Susanna, Serena Malfi e Isabel Leonard Cherubino, Luca Pisaroni e Mariusz Kwiecien il Conte, Adam Plachetka e Ildar Abdrazakov Figaro. Sul podio Harry Bicket.
Susan Graham riprende Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow sotto la direzione di Ward Stare. Nel cast anche Andriana Chuchman, Valencienne, Paul Groves, Danilo, David Portillo, Camille de Rosillon, Thomas Allen, Mirko Zeta.
Cavalleria Rusticana e Pagliacci diretti da Nicola Luisotti, avranno protagonista Roberto Alagna. Ekaterina Semenchuk ed Eva-Maria Westbroek saranno Santuzza, Željko Lučić Alfio, Aleksandra Kurzak Nedda, George Gagnidze Tonio, Alessio Arduini Silvio.
Pretty Yende e Matthew Polenzani saranno Adina e Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, con loro Davide Luciano, Belcore, e Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, Dulcamara. Sul podio Domingo Hindoyan.
Lucia di Lammermoor torna al Met con Olga Peretyatko, Jessica Pratt e Pretty Yende nel ruolo del titolo. Vittorio Grigolo e Michael Fabiano si alternano come Edgardo, Massimo Cavalletti, Luca Salsi e Quinn Kelsey come Enrico, Vitalij Kowaljow e Alexander Vinogradov come Raimondo. Roberto Abbado dirigerà tutte le recite.
Ailyn Pérez e Bryan Hymel incarneranno gli sventurati amanti di Roméo et Juliette con Joshua Hopkinss, Mercutio, Kwangchul Youn, Frère Laurent, Plácido Domingo concertatore.
Holiday Presentations
Due spettacoli speciali saranno in scena per le festività di Natale e Capodanno: The Magic Flute allestito da Julie Taymor e Hansel and Gretel da Richard Jones, in lingua inglese e a prezzi ridotti.
Il cast di The Magic Flute include Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, Pamina, Kathryn Lewek, Queen of the Night, Charles Castronovo, Tamino, Nathan Gunn, Papageno, Alfred Walker, Speaker, Tobias Kehrer, Sarastro. Edo de Waart dirigrà le recite dal 25 novembre.
In Hansel and Gretel Lisette Oropesa sarà Gretel, Tara Erraught Hansel, Dolora Zajick Gertrude, Gerhard Siegel the Witch, Quinn Kelsey Peter. Donald Runnicles sarà sul podio dal 18 dicembre.
The Met: Live in HD 2017-18
Ecco il calendario delle dirette cinemtografiche dal Met:
Norma (7 ottobre)
Die Zauberflöte (14 ottobre)
The Exterminating Angel (18 novembre)
Tosca (27 gennaio)
L’elisir d’amore (10 febbraio),
La bohème (14 febbraio)
Semiramide (10 marzo),
Così fan tutte (31 marzo),
Luisa Miller (14 aprile)
Cendrillon (28 aprile)
Sono inoltre previste dirette radio internazionali e, anche per questa stagione, una trasmissione live streaming alla settimana al sito metopera.org.
The Metropolitan Operas’s 2017-18 Season
220 Performances of 26 Works, With Five New Productions, Including Two Met Premieres
The season opens September 25 with a new staging of Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece Norma, directed by Sir David McVicar and starring Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role
A new production of Puccini’s Tosca, directed by Sir David McVicar, opens on New Year’s Eve, with Andris Nelsons conducting Kristine Opolais, Jonas Kaufmann and Bryn Terfel
Thomas Adès conducts the North American premiere of his new opera The Exterminating Angel, co-commissioned by the Met, beginning October 26
Massenet’s Cendrillon, a retelling of the Cinderella story, has its first-ever Met performances beginning April 12, starring Joyce DiDonato in the title role
On March 15, Phelim McDermott’s new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, set in Coney Island in the 1950s, premieres with an ensemble cast conducted by David Robertson and featuring Kelli O’Hara as Despina
Beginning November 24, Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducts four concert performances of Verdi’s Requiem, featuring soloists Krassimira Stoyanova, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Aleksandrs Antonenko, and Ferruccio Furlanetto
Rare revivals include Rossini’s Semiramide, last performed at the Met in 1993
The Met: Live in HD will feature 10 live transmissions, beginning October 7 with Norma
New York, NY —The Metropolitan Opera’s 2017-18 season will feature 220 performances of 26 works, including two Met premieres, one co-commissioned by the company and one an older masterpiece having its first Met performances; a variety of repertory favorites, three in new productions; and performances of Verdi’s towering concert work for soloists, orchestra, and chorus, the Requiem.
The season opens on September 25 with a new production of Bellini’s Norma, conducted by Carlo Rizzi, directed by Sir David McVicar, and starring Sondra Radvanovsky, one of the world’s leading interpreters of the role, opposite Joyce DiDonato as Adalgisa and Joseph Calleja as Pollione. On October 26, composer Thomas Adès conducts the North American premiere of his The Exterminating Angel, a Met co-commission, based on the screenplay by Luis Buñuel and Luis Alcoriza of Buñuel’s 1962 absurdist film. The opera, which will be sung in English, will bestaged by the librettist Tom Cairns, who is making his company debut. A new production of Puccini’s Tosca will open on New Year’s Eve, with Andris Nelsons conducting Sir David McVicar’s staging. Kristine Opolais stars in the title role opposite Jonas Kaufmann as her devoted lover Cavaradossi and Bryn Terfel as Scarpia. Later performances will star Anna Netrebko as the title character with Marcelo Álvarez as Cavaradossi and Michael Volle as Scarpia. A new staging of Così fan tutte, set in the 1950s on Coney Island, opens March 15 and is conducted by David Robertson and directed by Phelim McDermott. The new production will star an ensemble cast including Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara in her role debut as the maid Despina. On April 12, Massenet’s operatic adaptation of the Cinderella story, Cendrillon, has its Met premiere, conducted by Bertrand de Billy and directed by Laurent Pelly,with Joyce DiDonato in the title role and Alice Coote as Prince Charming. In November and December, Met Music Director Emeritus James Levine will conduct four concert performances of Verdi’s Requiem, featuring soloists Krassimira Stoyanova, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Aleksandrs Antonenko, and Ferruccio Furlanetto, along with the Met’s orchestra and chorus.
Among the season’s revivals are some rarely performed stagings, including Verdi’s Luisa Miller, starring Sonya Yoncheva, Piotr Beczala, and Plácido Domingo; Rossini’s Semiramide, last performed at the Met in 1993, with Angela Meade in the title role; and two recent new productions having their first revivals, François Girard’s staging of Wagner’s Parsifal and Patrice Chéreau’s celebrated production of Strauss’s Elektra.
The Met: Live in HD series, which transmits Met performances to more than 2,000 movie theaters in 71 countries around the world, continues for its 12th season. Ten performances from the season will be broadcast, beginning October 7 with the new production of Norma.
For the third season in a row, ticket prices will not increase, and audience development initiatives created in recent seasons will continue to be a core part of the company’s outreach strategies.
The 2017-18 season was announced by Met General Manager Peter Gelb.
“We’re replenishing our core repertoire with new productions of Così fan tutte, Norma, and Tosca, while stretching our horizons with The Exterminating Angel and Cendrillon,” said Gelb. “It’s a season of repertory favorites and stimulating rarities, with something for neophytes and aficionados alike.”
New Productions
Norma – Vincenzo Bellini
OPENING NIGHT
Opening: September 25, 2017
Conductors: Carlo Rizzi / Joseph Colaneri
Production: Sir David McVicar
Set Designer: Robert Jones
Costume Designer: Moritz Junge
Lighting Designer: Paule Constable
Movement Director: Leah Hausman
Live in HD: October 7, 2017
The season opens with a new production of Bellini’s bel canto tragedy Norma, starring Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role, which she has sung to acclaim at the Met in 2013, as well as at the Canadian Opera Company, San Francisco Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Lyric Opera of Chicago—making her one of the world’s leading interpreters of the iconic title character. Joyce DiDonato co-stars as Norma’s colleague and rival, Adalgisa, opposite Joseph Calleja as Pollione and Matthew Rose as Oroveso. On October 16 and 20, Marina Rebeka will make her Met role debut as the Druid priestess, Norma. Beginning December 1, the production will star Angela Meade as Norma with Jamie Barton reprising the role of Adalgisa and led by Joseph Colaneri. Sir David McVicar directs the production, having staged seven Met productions including Verdi’s Il Trovatore, Handel’s Giulio Cesare, the double bill of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, and Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, and Roberto Devereux.
The Exterminating Angel – Thomas Adès
MET PREMIERE
Opening: October 26, 2017
Conductor: Thomas Adès
Libretto: Tom Cairns, in collaboration with the composer
Production: Tom Cairns
Set and Costume Designer: Hildegard Bechtler
Lighting Designer: Jon Clark
Projection Designer: Tal Yarden
Choreographer: Amir Hosseinpour
Live in HD: November 18, 2017
The Exterminating Angel has its Met premiere, conducted by the composer, Thomas Adès. The 2016 opera, co-commissioned by the Met and sung in English, is based on the screenplay by Luis Buñuel and Luis Alcoriza for the acclaimed 1962 Buñuel film. Directed by the librettist Tom Cairns, the ensemble cast features Audrey Luna as Leticia Maynar; Amanda Echalaz as Lucia de Nobile; Sally Matthews as Silvia de Ávila and Sophie Bevan as Beatriz, both in Met debuts; Alice Coote as Leonora Palma; Christine Rice as Blanca Delgado; Iestyn Davies as Francisco de Ávila; Joseph Kaiser as Edundo de Nobile; Frédéric Antoun in his Met debut as Raúl Yebenes; David Portillo as Edmundo; David Adam Moore in his Met debut as Col. Álvaro Gómez; Rod Gilfry as Alberto Roc; Kevin Burdette as Señor Russell; Christian Van Horn as Julio; and John Tomlinson as Dr Carlos Conde. The Exterminating Angel is a co-commission and co-production with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Royal Danish Theatre; and Salzburg Festival, where the production premiered in 2016.
Tosca – Giacomo Puccini
NEW YEAR’S EVE GALA
Opening: December 31, 2017
Conductor: Andris Nelsons / Bertrand de Billy
Production: Sir David McVicar
Set and Costume Designer: John Macfarlane
Lighting Designer: David Finn
Movement Director: Leah Hausman
Live in HD: January 27, 2018
Andris Nelsons conducts a new staging of Puccini’s dramatic tragedy, directed by Sir David McVicar. Kristine Opolais and Jonas Kaufmann star as the heroine Tosca and her lover Cavaradossi, with Bryn Terfel as the villainous Scarpia. In April, Anna Netrebko adds a new role to her Met repertory as the title diva, opposite Marcelo Álvarez as Cavaradossi. Michael Volle and George Gagnidze share the role of Scarpia during April and May performances with Bertrand de Billy conducting.
Così fan tutte – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Opening: March 15, 2018
Conductor: David Robertson
Production: Phelim McDermott
Set Designer: Tom Pye
Costume Designer: Laura Hopkins
Lighting Designer: Paule Constable
Live in HD: March 31, 2018
Phelim McDermott returns to the Met with a new staging of Mozart’s comedy Così fan tutte, led by David Robertson. The production, set in Coney Island during the 1950s, features Amanda Majeski and Serena Malfi as the conflicted sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella; Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara as their feisty maid, Despina; Ben Bliss and Adam Plachetka as the sisters’ fiancés, Ferrando and Guglielmo; and Christopher Maltman as the cynical Don Alfonso. Così fan tutte is a co-production with the English National Opera, where this staging premiered in 2014, in collaboration with Improbable.
Cendrillon – Jules Massenet
MET PREMIERE
Opening: April 12, 2018
Conductor: Bertrand de Billy
Production: Laurent Pelly
Set Designer: Barbara de Limburg
Costume Designer: Laurent Pelly
Lighting Designer: Duane Schuler
Choreographer: Laura Scozzi
Live in HD: April 28, 2018
Massenet’s enchanting opera Cendrillon, based on the Cinderella story,premieres at the Met conducted by Bertrand de Billy in a staging by Laurent Pelly, whose Met credits include staging Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment and Massenet’s Manon. Joyce DiDonato stars as the title character, a role she has sung to acclaim at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, The Santa Fe Opera, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. The cast also features Kathleen Kim as the Fairy Godmother, Alice Coote as Prince Charming, Stephanie Blythe as the evil stepmother Madame de la Haltière, 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 in 2006.
Requiem – Giuseppe Verdi
CONCERT
Opening: November 24, 2017
Conductor: James Levine
Met Music Director Emeritus James Levine will conduct four concert performances of Verdi’s Requiem, a powerful meditation on death, featuring soloists Krassimira Stoyanova, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Aleksandrs Antonenko, and Ferruccio Furlanetto, along with the Met’s orchestra and chorus.
Noteworthy Met Debuts
Notable Met debuts this season include Irish mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught as Nicklausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann (September 26); South African soprano Golda Schultz as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (September 27); British conductor Alexander Soddy leading La Bohème (October 2); American soprano Angel Blue as Mimì in La Bohème (October 2); British soprano Sally Matthews as Silvia de Ávila in The Exterminating Angel (October 26): Italian conductor Jader Bignamini leading Madama Butterfly(November 2); German soprano Christiane Karg as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro (December 6); American conductor Ward Stare leading The Merry Widow (December 14); Venezuelan conductor Domingo Hindoyan leading L’Elisir d’Amore (January 16); Italian baritone Davide Luciano as Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore(January 16); German soprano Evelyn Herlitzius as Kundry in Parsifal (February 5); German mezzo-soprano Michaela Schuster as Klytämnestra in Elektra (March 1); and Russian bass Alexander Vinogradov as Walter in Luisa Miller (March 29).
In addition, Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla makes her first Met appearance, leading the MET Orchestra in a Carnegie Hall concert on May 18.
Repertory Highlights
The 2017-18 season will feature 20 revivals of works by 14 composers starring many of the world’s leading opera singers and conductors.
Met Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducts Mozart’s opera, Die Zauberflöte, sung in full-length performances in its original German. The cast features Golda Schultz as Pamina, Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night, Charles Castronovo as Tamino, Markus Werba as Papageno, Christian Van Horn as Sprecher, and Tobias Kehrer as Sarastro.
Il Trovatore, also conducted by Levine, stars Maria Agresta as Leonora, Anita Rachvelishvili as Azucena, Yonghoon Lee as Manrico, Quinn Kelsey and Luca Salsi as Count di Luna, and Štefan Kocán and Kwangchul Youn as Ferrando.
Levine also conducts a rare revival of Luisa Miller, which has not been seen at the Met since 2006.Sonya Yoncheva sings the title role, opposite Piotr Beczala as Luisa’s lover Rodolfo, in the story of a young woman who sacrifices her own happiness in an attempt to save her father’s life. The cast also includes Plácido Domingo as Luisa’s father Miller with Olesya Petrova as Federica, and Alexander Vinogradov and Dmitry Belosselskiy as Walter and Wurm, the ruthless men determined to tear Luisa and Rodolfo apart.
Met Music Director Designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts a revival of Parsifal, starring Klaus Florian Vogt in the title role, with Evelyn Herlitzius as Kundry, Peter Mattei as Amfortas, Evgeny Nikitin as Klingsor, and René Pape as Gurnemanz.
In March, Nézet-Séguin returns to the Met to conduct Elektra starring Christine Goerke in the title role, with Elza van den Heever as Chrysothemis, Michaela Schuster as Klytämnestra, Jay Hunter Morris as Aegisth, and Mikhail Petrenko as Orest.
Rossini’s rarity set in ancient Babylon, Semiramide, which has not been seen at the Met in 25 years, will be conducted by Maurizio Benini and feature Angela Meade in the title role, with Elizabeth DeShong as Arsace, Javier Camarena as Idreno, Ildar Abdrazakov as Assur, and Ryan Speedo Green as Oroe.
Ailyn Pérez stars in her role debut as the title character in Thaïs opposite Gerald Finley as Athanaël,with Jean-François Borras as Nicias and David Pittsinger as Palémon. The performances will be conducted by Emmanuel Villaume.
Les Contes d’Hoffmann, conducted by Johannes Debus, stars Vittorio Grigolo as Hoffmann with Erin Morley as Olympia, Anita Hartig as Antonia/Stella, Oksana Volkova as Giulietta, Tara Erraught as Nicklausse/The Muse, Laurent Naouri as the Four Villains, and Christophe Mortagne as the Four Servants.
Three Puccini revivals will be presented in the 2017-18 season. La Bohème stars Angel Blue as Mimì, opposite Dmytro Popov as Rodolfo with Brigitta Kele as Musetta and Lucas Meachem as Marcello. Later performances star Anita Hartig and Sonya Yoncheva as Mimì; Jean-François Borras, Russell Thomas, and Michael Fabiano as Rodolfo; and Michael Todd Simpson as Marcello. The opera will be conducted by Alexander Soddy and Marco Armiliato.
Madama Butterfly stars Hui He and Ermonela Jaho as Cio-Cio-San with Maria Zifchak as Suzuki, Roberto Aronica and Luis Chapa as Pinkerton, and David Bizic, Dwayne Croft, and Roberto Frontali as Sharpless. Jader Bignamini and Marco Armiliato conduct all performances.
Turandot features Oksana Dyka and Martina Serafin sharing the title role of the icy princess, with Maria Agresta, Hei-Kyung Hong, and Guanqun Yu as Liù. Marcelo Álvarez reprises the role of Calàf, and James Morris and Alexander Tsymbalyuk share the role of Timur.
Le Nozze di Figaro stars Rachel Willis-Sørensen and Sonya Yoncheva as the Countess, Christiane Karg and Nadine Sierra as Susanna, Serena Malfi and Isabel Leonard as Cherubino, Luca Pisaroni and Mariusz Kwiecien as the Count, and Adam Plachetka and Ildar Abdrazakov as the title character. Harry Bicket conducts all performances.
Susan Graham reprises Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow conducted by Ward Stare. The cast also includes Andriana Chuchman as Valencienne, Paul Groves as Danilo, David Portillo as Camille de Rosillon, and Thomas Allen as Baron Mirko Zeta.
The double bill of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci isconducted by Nicola Luisotti, which features Roberto Alagna in the leading tenor roles of Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana and Canio in Pagliacci. Cavalleria Rusticana also features Ekaterina Semenchuk and Eva-Maria Westbroek as Santuzza, and Željko Lučić as Alfio. Pagliacci stars Aleksandra Kurzak as Nedda, George Gagnidze as Tonio, and Alessio Arduini as Silvio.
Pretty Yende and Matthew Polenzanistar as the spirited Adina and Nemorino, the simple peasant who falls in love with her, in L’Elisir d’Amore, which also stars Davide Luciano as Belcore and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo as Dulcamara. All performances are conducted by Domingo Hindoyan.
Lucia di Lammermoor returns to the Met starring Olga Peretyatko, Jessica Pratt, and Pretty Yende in the title role. Vittorio Grigolo and Michael Fabiano share the role of Edgardo with Massimo Cavalletti, Luca Salsi, and Quinn Kelsey as Enrico and Vitalij Kowaljow and Alexander Vinogradov as Raimondo. Roberto Abbado conducts all performances.
Ailyn Pérez and Bryan Hymel star as the doomed lovers in Roméo et Juliette with Joshua Hopkins as Mercutio and Kwangchul Youn as Frère Laurent. Plácido Domingo conducts all performances.
Holiday Presentations
The Met will stage two holiday presentations during the 2017-18 season: Julie Taymor’s production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Richard Jones’s staging of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Continuing a tradition that began in 2006, the English-language, abridged performances, designed to make the opera more accessible, will be sold at reduced ticket prices for both operas.
The cast of The Magic Flute includes Hanna-Elisabeth Müller as Pamina, Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night, Charles Castronovo as Tamino, Nathan Gunn as Papageno, Alfred Walker as the Speaker, and Tobias Kehrer as Sarastro. Edo de Waart will conduct the performances beginning November 25.
The cast of Hansel and Gretel features Lisette Oropesa as Gretel, Tara Erraught as Hansel, Dolora Zajick as Gertrude, Gerhard Siegel as the Witch, and Quinn Kelsey as Peter. Donald Runnicles will conduct the performances opening on December 18.
For the past two years, the Met has hosted an Open House for families, attracting hundreds of young audience members for behind-the-scenes displays and demonstrations by members of the Met’s backstage staff. This season, the Met will offer an Open House before the matinee performance of Hansel and Gretel on Thursday, December 28.
Ticket Information and Audience Development Initiatives
Ticket prices will not increase in 2017-18, remaining the same as in the two previous seasons. Prices will once again range from $25 to $480 for the 3,800 seats in the opera house. Approximately 40 percent of Met tickets will cost less than $100 and 58 percent will cost less than $150.
Subscriptions for the 2017-18 season are available now, and single tickets will go on sale to the general public on June 25, 2017. Subscription tickets will be significantly less expensive than single tickets, with a discount of 15% versus single-sale prices. This year, the company will once again offer advance exchange privileges to subscribers. Other subscriber benefits introduced in recent seasons, including the elimination of exchange fees, will continue in the coming season.
Any audience member who purchases tickets to five or more performances will receive a discount of 10 percent on their order. This applies to “Create Your Own” subscription purchasers and to regular subscribers who add on single tickets to their subscription packages.
The Rush Tickets program will return in 2017-18, making more than 30,000 $25 tickets available to the general public. Rush Tickets can be purchased on a first-come first-serve basis by logging on to metopera.org at 12 p.m. for weekday performances, 2 p.m. for Saturday evening performances, and 4 hours before curtain for matinee performances.
The Met Opera Students program will return in 2017-18, offering $35 tickets to many operas to student members of the program. The Students program will also offer invitations to artist lectures, discounts at the Met Opera Shop, and the opportunity to meet other opera lovers at special student events.
The “Fridays Under 40” audience development program will continue for a third season. Participants will enjoy discounted tickets and themed receptions before performances of Les Contes d’Hoffmann (October 13), The Exterminating Angel (November 3), Madama Butterfly (November 17), Le Nozze di Figaro (December 15), The Merry Widow (January 5), Il Trovatore (January 26), La Bohème (February 16), Elektra(March 9), Lucia di Lammermoor (March 30), and Così fan tutte (April 13). Fridays Under 40 tickets will go on sale June 25, 2017.
Front of House
The lobby of the Metropolitan Opera House will continue to be open to the public, free of charge, on weekday mornings (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and Sundays (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.) beginning Tuesday, September 26 and continuing through the end of the opera season; on Saturdays, the house is open only to ticket holders for one of the day’s two performances.
Visitors coming to the Met can walk up the famous grand staircase of the opera house, admire the iconic crystal chandeliers, or step out onto the balcony overlooking Lincoln Center Plaza. Personal photography will be permitted in all public areas of the house, allowing tourists or locals to capture a picture of a classic New York moment. In addition, a large television monitor will give visitors a live look at what’s happening on the Met stage, where rehearsals happen every morning for the 220 opera performances the company presents each season. Refreshments will be available for purchase.
During the opera season, the Grand Tier Restaurant will be open for brunch service on Sundays between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Reservations can be made by calling (212) 799-3400 or visiting metopera.org. In addition, brunch patrons can enjoy a free 20-minute recital by a member of the Met’s acclaimed Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at 12:15 and 1:30 p.m. each Sunday.
Live Simulcasts and Summer Events
In keeping with a tradition begun on Opening Night in 2006, the September 25 season premiere performance of Norma will be transmitted live to numerous large screens in Times Square. The Times Square relay of the Opening Night Gala is presented in cooperation with the City of New York and Times Square Arts. The live transmission to Times Square is made possible with the cooperation of the City of New York, with leadership support provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Additional funding is provided by the Metropolitan Opera Guild and Opera News. This program is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
In Summer 2017, the Met’s two free summer series will return. The Summer Recital Series will again present Met artists in recital in each of the five boroughs, and the Summer HD Festival will show operas from the Live in HD series on a large screen at Lincoln Center Plaza to an audience of approximately 3,000 people per night. Together, the Met’s summer programs are expected to allow approximately 50,000 New Yorkers to experience the Met for free.
The Met: Live in HD 2017-18
The 2017-18 season of The Met: Live in HD will kick off October 7 with Norma. The series will continue with Die Zauberflöte (October 14), The Exterminating Angel (November 18), Tosca (January 27), L’Elisir d’Amore (February 10), La Bohème (February 24), Semiramide (March 10), Così fan tutte (March 31), Luisa Miller (April 14), and Cendrillon (April 28).
The Met’s groundbreaking series launched in 2006 and quickly established the company as the world’s leading alternative cinema content provider. More than 21 million tickets have been sold since the series’ inception, and the series currently reaches more than 2,000 movie theaters in 71 countries around the world.
Tickets for the 10 transmissions in the 2017-18 Live in HD season will go on sale July 19, 2017 in the U.S. and Canada, with Met Members offered priority before tickets are made available to the general public. International ticket sales dates and details on ordering tickets for the 2017-18 Live in HD series vary from country to country and will be announced separately by individual distributors.
The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor, The Neubauer Family Foundation. Global sponsorship of The Met: Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline Desmarais, in memory of Paul G. Desmarais Sr.
Within months of their initial live transmissions, the Live in HD programs are shown on PBS. The PBS series, Great Performances at the Met, is produced in association with PBS and WNET, with support from Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builder®. Additional funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Met: HD Live in Schools
The Met’s HD Live in Schools program will continue for its 11th season, partnering with 45 school districts across the country to bring the Met’s live HD transmissions to students and teachers. This season, Die Zauberflöte, Tosca, L’Elisir d’Amore, Così fan tutte, and Cendrillon will be included in the program. The Met’s HD education program includes backstage visits for students, who learn how costumes and scenery are constructed; Q&As with artists; access to final dress rehearsals; in-school workshops; and teacher training workshops. Program and curriculum guides are created for in-school use in conjunction with HD screenings. HD Live in Schools is generously supported by Bank of America, with program support provided through a partnership with the New York City Department of Education.
The MET Orchestra at Carnegie Hall
The MET Orchestra continues its highly acclaimed annual series for three performances at Carnegie Hall in 2017-18. On May 18, 2018, the orchestra will perform Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death, and Tchaikovsky’sSymphony No. 4 with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla leading the orchestra in her Carnegie Hall debut, featuring mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili.
On May 30, soloist James Ehnes will join Gianandrea Noseda and the MET orchestra for Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 5.
The series will conclude June 5 with Met Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducting the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s Eros and Nemesis in a program that also includes Brahms’s Symphony No. 4.
For tickets and additional information on the MET Orchestra concerts at Carnegie Hall, the public may visit www.carnegiehall.org or call (212) 247-7800.
The Met/LCT New Works Program
The Met/LCT New Works Program continues to develop pieces for the opera and music theater stages. Ricky Ian Gordon, whose works 27 and A Coffin in Egypt received their New York premieres in the past year, is continuing work on Intimate Apparel, which Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage has adapted from her play about an African-American seamstress in turn-of-the-century New York. Jeanine Tesori, a Tony winner for her musical Fun Home, is working with George Brant, who will adapt his play Grounded, about a female F16 fighter pilot reassigned to drone duty. Matthew Aucoin is working with playwright Sarah Ruhl on an adaptation of her play Eurydice, her take on the Orpheus myth. Aucoin has explored his fascination with the Orpheus myth in his dramatic cantata The Orphic Moment,which recently received its Salzburg premiere. David T. Little is developing an original idea with librettist Royce Vavrek, with whom he created the operas Dog Days and JFK, which premiered at Fort Worth Opera last year. Joshua Schmidt and librettist Dick Scanlan are continuing work on a project focusing on the creation of Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Fallingwater” house for 1930’s department store magnate Edgar Kaufmann.
The Met/LCT New Works Program is funded by a generous gift to the Met from the Francis Goelet Charitable Trusts.
The Met on the Radio and the Web
The Met’s 87th consecutive Saturday Matinee Radio Broadcast season kicks off on December 2 with a live broadcast of Verdi’s Requiem and continues through the May 5 matinee of Roméo et Juliette.The broadcast season will once again be heard live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network. Mary Jo Heath returns for her third season as host and Ira Siff returns for his 11th season as commentator for the broadcasts, which feature a range of dynamic intermission features, live backstage interviews with artists, and the ever-popular Opera Quiz. The 2017-18 Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee radio broadcast season will be sponsored by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury homebuilder®, with generous long-term support from The Annenberg Foundation, The Neubauer Family Foundation, and the Vincent A. Stabile Endowment for Broadcast Media, and through contributions from listeners worldwide.
Metropolitan Opera Radio on SiriusXM Channel 74 will present its 11th season as the country’s premier subscription radio channel dedicated to opera. Up to three live performances will be broadcast each week during the season, hosted by Mary Jo Heath with commentator William Berger, as well as historic broadcasts from the Met’s vast collection. The channel also features lively interviews and previews of upcoming Met performances. The live broadcast season begins with the Met’s Opening Night performance of Norma on September 25. Metropolitan Opera Radio on SiriusXM is available to subscribers in the United States and Canada.
The Met will continue to stream one live performance per week during the 2017-18 season on its website at metopera.org.
Media Releases
The Met will continue to release performances from its vast archive of current and historic performances on CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, and digital platforms in the 2017-18 season, with the trademark artistic and production quality that has earned the company three consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Opera Recording.
More than 70 titles are currently available for purchase through the iTunes store iTunes.com/metopera, including Live in HD and standard definition video performances, audio performances, and ringtones, with additional titles added throughout the year.
Met Opera on Demand
The Met’s exclusive streaming service now features more than 600 full-length Met performances, available worldwide on a growing number of platforms that now includes computers; Roku devices; Apple TV via Airplay; iPad; Android devices; and Samsung Smart TVs. The Met Opera on Demand library includes 100 presentations from the Live in HD series, as well as hundreds of telecasts and radio broadcasts dating back to 1935.
Met Opera on Demand: Student Access allows university and college libraries to make this digital resource from the Met accessible to their student populations. Now in its fourth year, Student Access is currently available more than 100 schools around the world.
The Arnold and Marie Schwartz Gallery Met
During the 2017-18 season, the contemporary art space located in the Met’s south lobby will present three new exhibitions in conjunction with productions from the opera season. Admission is free and Gallery Met is open to the public six days a week; the hours are Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. through the last intermission, Saturdays from noon through the last intermission of the evening performance, and Sundays from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
The Gallery Met Shorts series, in which celebrated visual artists use animation, video, and film to create original artworks set to music from operas in the Met season, will also continue in 2017-18.
Further details on the Met’s visual arts initiatives for 2017-18, including participating artists and subjects, will be announced at a later date. For more information, please visit metopera.org/visit/exhibitions.