It’s hard to believe we’re already on Week 22 at the Met, but indeed here we are. For those doing the math and wondering how many weeks the Met can continue streaming operas without repeating a production: They have over 400 filmed productions. That means they can go more than 57 weeks with unique productions.
This week some of the most popular operas are being presented including Carmen, La Bohème and Rigoletto. For the second time during these weekly streams, the Met is offering up a production of my personal favorite opera, Tristan und Isolde. The common denominator amongst them all is one of opera’s greatest themes: Love.
Each production becomes available on the Met Opera website at 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PDT. They remain available for 23 hours. One exception this week is Saturday’s opera, La Bohème which will end at 12:00 PM EDT/9:00 AM PDT on Sunday to make way for the Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak recital that begins at 1:30 PM EDT/10:30 AM PDT. Schedules and line-ups are subject to change.
If you are reading this column early on Monday, August 10th, you might still have time to catch the 2016-2017 season production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
Here is the line-up for Week 22 at the Met:
Monday, August 10 – Puccini’s Manon Lescaut
Conducted by James Levine; starring Karita Mattila, Marcello Giordani and Dwayne Croft. This revival of Gian Carlo Menotti’s 1980 production is from the 2007-2008 season.
Puccini’s Manon Lescaut was based on Abbé Prévost’s 1731 novel, Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux, et de Manon Lescaut. The libretto is by Luigi Illica, Marco Praga and Domenico Oliva. Manon Lescaut had its world premiere in Turin in 1893.
This is another opera about an ill-fated couple. Manon is taken by her brother to live in a convent. A local student, Des Grieux, feels it is love at first sight and persuades Manon to run away with him. Poverty doesn’t suit her, nor does a life of having everything she wants when she leaves Des Grieux for Geronte, the man her brother had chosen as a possible husband. Passion cannot be denied, but doesn’t mean Manon and Des Grieux will live happily ever after.
Anthony Tommasini said in his New York Times review that there was basically one reason the Met brought back this production of Manon Lescaut after 18 years: Mattila. He said she did not disappoint. Going further he added, “Though a lovely and mature Finnish woman, Ms. Mattila is such a compelling actress that she affectingly conveyed Manon’s girlish awkwardness. She acted with her voice as well, singing with burnished sound and nuanced expressivity.”
Tuesday, August 11 – Bizet’s Carmen
Conducted by Louis Langrée; starring Aleksandra Kurzak, Clémentine Margaine, Roberto Alagna and Alexander Vinogradov. This revival of Richard Eyre’s 2009 production is from the 2018-2019 season.
Georges Bizet collaborated with librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy on this immensely popular opera. It was based on Propser Mérimée’s novella of the same name.
When Carmen was first performed in Paris in 1875 it was considered both shocking and scandalous.
Set in Seville, Spain, Carmen is a gypsy who has caught everyone’s eye. A soldier, Don José, plays coy and gives her no attention. Her flirtation causes troubles for both when Don José’s girlfriend, Micaëla arrives. Tensions escalate between the two women and after a knight fight, José must arrest Carmen. When she seduces him it sets off a series of events that will not end well for the gypsy woman.
Margaine made her Met Opera debut in the 2017 revival of this production of Carmen. She had not been announced to open the production, but assumed the part in true understudy form when Sophie Koch took ill. Margaine had been scheduled to take on the role later in the run.
Of her return to the role in this production, Zachary Woolfe in the New York Times said, “Anchoring the performance was the mezzo Clémentine Margaine, arrestingly stern and articulate in the title role. Her voice doesn’t bloom, but it darkly insinuates, like a clarinet. And she portrays a disconcertingly changeable, mordant yet (seemingly genuinely) hopeful Carmen, rising to stony grandeur in the final duet.”
Wednesday, August 12 – Verdi’s Rigoletto
Conducted by James Levine; starring Christiane Eda-Pierre, Isola Jones, Luciano Pavarotti, Louis Quilico and Ara Berberian. This revival of John Dexter’s 1977 production is from the 1981-1982 season.
Victor Hugo, the author of Les Míserables, was also a playwright and it was his play, Le roi s’amuse, that served as the inspiration for Giuseppe Verdi’s opera. Francesco Maria Piave, who regularly collaborated with the composer, wrote the libretto. The opera had its world premiere in Venice, Italy in 1851.
The title character is a jester who serves the Duke of Mantua. The Duke is a seductive man who, upon learning that the woman with whom Rigoletto lives is his daughter and not his wife, makes the young woman, Gilda, his next target. Curses, assassination plots and more leave this clown without much to smile about.
For most opera fans, Pavarotti’s appearance in this production was the selling point. But for New York Times critic Edward Rothstein, he found something, or rather, someone else to admire.
“Though Luciano Pavarotti as the Duke may attract the most attention, Louis Quilico, as Rigoletto, was at the center of the drama; his passions and fears could be heard in his voice as well as seen in his face and body. His ”La ra, la ra, la la” seemed sobbed out by a jester who has lived too long and seen too much.”
Thursday, August 13 – Puccini’s Turandot
Conducted by Paolo Carignani; starring Nina Stemme, Anita Hartig, Marco Berti and Alexander Tsymbalyuk. This revival of Franco Zeffirelli’s 1987 production is from the 2015-2016 season.
Puccini’s opera had its world premiere in 1926 in Milan. The libretto was written by Guiseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. The composer died two years before its premiere and the opera was completed by Franco Alfani.
Set in China, Turandot tells the story of Prince Calaf who has fallen in love with the title princess. She, however, isn’t very interested in him. In order for any man to marry Turandot, he is required to correctly answer three riddles. Should any answer be wrong, the suitor is put to death. Calaf is successful, but Turandot remains opposed to their marriage. He strikes a deal with her that will either lead to their marriage or his death.
By the time this production of Turandot was broadcast on Met Opera in HD, Nina Stemme was the fourth woman to sing the title role. Christine Goerke, Lise Lindstrom and Jennifer Wilson had all performed in the production prior to Stemme. It should be noted that having multiple singers for a given role during a season is not at all unusual.
Vivien Schweitzer, in her review for the New York Times, said of Stemme’s performance that she, “managed to render the grisly ice maiden surprisingly vulnerable. Ms. Stemme sounded more grief-stricken than angry during “In questa reggia,” the aria in which she recalls her violated ancestor.
“Her powerful, luxuriant voice retained its warmth throughout the evening, with blazing high notes that were never forced or shrill, even when projected over the massed ensembles of orchestra and chorus. Her transition from powerful to helpless seemed particularly acute when she begged her father not to be given to the “stranger” (the prince Calaf), who has solved the riddles that will allow him to possess her.”
Friday, August 14 – Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde
Conducted by James Levine; starring Deborah Voigt, Michelle DeYoung, Robert Dean Smith and Matti Salminen. This revival of Dieter Dorn’s 1999 production is from the 2007-2008 season.
Richard Wagner wrote the music and the libretto for Tristan and Isolde. Gottfried von Strassburg’s novel, Tristan, from the 12th century, serves as his inspiration. The opera had its world premiere in Munich in 1865.
It is a bit of oversimplifying to say that the story in Tristan und Isolde is about two lovers whose passion for each other is so strong, it can only truly thrive in the afterlife. But frankly, in a nutshell, that’s the essential premise. But don’t be mistaken, this is pure drama and glorious music.
Sadly the only clip we could find from this production was wildly out of synch. Rather than post something so obviously problematic, we’ve opted not to post anything. However, should you find a clip, please forward it to us!
This was Voigt’s first Tristan und Isolde at the Met. It was a hot ticket. But there were challenges for the Met.
Ben Heppner, one of the world’s most-renowned Wagnerian singers, took ill just before the opening. John McMaster took on the role in his absence on opening night. As Heppner’s illness continued, Gary Lehman assumed the role. Lehman, however, was injured during a performance. Heppner, who would not sing the part until the final four performances, was still unavailable. Robert Dean Smith made his Metropolitan Opera debut in this hugely demanding role in the performance you’ll be seeing.
Saturday, August 15 – Puccini’s La Bohème (ends at noon Sunday)
Conducted by Stefano Ranzani; starring Kristine Opolais, Susanna Phillips, Vittorio Grigolo, Massimo Cavalletti, Patrick Carfizzi and Oren Gradus. This revival of Franco Zeffirelli’s 1981 production is from the 2013-2014 season.
Easily one of the most popular operas in the world, Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème had its world premiere in Turin, Italy in 1896. The libretto is by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. The opera is based on Henri Murger’s 1851 novel, Scènes de la vie de bohème.
The story centers on four friends who are unable to pay their rent. Successfully getting out of a potentially bad situation with their landlord, all but one go out on the town. Rodolfo stays home and meets a young woman named Mimi. They fall in love, but Mimi’s weakness may be a sign of something far more life-threatening than they know. (If this sounds like the musical Rent, it is because La Bohème served as Jonathan Larson’s inspiration for that musical.)
Anita Hartig was scheduled to sing the role of Mimi in this performance of La Bohème that took place on April 5, 2014. She took ill and the Met was in a very difficult position because that performance (the one made available here) was part of Met Opera in HD around the world. Where could they find a replacement for this pivotal role in Puccini’s opera on very short notice?
They took a chance and reached out to Kristine Opolais who had just sung Madama Butterfly the night before at the Met. Would she consider singing Mimi the next night at the Met? She had previously sung the role, but never on the stages of the Metropolitan Opera. After some initial and brief hesitation, she said yes. The results are on display for us all to see and enjoy.
Sunday, August 16 – Verdi’s Luisa Miller
Conducted by James Levine; starring Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Bonaldo Giaiotti and James Morris. This Nathaniel Merrill production is from the 1978-1979 season.
Luisa Miller was Verdi’s 15th opera. Like Maria Stuarda, the composer turned to Friedrich von Schiller for inspiration. His work, Kabale und Liebe, was the basis for Salvadore Cammarano’s libretto. The opera had its world premiere in 1849 in Naples, Italy.
Like many a young woman, Luisa Miller’s father is not thrilled with her choice of boyfriends. Carlo, the man she loves, is not quite who he seems to be. Enter Wurm, who knows the truth about Carlo and who does everything he can to ruin their relationship because he, too, is in love with Luisa.
When this production opened earlier in the season, a different cast sang most of the roles. When the Met Opera decided to film this production, they realized the kind of stars usually found only on recordings would be most beneficial. As a result, you will see major opera stars of the late 1970s here.
One bit of trivia: This was the first time Renata Scotto sang the title role in this opera at the Met.
The Metropolitan Opera celebrated love and survived multiple last-minute cast replacements for Week 22 at the Met. I hope you enjoy the productions.
Photo: A scene from Act II of Puccini’s La Bohème. (Photo by Evan Zimmerman/ Courtesy Met Opera)