Episodes
| Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 20081129 | Berlioz's La damnation de Faust
Launching the 2008 season of Live from the Met broadcasts from New York, James Levine conducts tenor Marcello Giordani as Faust and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham as Marguerite in Berlioz's adaptation of Goethe's story of a man who sells his soul to the Devil.
In a story that is more romantically focused than the Goethe version, the evil Mephistopheles introduces Faust to Marguerite and causes them to fall in love. Faust is tricked into selling his soul to save the woman he loves, ultimately sacrificing himself so that she might reach heaven.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait, with guest commentator Ira Siff.
Marguerite ...... Susan Graham (mezzo-soprano)
Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances | |
| Alfano's Cyrano de Bergerac | 20170506 | Live from the Met Franco Alfano's Cyrano de Bergerac, a late, bitter-sweet 'verismo' jewel, with Roberto Alagna in the title role as the clever and romantic guardsman, whose rather long nose prevents him from declaring his love to the fair Roxane, sung by Patricia Racette, who only has eyes for the brave and handsome soldier Christian, in a tragedy based on Edmond Rostand's drama. Marco Armiliato conducts the Met Opera and Chorus. Presented by Mary Jo Heath, with commentator Ira Siff.
Roxane ..... Patricia Racette (soprano)
Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, a performance of Alfano's Cyrano de Bergerac. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet | 20100327 | A singer known for depth of his performances leads the cast in Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet, live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York. It's a 19th century romantic interpretation of Shakespeare's tragedy, originally with a happy ending, but this was subsequently changed to reflect the play a little more closely. Simon Keenlyside is the tormented Prince seeking vengeance for his father's death, in one of the few chances for a baritone to play the lead role. Marlis Petersen is his ill-fated love, Ophelia, to whom Thomas gives an extended and truly memorable mad scene.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with Ira Siff as guest commentator. Live backstage interviews during the interval.
Hamlet: Simon Keenlyside (baritone)
Louis Longree conducts a 19th-century Romantic version of Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Bellini - I Puritani | 20140503 | A Puritan stronghold is under threat from Royalist troops. Within the fortress, Elvira, daughter of the commander has been promised to Riccardo, but is in love with Arturo, a Royalist. When she mistakenly believes herself betrayed by Arturo, it's enough to drive her mad. In Bellini's final opera, Olga Peretyatko makes her Met debut as Elvira with Lawrence Brownlee and Mariusz Kwiecien as the two men in her life.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff.
Elvira Walton ..... Olga Peretyatko (Soprano)
Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Bellini's final opera I Puritani. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Bellini's I Puritani | 20170218 | Tonight's Live from the Met is Bellini's I Puritani. A Puritan stronghold is under threat from Royalist troops. Within the fortress, Elvira, daughter of the commander has been promised to Riccardo, but is in love with Arturo, a Royalist. When she mistakenly believes herself betrayed by Arturo, it's enough to drive her mad. In Bellini's final opera, written specifically for four of the best singers of the day Diana Damrau sings Elvira, with Javier Camarena and Alexey Markov as the two men in her life.
Presented by Mary Jo Heath and Ira Siff.
Lord Arturo Talbot.....Javier Camarena (tenor)
Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, a performance of Bellini's opera I Puritani. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Bellini's La Sonnambula | 20090321 | From the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Evelino Pido conducts Mary Zimmerman's new production of Bellini's opera, with soprano Natalie Dessay and tenor Juan Diego Florez in the lead roles. The story is set in a Swiss village inn, where a group of people are celebrating the marriage of orphan Amina to the rich Elvino. Her habit of sleepwalking accidentally leads her into the bed of Count Rodolfo, causing the villagers to reach the wrong conclusions and arouse Elvino's suspicions. Amina - Natalie Dessay (soprano) Elvino - Juan Diego Florez (tenor) Rodolfo - Michele Pertusi (bass) Lisa - Jennifer Black (soprano) Alessio - Jeremy Galyon (bass) Teresa - Jane Bunnell (mezzo-soprano) Notary - Bernard Fitch (tenor) Chorus and Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera Evelino Pido (conductor). Evelino Pido conducts Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Florez in Bellini's opera. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Berg: Wozzeck | 20110416 | Berg's Wozzeck Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera. Here we go: jealousy, humiliation, murder and suicide. It sounds as if it could be any night at the opera. But Alban Berg's Wozzeck is one of the 20th century's greatest dramatic works, the story of a man at the bottom of the heap who goes to pieces under unrelenting pressure. It's an opera of extraordinary power which combines traditional musical forms with a plot of crushing despair, leaving no hint of hope or redemption. Berg's masterpiece calls for great singer-actors on stage and a virtuoso orchestra and conductor in the pit. Things are set fair with baritone Alan Held in the title role, mezzo Waltraud Meier as his common law wife, and an equally impressive supporting cast including Australian tenor-of-the-moment Stuart Skelton. James Levine conducts: over the past four decades, he has been the driving force behind the Met Orchestra's rise to the premiere league of US ensembles. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Wozzeck - Alan Held (Baritone) Marie - Waltraud Meier (Mezzo-soprano) Drum Major - Stuart Skelton (Tenor) Captain - Gerhard Siegel (Tenor) Doctor - Walter Fink (Bass) Andres - Russell Thomas (tenor) Margret - Wendy White (contralto) First Apprentice - Richard Bernstein (bass) Second Apprentice - Mark Schowalter (baritone) Madman - Philippe Castagner (tenor) A Soldier - Daniel Clark Smith (tenor) New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus Conductor - James Levine. Berg's Wozzeck, with Alan Held and Waltraud Meier. James Levine conducts. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Berg's Lulu | 20100508 | An animal trainer presents to his audience the wonderful wild beasts they're are about to see. There's a tiger, a bear and - last but not least - a dangerous serpent - who will mesmerise, seduce and kill, and who eventually get murdered by Jack the Ripper.
Berg's Lulu, live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, conducted by Fabio Luisi.
Marlis Petersen plays the scandalous femme fatale of the title, a role for which she has won international acclaim. Anne Sofie von Otter sings Countess Geschwitz, Gary Lehman is Alwa and James Morris is Dr. Schön.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with Ira Siff as guest commentator. There will be live backstage interviews and the Met Quiz during the two intervals.
Lulu ..... Marlis Petersen (soprano)
Soprano Marlis Petersen as the scandalous femme fatale in Berg's opera. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Berlioz's Les troyens | 20130105 | This week's live from the Met is Berlioz's epic opera based on Virgil's poem The Aeneid about the Trojan War. The Greeks have departed Troy after ten years of siege, leaving behind a huge wooden horse. While the Trojans see it as an offering to the goddess Athena, only King Priam's daughter Cassandra suspects it signifies impending disaster for Troy. Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Bryan Hymel, and Dwayne Croft lead a starry cast, conducted by Fabio Luisi.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff.
Cassandra ..... Deborah Voigt (soprano),
The Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Fabio Luisi conducts Berlioz's Les troyens. Cast includes Deborah Voigt and Susan Graham. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Bizet's Carmen | 20100116 | Including the Toreador's Song and Habanera, Bizet's Carmen is packed full of some of the best known and instantly hummable tunes in the Classical canon. So it's easy to forget that the score was declared unplayable, and the story too scandalous and debauched for polite society at its 1875 premiere. What upset the prim Parisians was that the cast of low-life characters, including factory workers, gypsies and soldiers, is depicted without rose-tinted romanticism, the slaves of their torrid passions. Jealousy, crime and murder dominate in a Spanish setting that the French preferred to think of as perfumed and exotic. But posterity gave Bizet the last laugh and star singers have always been attracted to the roles, including Latvian mezzo-of-the-moment Elina Garanca in the title role, and the internationally renowned tenor Roberto Alagna as her murderous lover Don José. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Including backstage interviews with artists during the interval. Carmen: Elina Garanca (mezzo-soprano) Don José: Roberto Alagna (tenor) Moralès: Trevor Scheunemann (baritone) Micaëla: Barbara Frittoli (soprano) Escamillo: Teddy Tahu Rhodes (baritone) Dancaire: Earle Patriarco (tenor) Remendado: Keith Jameson (tenor) Zuniga: Keith Miller (bass) Frasquita: Elizabeth Caballero (soprano) Mercédès: Sandra Piques Eddy (soprano) Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor) Orchestra and Chorus of Metropolitan Orchestra. Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducts Bizet's tale of gypsies, love, jealousy and murder. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Bizet's Carmen | 20130223 | Bizet's Carmen is packed full of some of the best known and hummable tunes in the Classical canon, including the instantly recognizable 'Toreador's Song' and 'Habanera'. So it's easy to forget that the score was declared unplayable, and the story too scandalous and debauched for polite society at its 1875 premiere.
What upset the prim Parisians was that the low-life characters, including factory workers, gypsies and soldiers, are depicted without rose-tinted romanticism, the slaves of their torrid passions. Jealousy, crime and murder dominate in a Spanish setting that the French preferred to think of as perfumed and exotic.
But posterity gave Bizet the last laugh and star singers have always been attracted to the roles, including Georgian mezzo Anita Rachvelishvili, whose Carmen has become a bit of a party piece, and Austrian tenor Nikolai Schukoff, who makes his Met debut as Carmen's murderous lover, Don Jos退
Carmen.....Anita Rachvelishvili (mezzo-soprano)
Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, a performance of Bizet's opera Carmen. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Bizet's Carmen | 20170211 | Live from the Met, Bizet's Carmen with Clementine Margaine as the gypsy femme fatale who lives and dies by her rules, and Roberto Aronica as Don Jos退, her hapless lover, in this story of seduction and betrayal which shocked conventions only to become one of the most loved operas in the canon. Asher Fisch conducts the Metropolitan Opera orchestra and chorus.
Carmen.....Clementine Margaine (mezzo-soprano)
New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus
Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a performance of Bizet's opera Carmen. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Bizet's The Pearl Fishers | 20160116 | For the first time in 100 years, Bizet's The Pearl Fishers comes to the Met. Pearl divers Nadir and Zurga talk about the time their friendship was nearly destroyed when they both fell in love with the same woman - the beautiful Hindu priestess Leila. When a veiled princess arrives in the village, Nadir immediately recognises it as Leila, who he still loves, and which will test their friendship once again. The themes of love, betrayal and vengeance are brought to life in Bizet's exotic score, which includes ravishing music such as the famous duet, Au fond du temple saint. Gianandrea Noseda conducts a cast including Matthew Polenzani and Mariusz Kwiecien as the rival pearl divers and Diana Damrau as the object of their affection.
Presented by Mary Jo Heath and Ira Siff.
Bizet The Pearl Fishers
The Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, New York
Live from the Metropolitan Opera, Bizet's The Pearl Fishers conducted by Gianandrea Noseda Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Borodin's Prince Igor | 20140301 | Tonight's Live from the Met is Borodin's epic, Prince Igor.
Famous for its Polovtsian Dances, Borodin based his 4-act opera Prince Igor on the 12th-century epic prose 'The Lay of Igor's Host', which tells of the Russian Prince Igor's campaign against the invading Cuman/Polovtsian tribes in 1185.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff
Yaroslavna ..... Oksana Dyka (Soprano)
Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Borodin's Prince Igor with Ildar Abdrazakov. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur | 20090221 | From the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Marco Armiliato conducts Placido Domingo in the role of Maurizio, in which he made his Met debut in 1969, along with Maria Guleghina and Olga Borodina in Cilea's evergreen opera. In 1730 at the Comedie Francaise in Paris, the great actress of the age, Adriana Lecouvreur, inspires a devoted following of aristocratic admirers, including Maurizio, Count of Saxony. Jealously is never far away and, tragically, this spells the end for Adriana in the form of poisoned flowers from an embittered rival for Maurizio's affections. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The intervals include backstage interviews and the Met Opera Quiz. Adriana - Maria Guleghina (soprano) The Princess - Olga Borodina (mezzo-soprano) Maurizio - Placido Domingo (tenor) Michonnet - Roberto Frontali (baritone) Prince of Bouillon - John del Carlo (bass) Quinault - Philip Cokorinos (bass) Poisson - Brian Frutiger (tenor) Mlle Jouvenot - Jennifer Black (soprano) Mlle Dangeville - Reveka E Macrovitis (mezzo-soprano) Abbe of Chazeuil - Bernard Fitch (tenor) Orchestra and Chorus of New York Metropolitan Opera Marco Armiliato (conductor). Marco Armiliato conducts Placido Domingo, Maria Guleghina in Cilea's evergreen opera. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore | 20140125 | Tonight's Live from the Met is Donizetti's great comedy, L'elisir d'amore.
Nemorino, a poor peasant, loves Adina, a beautiful landowner, though she torments him with her indifference. But when he hears Adina reading the story of Tristan and Isolde to her workers, he is convinced that a magic potion will help him to gain Adina's love. Luckily, at just the right moment, a travelling quack doctor comes by to prepare him one.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff.
Adina.....Anna Netrebko (Soprano)
From the New York Metropolitan Opera, Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, with Anna Netrebko. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Donizetti's Anna Bolena | 20120204 | Donizetti's Anna Bolena live from the Met. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Anna Netrebko portrays the ill-fated queen driven insane by her unfaithful king, in Donizetti's tragic two-act opera. She sings one of opera's greatest mad scenes as Henry VIII abandons her and takes up with Jane Seymour, previously her lady-in-waiting. Ekaterina Gubanova sings Jane, Ildar Abdrazakov takes the role of Henry VIII, and Marco Armiliato conducts. Anna Bolena ..... Anna Netrebko (soprano) Giovanna Seymour ..... Ekaterina Gubanova (mezzo-soprano) Enrico VIII ..... Ildar Abdrazakov (bass) Smeaton ..... Tamara Mumford (contralto) Lord Riccardo Percy ..... Stephen Costello (tenor) New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus Marco Armiliato (conductor). A performance from the Metropolitan Opera in New York of Donizetti's tragic Anna Bolena. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Donizetti's Anna Bolena | 20160109 | Donizetti's Anne Bolena, with Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role, Ildar Abdrazakov as King Henry VIII, Milijana Nikolic as Jane Seymour, the king's consort. Marco Armiliato conducts. Presented by Mary Jo Heath and Ira Siff Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York Donizetti: Anna Bolena Anna Bolena - Sondra Radvanovsky (soprano) Giovanna Seymour - Milijana Nikolic (mezzo-soprano) Smeton - Tamara Mumford (mezzo-soprano) Lord Riccardo Percy - Stephen Costello (tenor) Enrico VIII - Ildar Abdrazakov (bass-baritone) The Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, New York The Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York Marco Armiliato (conductor) The first of Donizetti's operas to achieve wide success, Anna Bolena is based on the historical episode of the fall and death of England's Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII. Courtiers comment that the queen's star is setting, because the king's fickle heart burns with another love. Anne meanwhile admits to herself that the ashes of her first love are still burning, and that she is now unhappy in her vain splendor. In Donizetti's story of the doomed queen, Sondra Radvanovsky takes the title role as Anne Boleyn, Ildar Abdrazakov is King Henry VIII, Milijana Nikolic is Jane Seymour, the king's consort, and Stephen Costello plays the queen's love interest in Sir David McVicar's gripping period production. Marco Armiliato conducts. With Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role and Ildar Abdrazakov as King Henry VIII. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Donizetti's Don Pasquale | 20110219 | Don Pasquale Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In Donizetti's brilliant comedy, the elderly bachelor Don Pasquale plans to marry and produce an heir in order to disinherit his nephew, Ernesto, who has become infatuated with a young widow, Norina. Don Pasquale asks his doctor to help fix him up with a suitable woman but the cunning doctor tricks Pasquale into marrying a disguised Norina, who promtly begins to drive him to distraction. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Norina - Rachelle Durkin* (soprano) Ernesto..... Matthew Polenzani (Tenor) Dr Malatesta - Mariusz Kwiecien (baritone) Don Pasquale..... John Del Carlo (bass) Notary......Bernard Fitch (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera conductor Joseph Colaneri *Rachelle Durkin will sing the role of Norina in this Saturday's matinee performance of Don Pasquale, replacing Anna Netrebko, who is ill. Joseph Colaneri conducts soprano Rachelle Durkin in Donizetti's comic opera Don Pasquale. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Donizetti's Don Pasquale | 20160312 | Donizetti: Don Pasquale
The elderly bachelor Don Pasquale plans to marry to produce an heir to disinherit his nephew, Ernesto, who has fallen in love with a young impoverished widow, Norina. Don Pasquale asks his supposed friend the doctor, Malatesta, to help fix him up with a suitable woman, but the plot thickens and twists when Malatesta helps the young couple Norina and Ernesto deceive Don Pasquale. Donizetti's graceful and witty score is conducted by Maurizio Benini, with celebrated soprano Eleonora Buratto making her debut as Norina, tenor Javier Camarena as Ernesto, and the baritone Ambrogio Maestri as the pompous Don Pasquale, live from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York.
Presented by Mary Jo Heath and commentator Ira Siff
Norina ..... Eleonora Buratto (soprano)
The Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York
Live from the Met in New York, a performance of Donizetti's opera Don Pasquale. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Donizetti's La fille du regiment | 20100213 | In tonight's Live from the Met Diana Damrau stars as Marie, the daughter of the 21st regiment of the French army. She's in love with Tonio, but won't marry him because he's not in the regiment, so the only option is for him to enlist. Meanwhile, Marie's long-lost mother has other plans for her romantic future.
Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment combines comedy with some famously virtuosic vocal writing, including Tonio's aria which includes no fewer than nine top C's, sung tonight by Juan Diego Flórez. And the production includes Kiri Te Kanawa in the speaking role of the Duchess of Krakenthorp.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff.
Marie: Diana Damrau (soprano)
Marco Armiliato conducts Juan Diego Florez and Diana Damrau in Donizetti's comic opera. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Donizetti's La fille du regiment | 20111224 | Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment
Presented by Margaret Juntwait, with guest commentator Ira Siff.
Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment with Nino Machaidze (Marie) and Lawrence Brownless (Tonio). Yves Abel conducts the Metropolitan Opera orchestra and chorus.
The opera is set in a Swiss village in the Tyrolean Alps, where a French regiment is passing through. They're led by Sergeant Sulpice and the regiment has a "daughter" named Marie - though she's really more like their mascot and their maid. They found her when she was only a baby, and they've raised her ever since.
Marie is in love with a Swiss villager named Tonio. Unfortunately, there's a complication: she's only allowed to marry a member of the Regiment.
The opera is famous for Tonio's aria "Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fꀀte!" which has been called the "Mount Everest" for tenors as it features nine high Cs.
Marie.....Nino Machaidze (soprano)
New York Metropolitan opera orchestra and chorus
Yves Abel conducts Donizetti's La fille du regiment at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore | 20090404 | From the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Maurizio Benini conducts Donizetti's belcanto comedy, with Angela Gheorghiu and Massimo Giordano in the lead roles.
The young Nemorino is in love with the beautiful farm owner Adina, but she seems beyond his reach, even more so when Sergeant Belcore turns up and asks her to marry him. But Dr Dulcamara, a travelling quack and charlatan, arrives in the village offering potions capable of curing anything, including an elixir of love.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The interval includes backstage interviews with members of the cast.
Nemorino ...... Massimo Giordano (tenor)
Maurizio Benini conducts Donizetti's bel canto comedy, with Angela Gheorghiu. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore | 20130209 | Nemorino is hopelessly in love with the fickle Adina, who seems more interested in the dashing Sergeant Belcore. Luckily for Nemorino, the quack doctor Dulcamara is selling a potion which he claims is an elixir of love. Donizetti's tuneful comedy is performed live from the Met by a top cast including Anna Netrebko, Matthew Polenzani and Erwin Schrott.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff.
Adina ..... Anna Netrebko (soprano),
Live from New York's Metropolitan Opera, Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Donizetti's L'elisir d'Amore | 20160319 | Live from the New York's Met, Donizetti's comic opera L'elisir d'amore. Desperate for the love of wealthy landowner Adina, Nemorino, a simple peasant, tries to win her with the help of a quack doctor, a fake potion and a furtive tear. The cast is led by tenor Vittorio Grigolo and soprano Aleksandra Kurzak as the lovers. Renowned baritone Alessandro Corbelli is Doctor Dulcamara, while bass-baritone Adam Plachetka is sergeant Belcore. Enrique Mazzola conducts the orchestra and chorus of the Metropolitan Opera House.
Adina ..... Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano)
The Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York
Live from the Met in New York, Donizetti's comic opera L'elisir d'amore. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Donizetti's Lucia Di Lammermoor | 20090207 | Direct from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Marco Armiliato conducts one of the most loved bel canto operas of all time, broadly based on a historic drama by Walter Scott, and starring Russian soprano Anna Netrebko and Polish tenor Piotr Beczala as the doomed lovers. The opera centres on a tragic love triangle, as Lucia and Edgardo secretly become engaged, although Lucia is forced by her cruel brother to marry Arturo. She obeys, imagining that Edgardo is unfaithful, but after realising her mistake Lucia turns mad with anguish. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The intervals include backstage interviews with the performers and the Met Opera Quiz. Lucia - Anna Netrebko (soprano) Enrico - Mariusz Kwiecien (baritone) Edgardo - Piotr Beczala (tenor) Arturo - Colin Lee (tenor) Raimondo - Ildar Abdrazakov (bass) Alisa - Michaela Martens (mezzo-soprano) Normanno - Michael Myers (tenor) Chorus and Orchestra of New York Metropolitan Opera Marco Armiliato (conductor). Soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor Piotr Beczala star as the doomed lovers. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Donizetti's Lucia Di Lammermoor | 20110319 | Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Natalie Dessay stars as the innocent Lucia, forced by her brother into a political marriage with Arturo when she's desparately in love with Edgardo. The heartbreak and ruthlessness of her brother become too much for the fragile heroine, with tragic consequences. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Lucia - Natalie Dessay (soprano) Edgardo - Joseph Calleja (tenor) Enrico - Ludovic Tezier (baritone) Raimondo - Kwangchul Youn (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera Patrick Summers - conductor. Patrick Summers conducts soprano Natalie Dessay in Donizetti's tragic Lucia di Lammermoor. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Dvorak's Rusalka | 20090314 | In a performance from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Czech maestro Jiri Belohlavek conducts soprano Renee Fleming in the title role of Dvorak's opera - one she has made her own in recent years, with global success.
Rusalka tells the romantic story of a water nymph, who falls in love with a human. It has a poetic score, which evokes the mystery of the forest and explores the clash of the human and fairy worlds, most famously with Rusalka's passionate Song to the Moon.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The two intervals include backstage interviews and the Metropolitan Opera Quiz.
Rusalka ...... Renee Fleming (soprano)
From the Metropolitan Opera, Jiri Belohlavek conducts soprano Renee Fleming as Rusalka. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Dvorak's Rusalka | 20170225 | Live from the Met, Dvorak's lyric fairy tale Rusalka, with the soprano Kristine Opolais in the title role as the water nymph that comes to the human world only to create havoc, and the tenor Brandon Jovanovich as the doomed prince who falls in love with her, in this story of rejection, redemption and death, inspired by Slavic mythology. Mark Elder conducts the New York Opera and Chorus, as well as a starry cast. Introduced by Mary Jo Heath and commentator Ira Siff. Rusalka.....Kristine Opolais (soprano) Foreign Princess.....Katarina Dalayman (soprano) Jezibaba.....Jamie Barton (mezzo-soprano) Prince.....Brandon Jovanovich (tenor) Water Sprite.....Eric Owens (bass) Gamekeeper.....Alan Opie (baritone) Kitchen Boy.....Daniela Mack (mezzo-soprano) New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus Mark Elder (conductor). Live from the Met in New York, Dvorak's opera Rusalka, starring soprano Kristine Opolais. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Giordano's Andrea Chenier | 20140412 | Tonight's opera live from the Met is Umberto Giordano's Andrea Ch退nier.
Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, Giordano's melodramatic story is based on the life of the poet Andr退 Ch退nier, and Maddalena, soprano Patricia Racette, and their ill-fated love. Andrea Ch退nier is probably Giordano's most often performed opera, being a great showcase for the tenor. Tonight the title role is sung by tenor Marcelo Alvarez, who returns to the Met in a powerful pairing with soprano Patricia Racette.
Maddalena ..... Patricia Racette (Soprano)
Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Giordano's opera Andrea Chenier. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Gluck's Iphigenie En Tauride | 20110226 | Another day in ancient Greece. Iphigenia is sacrificed by her father, but is saved by a goddess who transports her to Tauris, where she becomes High Priestess. Her brother Orestes, after murdering their mother (who had murdered their father, to avenge the sacrifice of Iphigenia), is pursued by the Furies. Fast forward fifteen years. Orestes and his friend Pylades are washed up on to the beach at Tauris by a storm. Time for a happy reconciliation? Not yet: neither Orestes nor Iphigenia recognize each other, and neither reveals to the other their true identity. As a recent and unknown arrival in Tauris it begins to look bad for Orestes when, in the course of her High Priestess duties, Iphigenia is ordered by her boss (Thoas, king of the Scythians) to sacrifice all strangers. Luckily, Iphigenia is reluctant to do the deed, and Thoas is prevented from finishing off Orestes himself by the timely arrival of Pylades with a group of Greek soldiers. Now, at last, it really is time for a happy ending. Ever since its 1779 Paris premiere, Gluck's potent take on post-Trojan War practical and psychological family problems has gripped audiences and attracted the great singers of the day. Soprano Susan Graham and tenor-turned-baritone Plကcido Domingo play the siblings who unexpectedly wind up together and have to contend with all the usual predicaments of ancient Greek drama. Presented by Margaret Juntwait. Iphig退nie - Susan Graham (soprano) Oreste - Plကcido Domingo (baritone) Pylade - Paul Groves (tenor) Thoas - Gordon Hawkins (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the New York Metropolitan Opera Patrick Summers (conductor). Susan Graham and Placido Domingo in Gluck's Iphigenie en Tauride, based on the Greek myth. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice | 20090124 | From the Metropolitan Opera New York, James Levine conducts mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and soprano Danielle de Niese in the title roles of Gluck's version of the Greek myth of Orpheus.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait, with guest commentator Ira Siff.
Orfeo ...... Stephanie Blythe (mezzo-soprano)
James Levine conducts Gluck's version of the Greek myth of Orpheus. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Gounod's Romeo et Juliette | 20170121 | Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York
Gounod's Rom退o et Juliette with the soprano Diana Damrau and tenor Vittorio Grigolo as the star-crossed lovers, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda.
Juliette ..... Diana Damrau (soprano)
This sumptuous romantic adaptation of Shakespeare, in a prologue and five acts, sees a return to the Met of the star pairing of Damrau and Grigolo, who appeared together in 2015 to great acclaim. Gounod's librettists largely stay faithful to Shakespeare's original story, but they allow some dramatic licence at the end to give Romeo and Juliet a final duet.
Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a performance of Gounod's Romeo et Juliette. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Handel's Giulio Cesare | 20130427 | Live from the Met
Handel's version of the Caesar and Cleopatra story, with its themes of love, war, and empire building based on historical events of the Roman civil war of 48-47 B.C. Julius Caesar has defeated his rival Pompey and pursued him to Alexandria, the capital of Egypt, where he finds a kingdom ruled by Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy. In David McVicar's production, which premiered at Glyndebourne in 2005, one of the the world's leading countertenors, David Daniels, sings the title role, with Natalie Dessay as one of the most seductive heroines in all opera, Cleopatra.
Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar).....David Daniels (countertenor)
Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Harry Bicket conducts Handel's Giulio Cesare Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Handel's Rodelinda | 20111203 | This year's season of Live from the Met broadcasts begins with Handel's Rodelinda. King Bertarido has been deposed, assumed dead, leaving his Queen, Rodelinda and son behind. Grimoaldo is determined to become king, not realising that Bertarido is in fact alive, and planning to come back to rescue his family. Handel's opera contains some glorious music and is sung by a stellar cast including Renee Fleming and Andreas Scholl, and conducted by Harry Bicket.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff.
Rodelinda.....Renee Fleming (Soprano)
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Harry Bicket conducts Handel's Rodelinda, starring Renee Fleming and Andreas Scholl. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel | 20100102 | Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Fabio Luisi conducts Hansel und Gretel, Humperdinck's take on the Brothers Grimm fairytale.
Angelika Kirchschlager and Miah Persson star as the brother and sister lost in the woods looking for food, who find an inviting gingerbread house to feast on. Philip Langridge potrays the witch with more than just gingerbread on her mind for her next meal. Always a Christmas favourite, Hansel and Gretel has drama, humour and some great music.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. With live backstage interviews during the interval.
Gretel ...... Miah Persson (soprano)
Fabio Luisi conducts Angelika Kirschlager in a version of the Brothers Grimm fairytale. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Humperdinck's Hansel Und Gretel | 20120107 | This English language production of Humperdinck's perennially popular Hansel and Gretel is The Met's equivalent to a seasonal panto. Including all the fun of cross-dressing, with mezzo Alice Coote (brother to Aleksandra Kurzak's Gretel) donning trousers to play Hansel, and tenor Robert Brubaker pulling on a frock and clutching a broomstick to play the wicked witch. One of Britain's hottest musical exports, Robin Ticciati, conducts. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel Hansel.....Alice Coote (Mezzo soprano) Gretel.....Aleksandra Kurzak (Soprano) The Gingerbread Witch.....Robert Brubaker (Tenor) Peter.....Dwayne Croft (Baritone) Gertrud.....Michaela Martens (Mezzo soprano) Sandman.....Jennifer Johnson Cano (Soprano) Dewman.....Lei Xu (Soprano) Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus Conductor.....Robin Ticciati. Robin Ticciati conducts the English version of Humperdinck's opera Hansel und Gretel. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel | 20150103 | Humperdinck's fairy-tale opera Hansel and Gretel, conducted by Andrew Davis, with Heidi Stober as Gretel & Jennider Johnson Cano as Hansel.
Presented by Mary Jo Heath and Ira Siff.
Gretel.....Heidi Stober (Soprano)
The Met's family entertainment for the holiday season is Richard Jones's witty production of Humperdinck's fairy-tale opera, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, in which two children confront a wicked witch. In a lush setting of giant chefs, suit-clad trees, and an industrial kitchen where the Witch gets what's coming to her, Aleksandra Kurzak as Gretel and Jennifer Johnson Cano as Hansel star in one of the most magical operas in the repertory.
Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel, with Heidi Stober and Jennifer Johnson Cano. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| J Strauss II: Die Fledermaus | 20140111 | Live from The Metropolitan Opera House in New York, Johann Strauss II's classic operetta Die Fledermaus, where a Viennese high-society party - and a jail - set the scene for a picaresque tale of mixed identities, seduction and revenge. The cast is led by Susanna Phillips as Rosalinde and Christopher Maltman as Eisenstein. Adam Fischer conducts the Met's orchestra and chorus.
Rosalinde.....Susanna Phillips (Soprano)
New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Johann Strauss II's operetta Die Fledermaus. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Janacek's The Makropoulos Case | 20120505 | Janacek's The Makropoulos case Live from The Met Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. When, at the end of the 16th century alchemist Hieronymus Makropulos made a potion that would extend the span of human life, he tested it on his daughter Elina. She fell into a coma and Hieronymus was sent to prison. But after a week Elina woke up and fled with the formula. Three hundred years later, she is still going - but does life have any value if it goes on for ever? Emilia Marty..... Karita Mattila (Soprano) Albert Gregor.....Richard Leech (Tenor) Dr Kolenaty..... Tom Fox (Bass) Kolenaty's Clerk..... Alan Oke (Tenor) Baron Prus..... Christopher Feigum (Baritone) Janek..... Matthew Plenk (Tenor) Count Hauk-Sendorf..... Bernard Fitch (Tenor) Stagehand..... James Courtney (Bass) Cleaning Woman..... Jane Shaulis (Mezzo-Soprano) Chambermaid..... Edyta Kulczak (Mezzo-Soprano) Kristina.....Emalie Savoy (soprano) New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Conductor... Jiri Belohlavek. Jiri Belohlavek conducts a performance of Janacek's opera The Makropoulos Case. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| John Adams's Doctor Atomic | 20090117 | In a performance given in November 2008 at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, Alan Gilbert conducts John Adams's opera, treating the subject of the atomic bomb, which is the latest in a series of works dealing with resonant moments in 20th-Century history.
Bass-baritone Gerald Finley portrays Robert J Oppenheimer, the highly cultivated scientific genius whose profound humanism is at odds with his role as the head of the project to create a weapon of unprecedented destructive force.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait.
Edward Teller ...... Richard Paul Fink (bass-baritone)
Alan Gilbert conducts Gerald Finley in an opera about the creation of the atomic bomb. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| John Adams's Nixon In China | 20110212 | Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera, John Adams's Nixon in China makes its debut at the Met in the same production first seen in 1987. In February 1972 President Nixon and his wife visit Chairman Mao in Communist China. The opera explores this legendary moment in American history, and the political and cultural differences which arise between the two leaders. Adams's wonderfully energetic score is conducted by the composer, with James Maddalena reprising Nixon, a role which he has made his own. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Richard Nixon - James Maddalena (Baritone) Pat Nixon - Janis Kelly (Soprano) Chou En-lai - Russell Braun (Baritone) Mao Tse-tung - Robert Brubaker (Tenor) Henry Kissinger - Richard Paul Fink (Bass) Chiang Ch'ing - Kathleen Kim (Soprano) Nancy T'sang, first secretary to Mao - Ginger Costa-Jackson (Mezzo-soprano) Second secretary to Mao - Teresa S. Herold (Contralto) Third secretary to Mao - Tamara Mumford (Contralto) John Adams - Conductor Chorus and Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera. From New York's Metropolitan Opera, John Adams conducts his 1987 opera Nixon in China. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Le Comte Ory | 20110409 | Count Ory is determined to win the countess Adele, and will do anything to get access to the castle where the women are, including disguising himself and his men as nuns. Rossini's sparkling comedy Le Comte Ory has its Metropolitan Opera premiere with tenor star Juan Diego Florez as the count, Diana Damrau as Adele and Joyce DiDonato in the trouser role of Isolier. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Countess Adele - Diana Damrau (soprano) Isolier - Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano) Ragonde - Susanne Resmark (mezzo-soprano) Count Ory - Juan Diego Florez (tenor) Rimbaud - Stephane Degout (baritone) The Prompter - Rob Besserer (baritone) Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera Conductor - Maurizio Benini. Maurizio Benini conducts Rossini's opera Le Comte Ory in its Metropolitan Opera premiere. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Lehar's The Merry Widow | 20150117 | Lehar's comic operetta The Merry Widow is Lehar's most popular and enchanting work. The plot deals with the Baron's attempts to obtain the Merry Widow Hanna Glawari's fortune to help his impoverished country by getting his young compatriot Danilo, here sung by baritone Nathan Gunn, to marry her. Star soprano Ren退e Fleming sings the title role and Thomas Allen is the Baron. Sir Andrew Davis conducts the New York Metropolitan Orchestra and Chorus in a new production by the Broadway virtuoso directors Susan Stroman and Bartlett Sher
Presented by Mary Jo Heath and Ira Siff
Hanna Glawari.....Ren退e Fleming (Soprano)
From the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Andrew Davis conducts Lehar's The Merry Widow. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana And Leoncavallo's Pagliacci | 20150425 | This evening's Opera on 3, Live from the Met, is the ever-popular double bill Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. Both are set in southern Italy, one group of characters celebrating Easter, and the other the fun of the fair. But all is not as it seems, and concealed adultery and jealousy in both stories lead to tragic endings. Marcelo Alvarez plays the dual tenor roles of Turiddu and Canio, and Eva-Maria Westbroek and Patricia Racette the doomed heroines. Presented by Mary Jo Heath and Ira Siff. Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana Santuzza.....Eva-Maria Westbroek (Soprano) Turiddu.....Marcelo Alvarez (Tenor) Lucia.....Jane Bunnell (Mezzo-soprano) Alfio.....George Gagnidze (Baritone) Lola.....Ginger Costa-Jackson (Mezzo-soprano) New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus Fabio Luisi (Conductor) Leoncavallo: Pagliacci Canio.....Marcelo Alvarez (Tenor) Nedda.....Patricia Racette (Soprano) Tonio.....George Gagnidze (Baritone) Beppe.....Andrew Stenson (Main Artist) Silvio.....Lucas Meachem (Baritone) Fabio Luisi (Conductor). Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci live from New York's Met. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Massenet's Manon | 20120407 | Massenet's Manon Live from The Met Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. When the Chevalier des Grieux turns up to catch the coach to Paris, he has an encounter which will turn his life upside down. He falls in love with Manon at first sight. When she tells him that her fondness for pleasure has led her family to send her to a convent, he is determined to rescue her from such a fate. But all will not go smoothly for the eloping couple. Anna Netrebko's dazzling portrayal of the tragic heroine in Laurent Pelly's new production travels to the Met from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Piotr Beczala and Paulo Szot also star, with the Met's Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi on the podium. Manon..... Anna Netrebko (Soprano) Chevalier des Grieux..... Piotr Beczala (Tenor) Lescaut..... Paulo Szot (Baritone) Comte des Grieux..... David Pittsinger (Bass) Guillot Morfontaine..... Christoph Mortagne (Baritone) Monsieur de Bretigny..... Bradley Garvin (Bass) Poussette..... Anne-Carolyn Bird (Soprano) Javotte..... Jennifer Black (Soprano) Rosette..... Ginger Costa-Jackson (Mezzo-soprano) Innkeeper..... Philip Cokorinos (Tenor) Maid..... Kathryn Day (Mezzo-soprano) New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus Conductor...Fabio Luisi. Fabio Luisi conducts Massenet's opera Manon, with Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Massenet's Thais | 20081220 | Soprano Renee Fleming brings one of her most celebrated roles to New York's Metropolitan Opera House for the first time in a performance of Massenet's exotic drama of love and redemption.
Based on a tale initially written down by a 10th-century nun, the opera tells the story of the monk Athanael and his ultimately tragic desire for the Alexandrian courtesan Thais.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The two intervals include backstage interviews.
Thais, a courtesan ...... Renee Fleming (soprano)
From the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, with Renee Fleming in the title role. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte | 20140426 | Ferrando and Guglielmo are so confident about the virue of their lovers, the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, that when Don Alfonso proposes a wager that he can prove them unfaithful, they are happy to accept. The young officers are made to pretend to be called to war, before returning disguised as Albanians to woo the sisters. It's not long before the ladies succumb to temptation, but with the wrong man. Susanna Philips and Isabel Leonard sing the fickle sisters, and Matthew Polenzani and Rodion Pogossov are the men whose confidence in love is shattered. Presented by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff. Fiordiligi.....Susanna Phillips (Soprano) Dorabella.....Isabel Leonard (Mezzo-soprano) Despina.....Danielle de Niese (Soprano) Ferrando.....Matthew Polenzani (Tenor) Guglielmo.....Rodion Pogossov (Baritone) Don Alfonso.....Maurizio Muraro (Bass) New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra James Levine (Conductor). Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, James Levine conducts Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Mozart's Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail | 20160507 | Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail Presented by Mary Jo Heath and commentator Ira Siff Mozart wrote the Abduction from the Seraglio just after he had moved to Vienna, a city that had been besieged by the Turkish armies less than 100 years before. Turkish setting and the sounds of military bands had become all the rage, and with these influences Mozart set his 'singspiel' for the city's Burgtheater. Mozart's comic work tells of two sets of European lovers, one noble and the other their servants who try to escape from the seraglio (harem) of Pasha Selim, a Turkish despot. Die Entführung boasts some of Mozart's most spectacularly virtuosic vocal music, particularly for its brave heroine, Konstanze. Coloratura soprano Albina Shagimuratova sings the role of Konstanze, with rising star tenor Paul Appleby as her lover Belmonte. The Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York are conducted by James Levine in this season's final broadcast Live from the Met. Konstanze - Albina Shagimuratova (soprano) Blondchen - Kathleen Kim (soprano) Belmonte - Paul Appleby (tenor) Pedrillo - Brenton Ryan (tenor) Osmin - Hans-Peter K怀nig (bass) Pasha - Matthias von Stegmann (spoken) The Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York The Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York James Levine (conductor). Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Mozart's Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Mozart's Die Zauberflote | 20100410 | Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (Magic Flute) live from the Met in New York. Nathan Gunn as Papageno, Matthew Polenzani as Tamino and Julia Kleiter as Pamina. Conducted by Adam Fischer. Tamino, trying to escape from a huge snake, trips and falls unconscious. Three ladies appear and kill the snake with their spears. When he recovers, Tamino sees dancing towards him an odd-looking man entirely covered with feathers. It is Papageno, a bird-catcher. He tells the astonished Tamino that this is the realm of the Queen of the Night. The gods have plans for Tamino, but first he must prove that he is worthy of admission to the Temple of Light. Luckily Tamino has the assistance of his magic flute and eventually overcomes the ordeals that are put in his way. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. There will be live backstage interviews with members of the cast during the interval. Papageno: Nathan Gunn (baritone) Tamino: Matthew Polenzani (tenor) Pamina: Julia Kleiter (soprano) Queen of the Night: Albina Shagimuratova (soprano) 1st Lady: Wendy Bryn Harmer (soprano) 2nd Lady: Jamie Barton (mezzo-soprano) 3rd Lady: Tamara Mumford (mezzo-soprano) 1st Boy: Jakob Taylor (treble) 2nd Boy: Neem Ram Nagarajan (treble) 3rd Boy: Jonathan A. Makepeace (alto) Papagena: Monica Yunus (soprano) Sarastro: Hans-Peter König (bass) Speaker: David Pittsinger (bass) Monostatos: Greg Fedderly (tenor) 1st Priest: David Crawford (bass-baritone) 2nd Priest: Bernard Fitch (tenor) 1st Armed Man: Philip Webb (tenor) 2nd Armed Man: Richard Bernstein (bass) Adam Fischer: Conductor Chorus and Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera. Adam Fischer conducts Julie Taymor's production of Mozart's Die Zauberflote. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Mozart's The Marriage Of Figaro | 20141220 | Mozart's Marriage of Figaro is widely seen as one of the great comic operas and contains some of his most glorious music. It is an action packed day, the day of Figaro's marriage to Susanna, but is complicated because their master, the philandering Count, has designs on Susanna himself. Erwin Schrott sings the title role in a stellar cast that also includes Mariusz Kwiecien as the Count and Danielle de Niese as Susanna, along with Met debutantes Rachel Willis-SÀrensen as the wronged Countess and Serena Malfi as Cherubino. Edo de Waart conducts. Presented by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff Countess Almaviva.....Rachel Willis-Sorensen (Soprano) Susanna.....Danielle de Niese (Soprano) Cherubino.....Serena Malfi (Mezzo-soprano) Count Almaviva.....Mariusz Kwiecien (Baritone) Figaro.....Erwin Schrott (Bass) New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus Edo de Waart (Conductor). Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov | 20110312 | Tonight's Live from the Met is Mussorgsky's dramatic Pushkin-based opera Boris Godunov. Ren退 Pape takes on one of the great operatic bass roles of Boris, who kills the heir to the Russian throne and subsequently becomes Tsar himself. Plagued by guilt and political problems, there's now a new claimant to power, threatening his own future, and that of his troubled country. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Boris Godunov - Ren退 Pape (bass) Marina - Ekaterina Semenchuk (mezzo-soprano) Dimitri - Aleksandrs Antonenko (tenor) Shuisky - Oleg Balashov (tenor) Rangoni - Evgeny Nikitin (bass-baritone) Pimen - Mikhail Petrenko (bass) Varlaam - Vladimir Ognovenko (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan opera Pavel Smelkov - conductor. Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov with Rene Pape. Pavel Smelkov conducts. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina | 20120317 | Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina Live from The Met Mussorgsky's sweeping epic tale is back on the Met stage for the first time in more than a decade. The opera, set during the reign of Peter the Great, tells the story of rebellion led by Prince Ivan Khovansky, commander of the streltsy guards, against the ruler and his attempts to bring reforms to Russia. In the end Peter the Great succeeds, the rebellion is crushed and Khovansky's followers commit mass suicide. Kirill Petrenko conducts, with Olga Borodina as the Old Believer Marfa and Vladimir Galouzine as the Russian statesman Prince Vasily Golitsyn. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Marfa..... Olga Borodina (mezzo-soprano) Andrei Khovansky..... Misha Didyk (tenor) Vasily Golitsin..... Vladimir Galouzine (tenor) Shaklovity..... George Gagnidze (bass-baritone) Ivan Khovansky..... Anatoli Kotscherga (bass) Dosifei..... Ildar Abdrazakov (bass) Susanna.....Maria Gavrilova (soprano) Scrivener.....John Easterlin (tenor) Emma.....Wendy Bryn Harmer (soprano) Varsonofyev.....David Crawford (bass) Kuzka.....Mark Schowalter (tenor) Streshnev.....Michael Todd Simpson (tenor) New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus Conductor..... Kirill Petrenko. Kirill Petrenko conducts Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann | 20091219 | From the Metropolitan Opera, New York, James Levine conducts a production of Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, starring Joseph Calleja as the troubled poet and Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Gubanova and Kathleen Kim as Hoffmann's former loves.
Hoffmann is waiting for the object of his affection, Stella, to arrive and fills the time by telling the tale of his disastrous past loves. First, a mechanical doll called Olympia, destroyed by her owner. His second love Antonia dies when the impulse to sing is too much for her weak heart. Finally, the Venetian courtesan Giulietta steals his reflection as well as his heart before choosing a different suitor. Stella finally arrives to find Hoffmann drunk, so leaves with his rival for her love.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. With live backstage interviews and the Met Quiz during the two intervals.
Olympia ...... Kathleen Kim (soprano)
From the Metropolitan Opera, James Levine conducts Joseph Calleja as the poet Hoffmann. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Poulenc's Les Dialogues des Carmelites | 20130504 | Tonight's Live from the Met is Poulenc's tragic opera in which the hopes and fears of a group of nuns is set against the backdrop of the French Revolution. In one of the most haunting of opera endings, the nuns sing the Salve Regina as they're led to the guillotine, each voice cutting out in turn as the blade falls. A stellar cast includes Patricia Racette as Madame Lidoine and Felicity Palmer as Madame de Croissy.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff.
Marquis de la Force ..... David Pittsinger (baritone),
Producer Ellie Mant.
Poulenc's opera Les Dialogues des Carmelites live from The Metropolitan Opera in New York. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Puccini's Il Trittico | 20091212 | To begin a new season of broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, Stefano Ranzini conducts a production of Puccini's ever-popular triple bill, which all star soprano Patricia Racette.
Il Tabarro tells the story of a love affair which, when discovered, leads to murder. Suor Angelica is the tragic tale of a nun, banished to a convent after having had an illegitimate child. This is followed by the light relief of Gianni Schicchi in which the eponymous hero upsets the grasping Donato family by impersonating their recently deceased relative, ostensibly to ensure that the family gets his properties while in fact taking the best of them for himself.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. During the two intervals there are backstage interviews and the Met Quiz.
Il Tabarro:
Suor Angelica:
Gianni Schicchi:
Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera
Stefano Ranzini conducts a triple-bill of Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Puccini's La Boheme | 20090103 | Direct from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Frederic Chaslin conducts a revival of Franco Zeffirelli's celebrated production of Puccini's much-loved opera, with a cast headed by Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska as Mimi and Ramon Vargas as Rodolfo. A story that has touched opera audiences ever since its creation in 1895, it tells of the love between penniless young artists in 19th-century Paris, blighted by jealousy, harsh living conditions and grave illness. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The two intervals include live backstage interviews and the popular Metropolitan Opera Quiz. Rodolfo, a poet - Ramon Vargas (tenor) Mimi, a seamstress - Maija Kovalesvska (soprano) Marcello, a painter - Mariusz Kwiecien (baritone) Schaunard, a musician - Tommi Hakala (baritone) Colline, a philosopher - Oren Gradus (bass) Musetta, a singer - Susanna Phillips (soprano) Benoit/Alcindoro - Paul Plishka (bass) Parpignol - Daniel Clark Smith (tenor) Chorus and Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera Frederic Chaslin (conductor). Frederic Chaslin conducts Maija Kovalevska and Ramon Vargas as the tragic lovers. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Puccini's La Boheme | 20100227 | Live from Metropolitan Opera in New York, Puccini's ever popular opera about a group of bohemian artists sharing a garret in 1830s Paris. For one of them, the writer Rodolfo, everything changes when he meets his neighbour Mimi, and falls instantly in love. Despite their love for one another, their happiness is shortlived: Mimi worries about Rodolfo's incessant jealousy, and Rodolfo knows that their life of poverty will only make Mimi's tuberculosis worse. La Bohème stars Anna Netrebko as Mimi and Piotr Beczala as Rodolfo, joining a stellar cast conducted by Marco Armiliato Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. There will be live backstage interviews and the famous Met Quiz during the two intervals. Rodolfo: Piotr Beczala (tenor) Mimí: Anna Netrebko (soprano) Marcello: Gerald Finley (baritone) Schaunard: Massimo Cavalletti (baritone) Colline: Oren Gradus (bass) Musetta: Nicole Cabell (soprano) Benoit/Alcindoro: Paul Plishka (bass) Parpignol: Jeremy Litte (tenor) Marco Armiliato: conductor Orchestra and Chorus of Metropolitan Opera. Piotr Beczala and Anna Nebtrenko star in Puccini's opera about bohemian artists. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Puccini's La Rondine | 20090110 | From the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, Marco Armiliato conducts the least-known of Puccini's later operas, which has a much lighter musical style than his better known works, as well as operetta-like touches and strong tunes. Real-life couple Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna play the lead romantic roles in a piece they have performed around the world and helped to put back onto the operatic map.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The interval includes backstage interviews.
Magda ...... Angela Gheorghiu (soprano)
Marco Armiliato conducts soprano Angela Gheorghiu and tenor Roberto Alagna. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Puccini's Madama Butterfly | 20090307 | From the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Patrick Summers conducts Anthony Minghella's celebrated production of Puccini's opera, with soprano Patricia Racette and tenor Marcello Giordani in the leading roles.
One one the most popular operas ever written, it is set in Nagasaki at the beginning of the 20th Century where a geisha named Cio-Cio San, known as 'Butterfly' to her friends, marries US Navy officer Pinkerton, who is stationed in Japan. He considers the union temporary, but Butterfly is clearly not under the same impression as she renounces her family and religion for the marriage.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The intervals include backstage interviews and the Met Opera Quiz.
Cio-Cio-San (Madam Butterfly) ...... Patricia Racette (soprano)
Anthony Minghella's celebrated production, with soprano Patricia Racette . Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Puccini's Madama Butterfly | 20111217 | Puccini's Madama Butterfly
It's never an easy life being a heroine in a Puccini opera and Cio-Cio-San (Butterfly to her friends) is no exception. The inevitable downward spiral begins when fifteen-year-old Butterfly marries American sailor Pinkerton. Denounced and cursed by her distinguished but hard-up family for giving up her ancestral religion in favour of Christianity, it's not long before she's left by her husband who promises to return 'when the robins build their nests'. A single parent, courtesy of Pinkerton, Butterfly has to wait three years before she sets eyes on him again. And who can blame her if she doesn't like what she sees: not only Pinkerton but his American wife, Kate. There's only one way out for a Puccini heroine in a situation like this: suicide.
With its celebrated set pieces (including 'Un bel d쀀') and gripping dramatic narrative, 'Madama Butterfly' is one of Puccini's greatest operas. Butterfly is a signature role for Chinese-born soprano Liping Zhang and she's joined by leading American tenor Robert Dean as the fickle American seaman. They're conducted by a man who knows 'Butterfly' from the inside - and who was no mean Pinkerton himself: Plကcido Domingo.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff
Cio-Cio San..... Liping Zhang (soprano)
New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Placido Domingo conducts the Metropolitan Opera orchestra in Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Puccini's Madama Butterfly | 20160402 | Puccini: Madama Butterfly
Presented by Mary Jo Heath, with commentator Ira Siff
Cio-Cio-San, or Butterfly to her friends, the young Japanese Geisha and bride of the dashing American officer Pinkerton, finds her romantic dream is shattered when he deserts her soon after their marriage. She lives in hope that one day he will return; and so he does three years later, with his American wife Kate, and devastating consequences for Butterfly. Kristine Opolais stars as the tragic Butterfly, opposite tenor Roberto Alagna as Pinkerton who breaks her heart.
Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly) ..... Kristine Opolais (soprano)
The Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, New York
Live from the Met, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, with Kristine Opolais and Roberto Alagna. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Puccini's Manon Lescaut | 20160305 | Puccini: Manon Lescaut
Presented by Loren Toolajian, with Ira Siff
Manon Lescaut ..... Kristine Opolais (soprano)
The Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, New York
Outside an inn in Amiens, the young student Des Grieux meets Manon, who is on her way to a convent on the orders of her parents. The pair fall in love and escape to Paris. However, in Paris, Manon's head is turned as the elderly Geronte offers her a life of wealth and luxury, but she soon regrets her decision to exchange love for money with heartbreaking consequences.
Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, a performance of Puccini's opera Manon Lescaut Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Puccini's Manon Lescaut | 20161203 | Live from the Met in New York, Puccini's first operatic triumph, Manon Lescaut, with Anna Netrebko in the title role as the irresistible courtesan and ultimately doomed heroine, and Marcelo Alvarez as her obsessive lover Des Grieux. Marco Amiliato conducts the orchestra and chorus, in this production by Richard Eyre. Manon Lescaut.....Anna Netrebko (Soprano) Lescaut.....Christopher Maltman (Baritone) Des Grieux.....Marcelo Alvarez (Tenor) Geronte.....Brindley Sherratt (Bass) Edmondo.....Zach Borichevsky (Tenor) Innkeeper.....Philip Cokorinos (Bass) Musician.....Avery Amereau (mezzo-soprano) Dancing Master.....Scott Scully (Tenor) Sergeant of the Royal Archers.....David Crawford (Bass) New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Marco Armiliato (Conductor). Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a performance of Puccini's Manon Lescaut. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Puccini's Tosca | 20100424 | Torture and suicide; murder and execution: despite the grisly plot, Tosca has been one of the most popular of all operas ever since its 1900 premiere. Puccini's unerring dramatic instinct makes for a compelling theatrical experience, and in the character of Tosca, he created a role that has attracted many of the great singing actresses of the last hundred years. Tonight's Tosca, who gets to sing some unforgettable arias including 'Vissi d'arte', is the celebrated American soprano, Patricia Racette. She heads a stellar international cast including German tenor Jonas Kaufmann as Tosca's ill-fated lover, and the great Welsh singer-actor, bass baritone Bryn Terfel in one of his signature roles: Scarpia, that seeming embodiment of cold calculation and evil.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The two intervals will contain the famous Met Quiz and live backstage interviews with members of the cast.
Tosca ..... Patricia Racette (soprano)
From the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Fabio Luisi conducts Puccini's grisly opera Tosca. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Puccini's Tosca | 20110129 | Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York: Tosca, Puccini's tale of love, lust, corruption and revenge. In this revival of Luc Bondy's dramatic production, Sondra Radvanovsky sings the title role for the first time at the Met, starring as the prima donna with the firebrand artist lover, who thinks she knows how to outwit the notorious Baron Scarpia - the vicious Police Chief, who will stop at nothing to have her. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Floria Tosca, a celebrated singer - Sondra Radvanovsky (Soprano) Mario Cavaradossi, a painter - Marcelo @lvarez (Tenor) Baron Scarpia, chief of police - Falk Struckmann (Baritone) Cesare Angelotti, former Consul of the Roman Rep. - Peter Volpe (Bass) A Sacristan - Paul Plishka (Bass) Spoletta, a police agent - Dennis Petersen (Tenor) Sciarrone, a gendarme - James Courtney (Bass) A Jailer - Harold Wilson (Bass) Chorus and Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera Marco Armiliato - Conductor. From the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a performance of Puccini's Tosca. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Puccini's Turandot | 20160130 | Franco Zeffirelli's sumptuous production of Puccini's final masterpiece returns to the Met for the first time since 2009. Puccini's score is both modern and romantic; reflecting eastern harmonies and coupled with his imaginative use of the orchestra at his disposal, he created a classic of 20th century opera. Nina Stemme performs the title role of the proud princess of ancient China, whose riddles doom every suitor who seeks her hand. She appears opposite Marco Berti, who as Cal |
| Richard Strauss's Capriccio | 20110423 | Live from the Metropolitan Opera Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. In Strauss's last opera, a poet and a musician vie for the attentions of a young widowed countess. It opens with a string sextet prelude, the work of the hopeful young composer, Flamand. The poet Olivier is preparing a new play for the Countess's birthday celebrations, and the two love rivals argue on a sensitive subject: which is of primary importance artistically - words or music? The Countess finds it impossible to choose between her two suitors. In one of Strauss's most intimate operas, he explores the nature of his own art. Countess - Renee Fleming (soprano) Clairon - Sarah Connolly (mezzo soprano) Flamand - Joseph Kaiser (tenor) Olivier - Russell Braun (tenor) The Count - Morten Frank Larsen (bass-baritone) La Roche - Peter Rose (bass) Monsieur Taupe - Bernard Fitch (tenor) Italian Singer - Olga Makarina (soprano) Italian Singer - Barry Banks (tenor) The Major-Domo - Michael Devin (bass) New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus conductor Andrew Davis. Richard Strauss's Capriccio, with Renee Fleming and Joseph Kaiser. Andrew Davis conducts. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Rossini's Armida | 20100501 | Rossini's Armida, Live from the Metropolitan Opera New York. Renée Fleming sings the sorceress who plans to use her beauty to enslave the crusading soldiers. She falls in love with Rinaldo, who is captivated by her until he sees his reflection and realises he is no longer the noble warrior he once was. The New York Met has rounded up no fewer than six tenors for the Met premiere of Rossini's Armida, with Ricardo Frizza conducting.
Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. There will be live backstage interviews and the famous Met Quiz during the 2 intervals.
Armida ..... Renée Fleming (soprano)
Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, conductor Riccardo Frizza.
Riccardo Frizza conducts Renee Fleming in the title role of Rossini's opera Armida. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Rossini's Armida | 20110305 | Live from the Metropolitan Opera. Rinaldo is a fierce warrior, determined to play his part in the crusades. But when he encounters Armida, who is on the opposing side, he loses sight of his Christian duties and idles as a lovesick prisoner in her enchanted garden. It is a situation that cannot be allowed to continue. Ren退e Fleming and Lawrence Brownlee star in the Met's new production. Presented by Margaret Juntwait. Armida - Renee Fleming (soprano) Rinaldo - Lawrence Brownlee (tenor) Goffredo - John Osborn (tenor) Gernando - Antonino Siragusa (tenor) Carlo - Barry Banks (tenor) Ubaldo - Kobie van Rensburg (tenor) Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera Riccardo Frizza (conductor). From the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Riccardo Frizza conducts Rossini's Armida. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Rossini's Il Barbiere Di Siviglia | 20120218 | Rossini's Il Barbiere Di Siviglia Live from The Met The Barber of Seville is Rossini's most popular opera. Written at lightening speed and premiered in Rome in 1816, the story is based on the first play of Pierre Beaumarchais' trilogy, and forms a prequel to Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. Musical ideas and comical scenes abound as Figaro helps Count Almaviva win the hand of the lovely Rosina. But first the Count and his trusty barber must stop her guardian, Doctor Bartolo, from marrying her himself. The most celebrated moments include Figaro's aria 'Largo al factotum', Rosina's aria 'Una voce poco fa' and their duet 'Dunque io son'. Diana Damrau returns to the role of Rosina in this 2006 Met production by Bartlett Sher. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff Rosina.....Diana Damrau (contralto) Figaro.....Rodion Pogossov (baritone) Count Almaviva.....Colin Lee (tenor) Dr Bartolo.....John Del Carlo (bass) Don Basilio.....Ferruccio Furlanetto (bass) Fiorello.....Edward Parks (bass) Berta.....Wendy White (soprano) Ambrogio.....Rob Besserer (bass) New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus Conductor.....Marco Armiliato. Rossini's Il Barbiere Di Siviglia Live from The Met. Marco Armiliato conducts. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Rossini's La Cenerentola | 20140510 | Live from The Met in New York, Rossini's La Cenerentola, a comic opera in two acts adapted from the Cinderella fairy tale by Perrault. Maestro Fabio Luisi conducts the Metropolitan Opera House Orchestra and Chorus with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato as Angelina, La Cenerentola, and tenor Juan Diego Florez as Don Ramiro, the prince who eventually rescues her from Don Magnifico, her evil stepfather, sung by baritone Alessandro Corbelli, changing her life for ever. Margaret Juntwait presents.
Angelina ..... Joyce DiDonato (Mezzo-soprano)
New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus
Live from New York's Metropolitan Opera, Rossini's La Cenerentola. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Rossini's La Donna del Lago | 20151219 | Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York
Presented by Mary Jo Heath and commentator Ira Siff.
Joyce DiDonato reprises her stunning portrayal of the "lady of the lake" in Rossini's dazzling bel canto showcase set in the medieval Scottish highlands. Tenor Lawrence Brownlee is the king who pursues her. Michele Mariotti conducts the operatic adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's classic.
Elena..... Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano)
The Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera
Based on Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake, Rossini's opera illustrates the Romantic fascination with Scotland as a place of wild emotion and political confrontation.
Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Rossini's opera La Donna del Lago. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Rossini's The Barber Of Seville | 20121222 | Live from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with commentary by Ira Siff. The Barber of Seville, Rossini's great comic opera, in Bartlett Sher's English adaptation, with Isabel Leonard as Rosina, Rodion Pogossov as Figaro and Alek Shrader as Count Almaviva. Yves Abel conducts. Count Almaviva has disguised himself as a poor student in the hope of persuading the beautiful Rosina to love him for himself, rather than for his money. But there's a snag: Rosina is the ward of grumpy old Dr. Bartolo, and he too has plans to marry her. The Count needs help, but crafty barber Figaro is on hand. He suggests that the Count disguise himself as a drunken soldier, ordered to be billeted with Dr. Bartolo, and so gain entrance to his house. Two centuries after its premiere - and now universally accepted as the composer's comic masterpiece - Rossini's prequel to The Marriage of Figaro remains as tuneful, ironic and uproariously funny as ever. Rosina: Isabel Leonard, contralto Count Almaviva: Alek Shrader, tenor Figaro: Rodion Pogossov, baritone Dr. Bartolo: John Del Carlo, baritone Don Basilio: Jordan Bisch,bass Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus Conductor: Yves Abel. Rossini's great comic opera The Barber of Seville, in an English version. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Shostakovich's The Nose | 20100313 | Kovalyov has a shave in Yakovlevich's barbershop. The following morning, Yakovlevich discovers Kovalyov's nose in his freshly baked loaf of bread, much to the annoyance of his wife who demands that he gets rid of it. He eventually manages to throw it into a river, by which time Kovalyov has noticed it's missing and begun to hunt for it. It turns up in the Cathedral, human sized, dressed as a State Councillor, and wanting nothing to do with its desperate owner. It then escapes from Kovalyov, who spends the rest of the opera being outwitted by it.
Shostakovich's adaption of Gogol's absurdist short story is performed by a stellar cast conducted by Valery Gergiev.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff.
Police Inspector: Andrei Popov (tenor)
Valery Gergiev: conductor
Valery Gergiev conducts Shostakovich's adaptation of Gogol's absurdist short story. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Strauss' Ariadne Auf Naxos | 20100220 | Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Greek tragedy collides with the mischief-making of the commedia dell'arte in Richard Strauss's opera-within-an-opera Ariadne auf Naxos, conceived in collaboration with the librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The fabulous Swedish soprano Nina Stemme takes the title role, with Kathleen Kim as the ever-pragmatic Zerbinetta, and Sarah Connolly as the naive young Composer. Strauss's music combines pathos and wit in this inventive piece.
At the house of a Viennese nobleman, a new opera 'Ariadne auf Naxos' is to be performed, followed by an Italian comedy, but it is announced that both plays will have to be performed simultaneously due to time restrictions.
In the opera itself, Ariadne has been abandoned on the island of Naxos by Theseus. She longs for death, but Zerbinetta tries to persuade her to replace her love for Theseus with another, as it is only human to change an old love for a new one.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Live backstage interviews during the interval.
Ariadne: Nina Stemme (soprano)
Kirill Petrenko conducts Strauss' opera within an opera, starring Nina Stemme. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos | 20110507 | Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos
In the grand house of an 18th century nobleman preparations are underway for the performance of a serious new opera, Ariadne auf Naxos, to be followed by an Italian comic opera. But due to a mix up with the timings, the performers are told that both operas are going to have to be performed at the same time. The composer will have to cut his opera, and the troupe of comedians will be let loose on the opera seria, trying to cheer Ariadne up with singing, dancing and advice about love.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff.
Ariadne ..... Violeta Urmana (soprano)
Metropolitan Opera Chorus
From New York's Metropolitan Opera, a performance of Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier | 20100109 | From the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Edo de Waart conducts Renee Fleming, Susan Graham and Christine Schafer in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier.
The story centres on the Marschallin, who enjoys time with her young lover Octavian, but knows that she is getting older and that one day he will lose interest in her. Sure enough, when he is chosen to deliver the engagement silver rose from the Baron Ochs to Sophie, they fall instantly in love with each other. The Marschallin understands the situation and graciously lets Octavian go to his new love. Strauss's masterpiece contains comedy, pathos and some sumptuous female vocal writing.
Edo de Waart conducts Renee Fleming in Richard Strauss's masterpiece Der Rosenkavalier. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Strauss's Elektra | 20160430 | Today's Live from the Met is Strauss's mighty take on the Greek myth Elektra. Daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Klyt䀀mnestra, Elektra is in mourning for her father, killed by her mother and her lover. Elektra is obsessed with the revenge she intends to take, enlisting her siblings for help. In this startlingly modern sounding work, Nina Stemme sings Elektra, driven mad by her desire for revenge, Waltraud Meier her fearsome mother, and Eric Owens and Adrianne Pieczonka her brother and sister. Presented by Mary Jo Heath and Ira Siff. Strauss: Elektra Elektra - Nina Stemme (soprano) Chrysothemis - Adrianne Pieczonka (soprano) Aegisth - Burkhard Ulrich (tenor) Klyt䀀mnestra - Waltraud Meier (mezzo-soprano) Orest - Eric Owens (bass-baritone) Orest's guardian - Kevin Short (bass-baritone) A young servant - Mark Schowalter (tenor) An old servant - James Courtney (bass) Overseer of the servants/Klyt䀀mnestra's confidante - Susan Neves (soprano) First maid - Bonita Hyman (contralto) Second maid - Maya Lahyani (soprano) Third maid/Klyt䀀mnestra's trainbearer - Andrea Hill (soprano) Fourth maid - Claudia Waite (soprano) Fifth maid - Roberta Alexander (soprano) The Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York The Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor). Live from the Met, Strauss's Elektra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. With Nina Stemme. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress | 20150509 | Live from the Met in New York, Stravinsky's neo-classical masterpiece The Rake's Progress, a tale with a moral representing the fall of Tom Rakewell, a rake, inspired by scenes of moral decay in 18th-Century London by painter William Hogarth. The libretto is by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman. Paul Appleby sings the title role, Layla Claire is Anne Trulove, his betrothed, and Nick Shadow, in effect the Devil, is sung by Gerald Finley. Maestro James Levine conducts the opera chorus and the orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera House. Mary Jo Heath presents.
Tom Rakewell.....Paul Appleby (Tenor)
New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus
Live from the Met in New York, Stravinsky's neo-classical opera The Rake's Progress. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin | 20090214 | From the Metropolitan Opera New York, Jiri Belohlavek conducts Karita Mattila as Tatiana and Thomas Hampson as Onegin in Tchaikovsky's great opera of thwarted love.
Stuck on a country estate, Tatiana shuns the local festivities, preferring to immerse herself in romantic novels. When a stranger, Onegin, arrives, she takes him on a walk and ends up in love. Tatiana ends up marrying another man, but when she meets Onegin some years later, she admits to being in love with him but still refuses to leave her husband.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The interval includes live backstage interviews.
Tatiana ...... Karita Mattila (soprano)
Jiri Belohlavek conducts Tchaikovsky's great opera of thwarted love, with Karita Mattila. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin | 20170422 | Tonight's Live from the Met is Tchaikovsky's Pushkin-based Eugene Onegin. When Tatiana is introduced to the sophisticated friend of her sister's fianc退e, Eugene Onegin, she falls instantly in love with him. In her girlish naivety, she spends the night writing him a passionate letter, only to be coldly rejected by him. Years later, the happily married Tatiana meets Onegin again. This time their love is mutual, leading to disastrous consequences. Anna Netrebko sings Tatiana, with Peter Mattei as the fateful Onegin.
Presented by Mary Jo Heath and Ira Siff.
Eugene Onegin ..... Peter Mattei (baritone)
Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a performance of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Tchaikovsky's The Queen Of Spades | 20081213 | Direct from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, Seiji Ozawa conducts Tchaikovsky's opera, based on Pushkin's story about a man who loses his fortune and his mind to cards, with Maria Guleghina as Lisa and Ben Heppner as Ghermann. Ghermann is madly in love with Lisa, the wealthy granddaughter of the Countess, but he is too poor to have much hope of aspiring to her hand. He must learn the Countess's gambling secret in order to strike it rich and marry Lisa. She kills herself, though, when she realises that Gherman's obsession with gambling has driven him mad, and he commits suicide after losing his fortune. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The two intervals include live backstage interviews with some of the artists. Lisa - Maria Guleghina (soprano) Ghermann - Ben Heppner (tenor) Pauline - Ekaterina Semenchuk (mezzo-soprano) The Countess - Felicity Palmer (mezzo-soprano) Count Tomsky - Mark Delavan (baritone) Prince Yeletsky - Vladimir Stoyanov (baritone) Chekalinsky - Alan Oke (tenor) Surin - Paul Plishka (bass) Chaplitsky - Mark Schowalter (tenor) Narumov - LeRoy Lehr (bass) Master of Ceremonies - Bernard Fitch (tenor) Governess - Kathryn Day (mezzo-soprano) Masha - Erin Morley (soprano) Chloe - Wendy Bryn Harmer (soprano) Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus Seiji Ozawa (conductor) Including the Met Opera Quiz during the interval. Seiji Ozawa conducts Tchaikovsky's opera based on Pushkin's story about gambling. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Tchaikovsky's The Queen Of Spades | 20110326 | Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Tchaikovsky's opera tells the tragic tale of the young officer Hermann's obsession with gambling. An old Countess knows the secret of the winning cards, but, when Hermann confronts her and demands to know what it is, she dies. Returning later as an apparition, she offers Hermann the secret as a reward if he will marry her granddaughter Lisa. In the final scene of the opera Hermann wagers everything he has; the first two cards he chooses are winners, but the third, instead of being the winning ace, is the queen of spades. In desperation, Hermann stabs himself pleading for Lisa's forgiveness. Lisa - Karita Mattila (soprano) Paulina - Tamara Mumford (mezzo soprano) The Countess - Dolora Zajick (mezzo soprano) Ghermann - Vladimir Galouzine (tenor) Tomsky - Alexej Markov (baritone) Yeletsky - Peter Mattei (baritone) Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera Andris Nelsons - conductor. Andris Nelsons conducts a performance of Tchaikovsky's tragic opera The Queen of Spades. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| The Enchanted Island | 20120121 | The Enchanted Island (Music by Handel, Rameau and Vivaldi) Live from The Met The Live from the Met season continues with the world premi耀re of The Enchanted Island, a contemporary revival of the 18th century musical pastiche by the British librettist Jeremy Sams in collaboration with the Baroque music expert William Christie. Inspired by two Shakespeare plays, the story finds the four lovers from A Midsummer Night's Dream landed on an island where Sycorax and Prospero from The Tempest are embroiled in a supernatural battle. This modern Baroque fantasy features arias by various composers including Handel, Rameau and Vivaldi. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff Prospero.....David Daniels (countertenor) Sycorax.....Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano) Ariel.....Danielle de Niese (soprano) Neptune.....Placido Domingo (tenor) Caliban.....Luca Pisaroni (baritone) Miranda.....Lisette Oropesa (soprano) Ferdinand.....Anthony Roth Constanzo (countertenor) Helena.....Layla Claire (soprano) Hermia.....Elizabeth DeShong (mezzo-soprano) Demetrius.....Paul Appleby (tenor) Lysander.....Elliot Madore (baritone) New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus Conductor.....William Christie. Joyce DiDonato, David Daniels and Placido Domingo star in Jeremy Sams's musical pastiche. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| The Tempest, By Thomas Ades | 20121229 | The Tempest, by Thomas Ad耀s, from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, conducted by the composer. With Simon Keenlyside as Prospero, Audrey Luna as Ariel, and Isobel Leonard as Miranda. Miranda suspects that the magic practices of her father, Prospero, are responsible for a huge storm that has sunk a passing ship. She's right: those on board were his enemies. Prospero nevertheless instructs his spirit Ariel to revive them and bring them to the island. One of them is Prince Ferdinand who, when he arrives ashore, finds Miranda and the two fall instantly in love. Prospero is not pleased. He immobilizes Ferdinand and prepares to further his vengeance on the rest of the court. The New York Times called Thomas Ad耀s's masterpiece one of the most inspired, audacious and personal operas to have come along in years, noting that Ad耀s drew a textured, glittering and suspenseful account of his opera from the great Met orchestra. The Financial Times lauded the performance's rare virtuosity... Keenlyside sang with sensitive force... [and] loomed and brooded magnetically. Ariel ..... Audrey Luna (soprano) Miranda ..... Isabel Leonard (mezzo) Trinculo ..... Iestyn Davies (countertenor) Ferdinand ..... Alek Shrader (tenor) Caliban ..... Alan Oke (tenor) King of Naples ..... William Burden (tenor) Antonio ..... Toby Spence (tenor) Prospero ..... Simon Keenlyside (baritone) Orchestra and Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera Thomas Ad耀s, conductor. The Tempest, by Thomas Ad\u00e8s, from the Metropolitan Opera, New York. With Simon Keenlyside. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi 200 - Falstaff | 20131214 | Verdi 200: Tonight's Live from the Met is Verdi's late, great comedy, Falstaff. Ambrogio Maestri sings the role of the hapless Falstaff in his attempts to seduce Alice Ford and Meg Page. When they receive identical love letters, they decide to make sure the last laugh is on him. After much double-crossing and disguising, Falstaff ends up humiliated in a laundry basket in the Thames.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff.
Nannetta.....Lisette Oropesa (soprano)
Chorus and Orchestra of The Metropolitan Opera, New York
Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, James Levine conducts Verdi's opera Falstaff Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi 200 - La Traviata | 20130330 | This week's live broadcast from The Metropolitan Opera is Verdi's La Traviata.
Placido Domingo sings the baritone role of Germont for the first time in this production, and Diana Damrau also makes her first appearance as Violetta, alongside Saimir Pirgu as Alfredo.
The courtesan Violetta decides to put her party days behind when she meets Alfredo and settle down with him. But Alfredo's father begs her to leave him for the sake of his family name, and she agrees to sacrifice her love. By the time Alfredo discovers the truth behind her departure and hurries back to her, tuberculosis has set in, and it's too late.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff.
Violetta Valery .....Diana Damrau (soprano)
Live from the Met in New York, Verdi's La Traviata with Diana Damrau and Placido Domingo. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi 200: Don Carlo | 20130309 | Radio 3's Verdi 200 celebrations continue with a live performance from the Met in New York of one of Verdi's finest works, Don Carlo.
This historical drama, based on a play by Schiller and delivered here in its Italian version, tells the story of the Spanish heir to the throne, Don Carlo, Prince of Asturias, who sees his betrothed lady, Elisabeth de Valois, marry his own father, King Philip II, instead in order to secure a peace treaty.
The plot is dense in this magnificent grand opera, originally written for Paris: there's a case of mistaken identities; heretics are burnt at the stake by the mighty Spanish Inquisition; and even the spirit of Emperor Charles V comes back from the dead to rescue the opera's tortured hero.
In a starry cast, Ramon Vargas takes the title role of Don Carlo; Barbara Frittoli is Elisabeth the Valois; Dmitri Hvorostovsky is Don Carlo's friend Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa, and Ferruccio Furlanetto is King Philip II. Renowned maestro Lorin Maazel conducts the chorus and orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera House.
Don Carlo.....Ramon Vargas (tenor)
Chorus and Orchestra of The Metropolitan Opera, New York
Live from New York's Metropolitan Opera, Don Carlo, with Ramon Vargas, Barbara Frittoli. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi 200: Rigoletto | 20130216 | Radio 3's Verdi 200 celebrations continue with a live performance from the Met of one of Verdi's most popular works, Rigoletto.
Verdi and his librettist Piave based the work on a drama by Victor Hugo which had been banned after just one performance. The problem was that it showed a king as immoral and as a womaniser.
In Piave's libretto the king was changed to a duke who ruled over Mantua. This placated the censors and eventually the premiere went ahead at La Fenice in Venice. It was a great success with the Duke's aria La donna e mobile an immediate hit. It also contains one of the most heartfelt father daughter relationships in all of Verdi's work, between the court jester Rigoletto and Gilda.
This new production by Michael Mayer sets the action in Las Vegas in 1960 and stars the Serbian baritone Zeljko Lucic in the title role with German soprano Diana Damrau as Gilda and the Polish tenor Piotr Beczala as the Duke.
Rigoletto..... Zeljko Lucic (baritone)
A performance of Verdi's Rigoletto live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Aida | 20100403 | Set in the ancient Egypt of the pharaohs and with a masterly combination of grand set-pieces, including the spectacle of its swaggering Triumphal March, and intimate scenes, Aida tells the story of the Ethiopian slave girl who finds that her lover and her father are on the opposite sides of warring nations. A love rival to her princess employer, she chooses to be buried alive with her lover Radames, rather than endure life without him.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. There will be live backstage interviews and the Met Quiz during the two intervals.
Aida: Hui He (soprano)
Marco Armiliato conducts a performance of Verdi's spectacular opera Aida. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Aida | 20170415 | Live from the Met in New York, Verdi's Aida with the soprano Krassimira Stoyanova in the title role as the enslaved Nubian Princess and the tenor Riccardo Massi as her doomed lover Radames, the Egyptian captain who's forced to choose between her or his fatherland, in this tragic tale set in Ancient Egypt. Maestro Daniele Rustioni conducts the New York Metropolitan orchestra and chorus. Presented by Mary Jo Heath, with commentator Ira Siff. Aida - Krassimira Stoyanova (soprano) The King of Egypt - Soloman Howard (bass) Amneris - Violeta Urmana (soprano) Radames - Riccardo Massi (tenor) Amonasro - George Gagnidze (baritone) Messenger - Ronald Naldi (tenor) High Priest - James Morris (bass) Priestess - Jennifer Johnson Cano (mezzo-soprano) New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Daniele Rustioni (conductor). Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a performance of Verdi's Aida. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Attila | 20100306 | Well-known as a champion of Verdi's early works, the conductor Riccardo Muti makes his long-awaited Met debut with this remarkable opera, Attila, which is being performed for the first time at the Metropolitan Opera. The story of Attila explores a pivotal moment in history - the collapse of the Roman Empire under attacks from the 'barbarians' led by Attila. The demanding title role is sung here by the young Russian bass Ildar Abrazakov. Attila is a ruthless but honourable leader who falls in love with one of his conquests, the Italian slave Odabella, sung by the soprano Violeta Urmana. She, in turn, seeks revenge on Attila because he killed her father. The tenor Ramón Vargas is her lover, Foresto, who rallies the defeated Italian people and Carlos Alvarez is the General Ezio, a brilliant but corrupt soldier. Veteran bass Samuel Ramey, himself a spectacular Attila in the 1970s and 80s, makes a cameo appearance as Leone (Pope Leo 1). One of the opera's most stirring moments is the historical scene between Attila and the Pope (who convinced the invader to spare Rome). It is a fascinating story of the clash of religions, politics and love with a score full of the youthful vitality and magnificent spirit of the 33-year old musical genius.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. There will be live backstage interviews with members of the cast during the interval.
Attila: Ilda Abrazakov (bass)
Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Riccardo Muti makes his Met debut conducting Verdi's rarely performed early opera. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Don Carlo | 20101218 | Don Carlo, the son of Philip II of Spain meets Elisabeth, the daughter of the King of France, whom he must marry to unite the two countries. He falls in love with her straight away, and when news reaches him that his father has decided to marry Elisabeth himself, he is devastated. This sets in motion a sequence of events with tragic consequences for everybody. In this live matinee performance from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Yannick N退zet-S退guin conducts a cast including Marina Poplavskaya, Yonghoon Lee and Simon Keenlyside.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff.
Elisabeth de Valois ..... Marina Poplavskaya, soprano
Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducts Verdi's tragic opera Don Carlo. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Ernani | 20120225 | Verdi's Ernani Live from The Met Elvina is being forced to marry her elderly uncle Silva. Ernani is in love with her, and plans to rescue her from her fate. But when he arrives at the castle he finds Elvina with Don Carlo, the King of Spain, who has also declared his love. In Verdi's dramatic early drama Angela Meade sings Elvina, the woman who finds herself loved by three men, leading to tragic consequences. Top Verdians Marcello Giordani, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Ferruccio Furlanetto sing her suitors. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Ernani.....Marcello Giordani (tenor) Don Carlo....Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone) Don Ruy de Silva.....Ferrucio Furlanetto (bass) Elvira.....Angela Meade (soprano) Giovanna.....Mary Ann McCormick (soprano) Don Riccardo.....Adam Laurence Herskowitz (tenor) Jago.....Jeremy Galyon (bass) New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus Conductor.....Marco Armiliato. From the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Marco Armiliato conducts Verdi's opera Ernani. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Il Trovatore | 20090228 | From the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Gianandrea Noseda conducts Argentinian tenor Marcelo Alvarez in the title role alongside American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky as Leonora.
This work is a tale of revenge, with a wretched twist, as Manrico, the troubadour, snatched as a baby and raised by the gypsy Azucena, discovers the tragic consequences of his upbringing later on in life.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. There are interviews with members of the cast during the interval.
Count di Luna ...... Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone)
Gianandrea Noseda conducts tenor Marcelo Alvarez in Verdi's tale of revenge. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Il Trovatore | 20110430 | Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera Presented by Margaret Juntwait Leonora - Sondra Radvanovsky (soprano) Count di Luna - Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone) Manrico - Marcelo @lvarez (tenor) Azucena - Dolora Zajick (mezzo-soprano) Ines - Maria Zifchak (soprano) Ruiz - Eduardo Valdes (tenor) An Old Gypsy - Robert Mahler (bass) A Messenger - Raymond Aparentado (tenor) Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra Conductor - Marco Armiliato. From New York's Metropolitan Opera, a performance of Verdi's Il trovatore. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's La Forza del Destino | 20130323 | Two of the great operatic singers of our times star in this historic 1977 performance from the Met's archive of Verdi's La Forza del Destino. Both Leontyne Pryce and Placido Domingo are at the peak of their careers as they take the roles of the ill-fated lovers Leonora and Don Alvaro in Verdi's tragic tale of love, divided loyalties, revenge and death.
Leonora.....Leontyne Price (soprano)
An historic performance of La Forza del Destino with Leontyne Price and Placido Domingo. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's La Traviata | 20100417 | This week's live broadcast from the Met is Verdi's La Traviata. The courtesan Violetta decides to put her party days behind when she meets Alfredo and settle down with him. But Alfredo's father begs her to leave him for the sake of his family name, and she agrees to sacrifice her love. By the time Alfredo discovers the truth behind her departure and hurries back to her, tuberculosis has set in, and it's too late.
Angela Gheorghiu sings the role which launched her international career, with James Valenti as her Alfredo, and Yves Abel conducting.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The two intervals will contain live backstage interviews with the cast and the famous Met Quiz.
Violetta Valéra: Angela Gheorghiu (soprano)
Yves Abel conducts Verdi's tragic love story La Traviata, starring Angela Georghiu. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's La Traviata | 20110115 | The Met season continues with Verdi's ever-popular La Traviata. The consumptive courtesan Violetta renounces her life of parties to settle down with the devoted Alfredo. But when Alfredo's father asks her to give Alfredo up for the sake of his family's reputation, she agrees to this terrible sacrifice. By the time Alfredo finds out the truth, it's too late for them. Gianandrea Noseda conducts a cast including Marina Poplavskaya and Matthew Polenzani as the ill-fated lovers. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Cast: Violetta Val退ry - Marina Poplavskaya (Soprano) Alfredo Germont - Matthew Polenzani (Tenor) Giorgio Germont - Andrzej Dobber (Baritone) Flora Bervoix - Jennifer Holloway (Mezzo-soprano) Annina - Maria Zifchak (Soprano) Gastone - Scott Scully (Tenor) Barone Douphol - Jason Stearus (Baritone) Marchese d'Obigny - Kyle Pfortmiller (Bass) Dottore Grenvil - Luigi Roni (Bass) Giuseppe - Juhwan Lee (Tenor) Flora's servant - Seth Malkin (Bass) Commissioner .....Joseph Turi (Bass) Gianandrea Noseda - (Conductor) Orchestra and Chorus of Metropolitan Orchestra. Gianandrea Noseda conducts Verdi's La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's La Traviata | 20120414 | Tonight's Live From the Met is Verdi's La Traviata. Consumptive courtesan Violetta Valery vows to give up her party life and settle down when she falls in love with Alfredo. But their countryside idyll is disrupted by Alfredo's father who asks Violetta to leave him for the sake of his family's reputation. Natalie Dessay makes her Met role debut as the doomed courtesan who sacrifices her own happiness, and Matthew Polenzani her lover. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff Violetta.....Natalie Dessay (Soprano) Alfredo.....Matthew Polenzani (Tenor) Giorgio Germont.....Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Baritone) Flora Bervoix.....Patricia Risley (Soprano) Annina.....Maria Zifchak (Soprano) Gastone.....Scott Scully (Tenor) Barone Douphol.....Jason Stearns (Tenor) Marchese D'obigny.....Kyle Pfortmiller (Bass) Dottore Grenvil.....Luigi Roni (Baritone) Giuseppe.....Juhwan Lee (Tenor) A Gentleman.....Peter Volpe (Bass) Messenger.....Joseph Turi (Bass) New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus Conductor.....Fabio Luisi. Natalie Dessay and Matthew Polenzani play the lead roles in Verdi's La Traviata. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's La Traviata | 20170311 | Live from the Met in New York: Verdi's La Traviata.
Violetta Valery.....Sonya Yoncheva (soprano)
Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, a performance of Verdi's La Traviata. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Otello | 20160423 | Widely seen as Italian opera's greatest tragedy, Verdi's late opera Otello, based on Shakespeare's great tragedy of deception and betrayal, sees the love between the Moorish general Otello and his new wife Desdemona destroyed by the manipulative Iago. The score contains some of Verdi's most intense and dramatic music, placing huge importance on the role of the orchestra. Baritone Zeljko Lucic sings the role of the manipulative Iago, with soprano Hibla Gerzmava as Desdemona, and tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko in the title role, the outsider who cannot control his jealousy.
Presented by Mary Jo Heath with commentary from Ira Siff.
Cast:
Desdemona ..... Hibla Gerzmava (soprano)
The Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, New York
*Due to illness, Francesco Anile stood in for Aleksandrs Antonenko during the last scene.
Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, a performance of Verdi's Otello. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Rigoletto | 20090131 | From the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, Riccardo Frizza conducts a young cast in Otto Schenk's production of Verdi's Rigoletto, a work that incorporates his most memorable melodies, and which shows his individuality as an operatic composer.
The dark story focuses on the exploits of the womanising Duke of Mantua and his hump-backed court jester Rigoletto. When Rigoletto's daughter Gilda is abducted, he plots revenge, but a curse placed on him means that the result can only lead to tragedy.
Duke of Mantua ...... Giuseppe Filianoti (tenor)
Riccardo Frizza conducts Verdi's tragic story of the womanising Duke of Mantua. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Rigoletto | 20110122 | This year's Met season continues with Verdi's Rigoletto, based on Victor Hugo's play 'Le roi s'amuse'. The Duke of Mantua's hunchbacked jester Rigoletto has raised his daughter Gilda in seclusion from the world. When Count Monterone's daughter is seduced by the Duke, Rigoletto mocks him, causing Monterone to curse him. Then Gilda is also seduced by the Duke, and the curse begins to take terrible effect. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Rigoletto, the Duke's jester - Giovanni Meoni (Baritone) Gilda, his daughter - Nino Machaidze (Soprano) Duke of Mantua - Joseph Calleja (Tenor) Sparafucile, an assassin - Stefan Kocကn (Bass) Maddalena, his sister - Kirstin Chကvez (Contralto) Giovanna, Gilda's nurse - Kathryn Day (Mezzo-soprano) Count Ceprano - David Crawford (Bass) Countess Ceprano, his wife - Edyta Kulczak (Mezzo-soprano) Matteo Borsa, a courtier - Eduardo Valdes (Tenor) Count Monterone - Quinn Kelsey (Baritone) Marullo - Malcolm MacKenzie (Baritone) A Court Usher - Joseph Pariso (Bass) A Page - Patricia Steiner (Mezzo-soprano) Paolo Arrivabeni - Conductor Chorus and Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera. Paolo Arrivabeni conducts Verdi's opera Rigoletto, based on a Victor Hugo play. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Rigoletto | 20151212 | Opera on 3's Live from the Met season begins with Verdi's Rigoletto, based on a controversial play by Victor Hugo, 'Le roi s'amuse'. It tells of the Duke of Mantua's hunchbacked jester and outsider, Rigoletto, who has brought up his daughter Gilda, soprano Nadine Sierra, in seclusion from the world. Rigoletto, sung by baritone Zeljiko Lucic, is cursed by the father of one of the Duke's victims after he mocks him - but the curse seems to take effect when the Duke, star tenor Piotr Beczala, seduces Rigoletto's innocent daughter Gilda.
Presented by Mary Jo Heath and commentator Ira Siff.
Gilda..... Nadine Sierra (soprano)
The Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera
Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, a performance of Verdi's Rigoletto. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Simon Boccanegra | 20100206 | Verdi's dark score forms the background for one of his most commanding operas on many of his favourite themes: the people pitted against the aristocratic few; power and politics; illegitimacy and forbidden love. All of these are in play as the Plebeian Doge of 14th Century Genoa struggles against his Patrician bitter rival. Plácido Domingo takes on one of the great baritone roles of the repertoire, Simon Boccanegra, and bass James Morris plays his nemesis, Jacopo Fiesco. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Including backstage interviews and the famous Met Quiz during the intervals. Simon Boccanegra: Plácido Domingo (baritone) Amelia: Adrianne Pieczonka (soprano) Gabriele Adorno: Marcello Giordano (tenor) Jacopo Fiesco: James Morris (bass) Paolo Albiani: Nicola Alaimo (bass) Pietro: Richard Bernstein (baritone) Maidservant: Joyce El-Khoury (soprano) Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York James Levine (conductor). James Levine conducts tenor Placido Domingo in Verdi's tale of power and politics. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Simon Boccanegra | 20110205 | Dmitri Hvorostovsky stars in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, live from the Met, conducted by James Levine. Barbara Frittoli sings Amelia, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Fiesco, and Ram n Vargas, Adorno. In fourteenth-century Genoa, there is a conspiracy afoot to overthrow the aristocracy. Popular former pirate Simon Boccanegra will be made doge, but this public success is complicated by a private tragedy involving an illegitimate child he had by the daughter of a nobleman. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Simon Boccanegra, a corsair - Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Baritone) Maria Boccanegra, his daughter, aka Amelia - Barbara Frittoli (Soprano) Jacopo Fiesco, a Genoese nobleman - Ferruccio Furlanetto (Bass) Gabriele Adorno, a Genoese gentleman - Ram n Vargas (Tenor) Paolo Albiani, a goldsmith - Nicola Alaimo (Bass) Pietro, a Genoese popular leader - Richard Bernstein (Baritone) Captain of the Crossbowmen - Adam Laurence Herskowitz (Tenor) Amelia's maid - Edyta Kulczak (Mezzo-soprano) James Levine - Conductor Chorus and Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera. James Levine conducts Verdi's opera Simon Boccanegra, featuring Dmitri Hvorotovsky. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Stiffelio | 20100130 | Verdi's opera Stiffelio had a troubled history. The predominantly Catholic Italy of the mid-19th century was not ready for a story of adultery in the home of a Protestant minister and the opera was severely censored at the time of its première in 1850. Forced to extensively revise his opera, Verdi then lost interest in it and did his best to destroy all copies of the original manuscript. It wasn't until 1960 that a complete score of Stiffelio was discovered, and in 1993 it entered the repertory of the Metropolitan Opera with tenor Plácido Domingo in the title role. Domingo now takes up the conductor's baton whilst Argentinian tenor José Cura sings the role of Stiffelio, the troubled clergyman who struggles between his ideals and the urge for revenge. American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky performs the role of his wife, Lina. From the opening scene, the young Verdi's originality is apparent as he begins Stiffelio with a long, ambitious septet and goes on from there with that mixture of dramatic force and melodic richness that made him the most successful composer of Italian opera in the second half of the 19th century.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Backstage interviews with members of the cast and the Met Quiz during the intervals.
Stiffelio: José Cura (tenor)
Placido Domingo conducts tenor Jose Cura in Verdi's controversial opera Stiffelio. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Un Ballo In Maschera | 20121208 | Live from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, a drama loosely based on the real events leading to the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden. Verdi masterfully develops this story at various levels: with the backdrop of a political conspiracy, he tells of the personal tragedy of a king and his forbidden love of his best friend's wife. This new production by David Alden features the Met's Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi at the helm of a starry cast lead by Marcelo Alvarez as King Gustav, Sondra Radvanovsky as Amelia Anckarstrom, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky as her husband, the King's friend and advisor Count Anckarstrom. Amelia Anckarstrom ..... Sondra Radvanovsky (soprano) Oscar ..... Kathleen Kim (soprano) Madame Ulrica Arvidsson ..... Dolora Zajick (contralto) King Gustavo III ..... Marcelo Alvarez (tenor) Count Anckarstrom ..... Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone) Christiano ..... Trevor Scheunemann (bass) Count Ribbing ..... Keith Miller (bass) Count Horn ..... David Crawford (bass) The Chief Justice ..... Mark Schowalter (tenor) Amelia's Servant ..... Scott Scully (tenor) Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera New York Fabio Luisi, conductor. Live from the Metropolitan Opera House, Fabio Luisi conducts Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Verdi's Un ballo in maschera | 20150502 | Live from the Met, Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera", a drama loosely based on real events leading to the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden. Verdi masterfully develops this story at various levels: against the backdrop of a political conspiracy, he tells of the personal tragedy of a ruler in love with his best friend's wife. James Levine conducts a starry cast lead by Ricardo Tamura as Gustavo, Sondra Radvanovsky as Amelia and Dmitri Hvorostovsky as her husband, Gustavo's friend and advisor Anckarstrom.
Presented by Mary Jo Heath in conversation with Ira Siff.
Gustavo.....Ricardo Tamura (Tenor)
Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, a performance of Verdi's Un ballo in maschera. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner 200 - Das Rheingold | 20130406 | Wagner 200: The Metropolitan Opera begins its first installment of Wagner's epic Ring Cycle. The Nibelung dwarf Alberich curses love and steals the Rhinemaidens' gold, setting in motion a train of events which will eventually lead to the downfall of the Gods. Fabio Luisi conducts a stellar cast that includes Stephanie Blythe, Stefan Margita, Mark Delavan and Greer Grimsley. The broadcast includes a Wagner 200 Opera Guide on Das Rhinegold.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff.
Wotan.....Mark Delavan (bass-baritone)
Live from the Met in New York, Das Rheingold, the first instalment of Wagner's Ring Cycle. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner 200 - Siegfried | 20130420 | Wagner 200: The third opera of The Ring Cycle centres on Siegfried, the boy who knows no fear. Siegfried forges a new sword out of the remains of his father's shattered blade Nothung, which he then uses both to kill the dragon Fafner, and to break The Wanderer's spear. The opera ends with his discovery of Brunnhilde, and finally realising the meaning of fear, and of love. Jay Hunter Morris sings Siegfried, with Deborah Voigt as Brunnhilde and Mark Delavan The Wanderer. The broadcast includes a Wagner 200 Opera Guide on Siegfried.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff.
Siegfried ..... Jay Hunter Morris (tenor),
Live from the Met, New York, Wagner's Siegfried. With Jay Hunter Morris and Deborah Voigt. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner 200, Die Walkure | 20130413 | Live from the Met Presented by Margaret Juntwait In the second instalment of Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung, the focus of the story shifts from the realm of the gods to the human world, with the incestuous love between Siegmund and Sieglinde engendering some sublime and searing music. Wotan faces a dilemma over his desire to protect his son Siegmund, and the Valkyrie Brunnhilde defies Wotan's wishes, causing her own incarceration within a magic circle of fire. Plus there's another chance to hear Radio 3's Opera Guide to Die Walkure. Siegmund.....Simon O'Neill (tenor) Sieglinde.....Martina Serafin (soprano) Hunding.....Hans-Peter Konig (bass) Wotan.....Mark Delavan (bass-baritone) Fricka.....Stephanie Blythe (mezzo-soprano) Brunnhilde......Deborah Voigt (soprano) Gerhilde......Kelly Cae Hogan (soprano) Ortlinde.....Wendy Bryn Harmer (soprano) Waltraute.....Marjorie Elinor Dix (mezzo-soprano) Schwertleite.....Mary Phillips (mezzo-soprano) Helmwige.....Molly Fillmore (soprano) Siegrune.....Eve Gigliotti (mezzo-soprano) Grimgerde.....MaryAnn McCormick (mezzo-soprano) Rossweisse.....Lindsay Ammann (mezzo-soprano) Chorus and Orchestra of The Metropolitan Opera, New York Fabio Luisi, conductor. Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Fabio Luisi conducts Wagner's Die Walkure. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner 200, Gotterdammerung | 20130511 | Wagner's fifteen-hour, four-part epic 'Ring' reaches its transcendent conclusion with G怀tterd䀀mmerung - 'Twilight of the Gods'. In the struggle between gods and mortals, the curse of the Ring dooms all who come into contact with it and Valhalla and the world end in fire and flood. G怀tterd䀀mmerung shows Wagner's utter mastery of his musical and dramatic resources and some of the set pieces, including Siegfried's Rhine Journey and the Immolation Scene, are among the greatest moments in all opera. For this production, directed by Robert Lepage, the Met has assembled an international stellar cast with some of the finest Wagnerian voices of our time. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Siegfried - Lars Cleveman (tenor) Brünnhilde - Deborah Voigt (soprano) Gunter - Iain Paterson (baritone) Gutrune - Wendy Bryn Harmer (soprano) Hagen - Hans-Peter K怀nig (bass) Alberich - Richard Paul Fink (baritone) Waltraute - Karen Cargill (mezzo-soprano) First Norn - Maria Radner (contralto) Second Norn - Michaela Martens (mezzo-soprano) Third Norn - Heidi Melton (soprano) Woglinde - Meredith Hansen (soprano) Wellgunde - Jennifer Johnson Cano (soprano) Flosshilde - Ren退e Tatum (mezzo-soprano) Chorus and Orchestra of The Metroplitan Opera, New York Fabio Luisi, conductor. Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a performance of Wagner's Gotterdammerung. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner's Das Rheingold | 20090328 | From the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, James Levine conducts a performance of the first part of Wagner's four-part epic drama, The Ring of the Nibelung, based on Nordic myths.
This timeless universe is the backdrop for a colossal fight between the god Wotan and the dwarf Alberich, the Nibelung, who wants to seize power with the help of a magic ring, forged with gold taken from the Rhein. A star cast is led by celebrated American bass-baritone James Morris, who has made the god Wotan his signature role.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait, with guest commentator Ira Siff.
Freia ...... Wendy Bryn Harmer (soprano)
James Levine conducts the first part of Wagner's epic saga The Ring of the Nibelung. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner's Das Rheingold | 20110402 | Tonight's Live from the Met is the first instalment of Wagner's Ring Cycle, Das Rheingold, in which all the problems for the gods in Valhalla and mortals on earth are set up for the rest of the epic cycle. A stellar cast includes Bryn Terfel as Wotan with Fabio Luisi conducting. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Freia - Wendy Bryn Harmer (soprano) Fricka - Stephanie Blythe (mezzo-soprano) Erda - Patricia Bardon (mezzo-soprano) Loge - Arnold Bezuyen (tenor) Mime .....Gerhard Siegel (tenor) Wotan - Bryn Terfel (baritone) Alberich - Eric Owens (bass) Fasolt - Franz-Josef Selig (bass) Fafner - Hans-Peter Konig (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan opera Conductor - Fabio Luisi. Fabio Luisi conducts the first instalment of Wagner's Ring cycle, Das Rheingold. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner's Die Meistersinger | 20141213 | James Levine returns to Wagner with a signature run of this epic comedy, back at the Met for the first time in eight years. Walther wants to marry Eva, but is only allowed do so if he wins the song contest held by the local guild of mastersingers. His self-taught method of song writing breaks all the complicated rules, but fortunately the wise Hans Sachs is on hand to offer advice on both song-writing and love. Michael Volle sings the central role of Hans Sachs. Johan Botha reprises his indomitable Walther, and the elegant Annette Dasch is Eva.
Presented Live from the Met by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff.
Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Eva.....Annette Dasch (Soprano)
Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Wagner's epic comedy Die Meistersinger. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner's Die Walkure | 20090411 | From the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, James Levine conducts a performance of the second installment of Wagner's four-part epic drama, The Ring of the Nibelung, based on Nordic myths. Wotan, the emotionally volatile leader of the Gods, finds himself torn by conflicting loyalites. Will he support his children in their search for true love - even if adulterous and incestuous - or will he have to enforce the law and defend the conventional marriage rights of an unloved husband? Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The two intervals include backstage interviews and the Met Quiz. Wagner: Die Walkure Siegmund ...... Johan Botha (tenor) Hunding ...... John Tomlinson (bass) Wotan ...... James Morris (bass-baritone) Sieglinde ...... Waltraud Meier (soprano) Brunnhilde ...... Irene Theorin (soprano) Fricka ...... Yvonne Naef (mezzo-soprano) Gerhilde ...... Kelly Cae Hogan (soprano) Ortlinde ...... Wendy Bryn Harmer (soprano) Waltraute ...... Laura Vlasak Nolen (mezzo-soprano) Schwertleite ...... Jane Bunnell (mezzo-soprano) Helmwige ...... Claudia Waite (soprano) Siegrune ...... Lann Sandel-Pantaleo (mezzo-soprano) Grimgerde ...... Mary Ann McCormick (mezzo-soprano) Rossweisse ...... Teresa S Herold (mezzo-soprano) Orchestra and Chorus of Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor). James Levine conducts the second part of Wagner's epic saga The Ring of the Nibelung. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner's Die Walkure | 20110514 | The Met's lavish production of Wagner's epic four-opera Ring reaches its second instalment, Die Walküre.
If only Top God and serial philanderer Wotan had been able to keep his trousers on, he would have saved himself a great deal of trouble. As it is, eleven of his children stalk the stage, causing havoc in one way or another. Nine of them have chosen the career path of warrior-maidens - the Valkyries - including their leader (and Wotan's favourite) Brünnhilde. The other two are a pair of twins, Siegmund and Sieglinde. They have chosen the rather more questionable use of their time to be lovers - a relationship not only incestuous but also adulterous, since Sieglinde is already married. Wotan sends Big Sister Brünnhilde to guard the lovers, much to the chagrin of his missus, Fricka. Chagrin, because her job (ironically enough considering what her husband has put her through) is Goddess of the Sanctity of Marriage. Throw in a magic sword and the usual disobedience a father can expect from his kids and, sure as eggs is eggs, there'll be tears before bedtime.
The no-expense-spared cast includes Bryn Terfel as the prodigious bed-hopper Wotan and Stephanie Blythe as his long-suffering wife, Fricka. Deborah Voight is the disobedient daughter and protective sister Brünnhilde, and Eva Maria Westbroek and Jonas Kaufmann the incestuous twins, Siegmund and Sieglinde. James Levine conducts.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff.
Siegmund ..... Jonas Kaufmann (tenor)
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
From the Metropolitan Opera, New York, James Levine conducts Wagner's Die Walkure. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner's Die Walkure | 20120428 | Wagner's Die Walkure Live from The Met Part two of Wagner's Ring Cycle, in which Siegmund and his sister Sieglinde fall in love with each other, and Brunnhilde is banished to a fire-surrounded rock by her father, Wotan, for disobeying him. Only a hero will be able to break through the flames to rescue her - could Sieglinde's unborn baby Siegfried be the man Brunnhilde is waiting for? The Met's production of Die Walkure has a stellar cast including Eva-Maria Westbroek, Katarina Dalayman, Frank Van Aken and Bryn Terfel. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Siegmund.....Frank Van Aken (Tenor)* Sieglinde..... Eva-Maria Westbroek (Soprano) Hunding.....HansPeter Konig (Bass) Wotan.....Bryn Terfel (Baritone) Fricka.....Stephanie Blythe (Mezzo-Soprano) Brunnhilde.....Katarina Dalayman (Soprano) Gerhilde.....Kellie Cae Hogan (Soprano) Ortlinde.....Wendy Bryn Harmer (Soprano) Waltraute.....Marjorie Elinor Dix (Soprano) Schwertleite.....Mary Phillips (Soprano) Helmwige.....Molly Fillmore (Soprano) Seigrune.....Eve Gigliotti (Mezzo-Soprano) Grimgerde.....Mary Ann Mccormick (Mezzo-Soprano) Rossweisse.....Lindsay Ammann (Mezzo-Soprano) New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus Fabio Luisi.....Conductor *Frank Van Aken replaces Jonas Kaufmann. Wagner's Die Walkure from the Met, with Katarina Dalayman, Bryn Terfel and Frank Van Aken. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner's Gotterdammerung | 20090425 | In the final broadcast from New York Metropolitan Opera for the 2008/2009 season, James Levine conducts the last part of Wagner's Ring cycle, with Christian Franz as Siegfried and Katarina Dalayman as Brunnhilde.
As a pledge of his love, Siegfried gives Brunnhilde the ring he took from the dragon Fafner, the ring made from the Rheingold that gives its owner power over all the world. Then she sends him into the world to do heroic deeds. But in the hall of the Gibichungs, Hagen has other ideas: a magic potion will make Siegfried forget Brunnhilde and fall in love with Gutrune.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. There are backstage interviews and the Met Quiz during the two intervals.
Siegfried ...... Christian Franz (tenor)
James Levine conducts the final part of Wagner's Ring cycle. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner's Gotterdammerung | 20120211 | Wagner's G怀tterd䀀mmerung Live from the Met When the Rope of Destiny breaks and logs from the World Ash are piled around Valhalla, it marks the beginning of the end for the motley bunch of misfits from the fourth and final part of Wagner's epic operatic sequence. As in previous episodes, heroes, gods, dwarves and fresh-water mermaids accompany their scramble for the curse-laden ring with the usual oaths and arguments. But this time, what with cataclysmic fire and flood, there can be no sequel. G怀tterd䀀mmerung - Twilight of the Gods - means just that. The Met's no-expense-spared Ring has an impressive cast led by two of the great Wagnerian singers of our time, Deborah Voigt as Brünnhilde and Jay Hunter Morris as Siegfried. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff Brünnhilde..... Deborah Voigt (Soprano) Gutrune..... Wendy Bryn Harmer (Bass) Waltraute..... Waltraud Meier (Mezzo-soprano) Siegfried..... Jay Hunter Morris (Tenor) Gunther..... Iain Paterson (Baritone) Alberich..... Eric Owens (Baritone) Hagen..... Hans-Peter K怀nig (Bass) First Norn..... Maria Radner (Contralto) Second Norn..... Elizabeth Bishop (Mezzo-soprano) Third Norn..... Heidi Melton (Soprano) Woglinde..... Erin Morley (Soprano) Wellgunde..... Jennifer Johnson Cano (Soprano) Flosshilde..... Tamara Mumford (Mezzo-soprano) New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Conductor....Fabio Luisi. Fabio Luisi conducts Wagner's Gotterdammerung at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner's Parsifal | 20130302 | In Wagner's final opera, Jonas Kaufmann sings the wild child innocent who stumbles upon the brotherhood of the holy grail, thereby finding wisdom and saving the grail's protectors from a curse put upon them. Katarina Dalayman sings Kundry, a mysterious ageless woman, Evegeny Niktin the wicked Klingsor and Rene Pape the noble knight Gurnemanz.
Presented by Margaret Juntwait and Ira Siff.
Parsifal.....Jonas Kaufmann (tenor)
Live from New York's Metopolitan Opera, a performance of Wagner's final opera, Parsifal. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner's Siegfried | 20090418 | From New York Metropolitan Opera, James Levine conducts a performance of the third part of Wagner's four-part epic drama, The Ring of the Nibelung, based on Nordic myths. German tenor Christian Franz, in his debut season at the Met, performs the title role, supported by Swedish soprano Irene Theorin. The story centres on the cycle's hero, the eponymous Siegfried, product of an incestuous union, who becomes a blacksmith and forges a sword with which he slays powerful foes. (See below for full Synopsis and Production Photos) Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. There are backstage interviews and the Met Quiz during the two intervals. Siegfried - Christian Franz (tenor) Mime - Robert Brubaker (tenor) The Wanderer - James Morris (bass-baritone) Alberich - Richard Paul Fink (bass-baritone) Fafner - John Tomlinson (bass) Erda - Wendy White(mezzo-soprano) Brunnhilde - Irene Theorin (soprano) Woodbird - Lisette Oropesa (soprano) Chorus and Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor). James Levine conducts the third part of Wagner's Ring Cycle. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner's Siegfried | 20120421 | Wagner's Siegfried Live from The Met Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff When Siegfried eventually finds the sleeping Brünnhilde, he is overwhelmed by her beauty and finally realizes the meaning of fear. Awakened by his kiss, Brünnhilde tries to resist his declarations of passion, but finally gives in and joins Siegfried in praise of love. Siegfried ..... Jay Hunter Morris (tenor) Brünnhilde ..... Deborah Voigt (soprano) Erda ..... Patricia Bardon (contralto) Mime ..... Gerhard Siegel (tenor) Wanderer ..... Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone) Alberich ..... Eric Owens (baritone) Fafner ..... Hans-Peter Konig (bass) Waldvogel ..... Erin Morley (soprano) Metropolitan Opera Chorus Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Fabio Luisi (conductor). From the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Fabio Luisi conducts Wagner's Siegfried. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner's The Flying Dutchman | 20170429 | A performance of Wagner's 'The Flying Dutchman', live from the Met in New York. Baritone Michael Volle stars as the Dutchman. Yannick N退zet-S退guin conducts.
Wagner: Der fliegende Holl䀀nder
The Flying Dutchman - sung by new Met star baritone Michael Volle - has been condemned for eternity to sail his ship, and only once every seven years is allowed to come ashore in search of love that will set him free. Amber Wagner sings the role of Senta, the woman he falls for and in whom hopes he has found his redemption. This live performance of Wagner's majestic score, with the Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, is conducted by the exciting Yannick N退zet-S退guin, who is making his Wagner debut at the Met.
Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, a performance of Wagner's The Flying Dutchman. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Wagner's Tristan Und Isolde | 20081206 | Daniel Barenboim makes his Met debut conducting Katarina Dalayman as Isolde, alongside Gary Lehman as Tristan in Wagner's powerful and highly influential opera exploring of the agony and ecstasy of erotic love. After unwittingly drinking a love potion, Tristan and Isolde fall deeply in love with each other, but their romance faces opposition from King Brangane and can only end in tragedy. The programme, which also includes backstage interviews with the artists during the intervals, is presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait, with guest commentator Ira Siff. Tristan - Gary Lehman (tenor) Isolde - Katarina Dalayman (soprano) Brangane - Michelle DeYoung (mezzo-soprano) Kurwenal - Gerd Grochowski (baritone) King Marke - Kwangchul Youn (baritone) Melot - Stephen Gaertner (baritone) Shepherd - Mark Schowalter (tenor) Steersman - James Courtney (baritone) Young Sailor - Matthew Plenk (tenor) Chorus and Orchestra of New York Metropolitan Opera Daniel Barenboim (conductor). Daniel Barenboim makes his Met debut conducting Wagner's influential and powerful opera. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |
| Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini | 20130316 | Zandonai's colourful melodrama, based on a play inspired by Dante's Inferno, centres on Francesca da Rimini's fateful entanglement with the Malatesta family. Francesca has been promised in marriage to Gianciotto Malatesta, the brutal lord of Rimini, who is lame. She is tricked into thinking his handsome younger brother, Paolo, is her betrothed, and falls in love with him. Despite marrying Gianciotto, her love for Paolo develops, arousing the jealousy and suspicion of their other brother, Malatestino.
Francesca da Rimini, full of vibrant melodies, is Zandonai's only opera to achieve lasting success.
Francesca.....Eva-Maria Westbroek (soprano)
Live from the Metroplitan Opera in New York, Zandonai's opera Francesca da Rimini. Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances |