Week 11 at the Met

The holiday weekend concludes just as Week 11 at the Met is getting started. Amongst the productions on the bill this week are two operas by Hector Berlioz, a classic performance of Manon Lescaut with Renato Scotto and Plácido Domingo from 1980 and a modern-dress production of Salome by Richard Strauss.

Each production becomes available at 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PM PDT and will remain available for 23 hours on the Met Opera website. That means you still have until 6:30 PM EDT/3:30 PM PDT on Monday to watch Manon from the 2011-2012 season.

Here are the productions available Week 11 at the Met.

Monday, May 25 – Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust

Conducted by James Levine; starring Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani and John Relyea. This Robert Lepage production is from the 2008-2009 season.

Hector Berlioz composed this work in 1845. He never envisioned La Damnation de Faust to be staged as an opera, but rather as a concert work. The first time it was performed as an opera was in 1893. The Metropolitan Opera first performed it as a concert in 1896. It would be ten more years before The Met would present it as a fully-staged opera.

Once again Goethe’s work serves as the inspiration for this story about the deal one man makes with the devil to save the woman he loves.

With Le Damnation de Faust, Lepage made his Metropolitan Opera debut. His extensive use of video in this production was one of the many points of both interest and discussion in 2008. Critics at the time wondered if this was a sign of what his then-upcoming Ring Cycle might be like.

Tuesday, May 26 – Verdi’s Ernani

Conducted by Marco Armiliato; starring Angela Meade, Marcello Giordani, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Ferruccio Furlanetto. This revival of the 1983 Pier Luigi Samaritani production is from the 2011-2012 season.

This opera is based on Herman Melville’s 1830 drama of the same name. Francesco Maria Piave, who wrote the libretto, would go on to work with Verdi on multiple operas including La Traviata and Rigoletto.

Three men are all in love with the same woman in this opera set in 16th century Spain. Working out all the relationships amongst the main characters anchors this story of love, betrayal, royalty and ultimately tragedy.

Prior to this production opening, Meade was announced as the winner of the Beverly Sills Artist Award. That meant she faced added scrutiny for her performance. Critics and audiences were impressed. Will you be?

Wednesday, May 27 – Puccini’s Manon Lescaut

Conducted by James Levine; starring Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo and Pablo Elvira. This Gian Carlo Menotti production is from the 1979-1980 season.

Menotti’s production was new to the Metropolitan Opera when it debuted in 1980. It replaced a 1949 production that had been in place for 31 years.

Renata Scotto sings the role of the title character, a woman who choses the love of Des Grieux (Domingo) over her obligation to go to a convent. Like many a great love affair, this one is not destined to last forever.

Harold C. Schonberg raved about both lead performances in his 1980 review for the New York Times.

“Renata Scott sang the title role and it was a typical Scotto performance. She understood the character dramatically and vocally and her acting was always convincing…Domingo cemented the point that he is probably the best all-around tenor active in the world today.”

Thursday, May 28 – Berlioz’s  Les Troyens

Conducted by Fabio Luisi; starring Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Bryan Hymel and Dwayne Croft. This Francesca Zambello production is from the 2012-2013 season.

If you though only Wagner wrote long operas, let me introduce you to this over 5-1/2 hour opera by Berlioz.

Set in the ancient city of Troy, where the Greeks have “gifted” their enemy with a wooden horse. Cassandra had feared there was a threat and when the Greeks ransacked the city, she and the woman of Troy choose suicide over surrendering.

Prince Aeneas, able to flee Troy, sets sail with his fleet for Italy. Circumstances force him to land at Carthage where Queen Dido falls in love with him. Will their love win out or must Aeneas be faithful to the Gods?

Because it is so long, many opera companies do not regularly perform Les Troyens. Nonetheless, this lengthy work is considered by many critics to be amongst the greatest operas ever written.

Friday, May 29 – Bellini’s La Sonnambula 

Conducted by Evelino Pidò; starring Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez. This Mary Zimmerman production is from the 2008-2009 season.

This was the first production of La Sonnambula at the Met since 1972. Zimmerman set the story in present-day New York.

The original story was set in a 19th century Swiss village where the orphan Amina (Dessay) is in love with Elvino (Flórez). Her sleepwalking poses problems for them both, but true love conquers all, even walking in your sleep.

Bellini’s opera had its world premiere in 1831 in Milan. The libretto was written by Felice Romani who also collaborated with the composer on Norma. This opera is less than half the run-time of Les Doyens.

Saturday, May 30 – Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore

Conducted by Domingo Hindoyan; starring Pretty Yende, Matthew Polenzani, Davide Luciano and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo. This revival of the 2012-2013 Bartlett Sher production is from the 2017-2018 season.

Welcome to another opera with a libretto by Felice Romani. L’Elisir d’Amore was inspired by Eugène Scribe’s libretto for Daniel Auber’s Le philtre.

In this opera, Adina (Yende) and Nemorino (Polenzani) are the couple at the center of the story. Nemorino is madly in love with Adina, but she toys with his love. In an act of desperation he purchases an “elixir” that he believes will make her fall in love with him. He pretends not to love her anymore which leads, of course, to the planning of their wedding. But will it take place? It’s a comic opera, of course it will!

When this production was reviewed critics were particularly impressed with Yende’s performance.

Sunday, May 31 – R. Strauss’s Salome

Conducted by Patrick Summers; starring Karita Mattila, Ildikó Komlósi, Kim Begley, Joseph Kaiser and Juha Uusitalo. This Jürgen Flimm production is from the 2008-2009 season.

Film clips from this modern-dress set production proved impossible to find. Perhaps it was because Finnish Soprano Karita Mattila ended the Dance of the Seven Veils fully nude. It was controversial when she first did that in 2004. Nonetheless, don’t expect that to be part of this film. The Met Opera did not include her nudity when this production was first aired.

In his review for the New York Times, Anthony Tomassini raved about Mattila.

“I cannot think of a performance on any stage in New York right now that tops Ms. Mattila’s Salome for courage, intensity and emotional nakedness. 

“Vocally Ms. Mattila is born to this daunting role, singing with an eerie combination of cool Nordic colorings and raw power. She can spin a Straussian melodic line with sumptuous lyricism. But when Salome erupts in a spasm of twisted desire or childish petulance, Ms. Mattila unleashes chilling, hard-edged top notes that slice through Strauss’s king-size orchestra.”

That concludes Week 11 at the Met.

Here’s a tease for Week 12: One of the productions marked the North American premiere of a work by a British composer based on a surreal film by a Spanish filmmaker.

Main Photo: John Relyea as Mephistopheles in Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust (Photo by Ken Howard/Courtesy of Metropolitan Opera)