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		<title>Opera&#8217;s Greatest Heroines: Week 45 at the Met</title>
		<link>https://culturalattache.co/2021/01/18/operas-greatest-heroines-week-45-at-the-met/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jan 2021 08:01:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opera: Bravo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aleksandrs Antonenko]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anita Hartig]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anita Rachvelishvili]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anna Netrebko]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Artur Ruciński]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bryn Terfel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carlo Rizzi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carmen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cornell MacNeil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David McVicar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deborah Voigt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Die Walküre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dmitri Hvorostovsky]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eva-Maria Westbroek]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fabio Luisi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Franco Zeffirelli]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaetano Donizetti]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Georges Bizet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giacomo Puccini]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giuseppe Sinopoli]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hans-Peter König]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hildegard Behrens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ildar Abdrazakov]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Levine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jonas Kaufmann]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joseph Calleja]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joyce DiDonato]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jules Massenet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Laurent Pelly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lisette Oropesa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lucia di Lammermoor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Manon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marco Armiliato]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mariusz Kwiecień]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mary Zimmerman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matthew Polenzani]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matthew Rose]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maurizio Benini]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Metropolitan Opera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Fabiano]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Natalie Dessay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pablo Heras-Casado]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Piotr Beczała]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Renée Fleming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Eyre]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Stephanie Blythe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tosca]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vincenzo Bellini]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>Metropolitan Opera Website<br />
<br />
January 18th - January 24th</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2021/01/18/operas-greatest-heroines-week-45-at-the-met/">Opera&#8217;s Greatest Heroines: Week 45 at the Met</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>Fresh on the heels of a week celebrating soprano Renée Fleming, the Metropolitan Opera is putting women front and center again. Week 45 at the Met features <em>Opera&#8217;s Greatest Heroines</em>&#8230;and some of the great female singers, too.</p>



<p>Amongst the women starring in these productions are Hildegard Behrens, Natalie Dessay, Joyce DiDonato, Anita Hartig, Anna Netrebko, Lisette Oropesa, Anita Rachvelishvili, Sondra Radvanovsky and Deborah Voigt.</p>



<p>All productions become available at 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST and remain available for 23 hours. Schedules and timings may be subject to change.</p>



<p>The Met is heavily promoting their Met Stars Live in Concert series and the planned resumption of performances in the 2021-2022 season, so you’ll have to go past those announcements and promos to find the streaming productions on the&nbsp;<a href="http://metopera.org/">Metropolitan Opera website</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If you read this column early enough on January 18th, you might still have time to catch the 2013-2014 production of&nbsp;<em>Rusalka&nbsp;</em>by Antonín Dvořák that concludes&nbsp;<a href="https://culturalattache.co/2021/01/11/renee-fleming-week-44-at-the-met/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Renée Fleming</em> week</a>.</p>



<p>Here is the full line-up for Week 45 at the Met:</p>



<p>Monday, January 18 – Bizet’s&nbsp;<strong><em>Carmen</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado; starring Anita Hartig, Anita Rachvelishvili, Aleksandrs Antonenko and Ildar Abdrazakov.&nbsp;This revival of the 2009 Richard Eyre production is from the 2014-2015 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was made available on July 2nd.</p>



<p>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.&nbsp;</p>



<p>When&nbsp;<em>Carmen</em>&nbsp;was first performed in Paris in 1875 it was considered both shocking and scandalous.&nbsp;</p>



<p>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.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe title="Carmen: Final Scene (Rachvelishvili, Antonenko)" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4FPTNiit0Uk?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>In his&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span>&nbsp;review of this production, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/arts/music/anita-rachvelishvili-in-richard-eyres-carmen-at-the-met.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zachary Woolfe</a> came to&nbsp;a new realization&nbsp;about the characters in this opera.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“Watching Ms. Rachvelishvili stare stonily at the tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko, as Don José, I was aware as never before of the opera’s conceit that these characters have been thrown together, mostly miserably, by fate. They love each other without ever much liking each other.”</p>



<p>Tuesday, January 19 – Donizetti’s<strong>&nbsp;<em>Lucia di Lammermoor</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Marco Armiliato; starring Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczała,&nbsp;Mariusz Kwiecień and Ildar Abdrazakov.&nbsp;This revival of the 2007 Mary Zimmerman production is from the 2008-2009 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was made available on March 21st and October 12th</p>



<p>Sir Walter Scott’s novel&nbsp;<em>The Bride of Lammermoor</em>&nbsp;was the inspiration for Gaetano Donizetti’s opera,&nbsp;<em>Lucia di Lammermoor</em>. Salvadore Cammarano, who collaborated with the composer on seven operas, wrote this libretto. This opera had its world premiere in Naples in 1835.</p>



<p>The opera, set in Scotland in the early 18th century, is a truly tragic love story. Lucia and Edgardo are secretly in love. They keep their love a secret as they are from opposing families. Her brother keeps them from getting married by lying to Lucia about Edgardo having married another woman. So deep is her despair that she turns to murder and ultimately devolves into madness.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe title="Piotr Beczala/Anna Netrebko: Veranno a te/Lucia di Lammermoor MET 2009" width="696" height="522" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S9YOPELzQFM?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>When this production first opened, Rolando Villazón sang the role of Edgardo. On opening night, just prior to the final act, Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Met, announced that Villazón had been singing the performance in spite of being ill. That illness got the best of him and thus Piotr Beczala replaced him and is the Edgardo of this performance.</p>



<p>Wednesday, January 20 – Bellini’s<strong>&nbsp;<em>Norma</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Carlo Rizzi; starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Joyce DiDonato, Joseph Calleja and Matthew Rose.&nbsp;This David McVicar production is from the 2017- 2018 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was made available on April 5th and September 20th.</p>



<p>Vincenzo Bellini’s&nbsp;<em>Norma</em>&nbsp;had its world premiere in Milan in 1831. The&nbsp;libretto&nbsp;was written by&nbsp;Felice Romani&nbsp;based on Alexandre Soumet’s play&nbsp;<em>Norma, ou L’infanticide</em>&nbsp;(<em>Norma, or The Infanticide</em>).</p>



<p>The opera is set during Roman occupation of Gaul. Norma, the Druid high priestess, has been abandoned by the Roman consul, Pollione, the father of her two children. He has fallen in love with his wife’s friend, Adalgisa. Norma is devastated when she learns of his betrayal and his plans to marry Adalgisa. This leaves Norma in the position of having to figure out what to do with her children and whether or not to exact revenge on Pollione.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe title="Mira, O Norma.  Sondra Radvanovsky y Joyce Didonato" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e5L1w5weLPA?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>Maria Callas made&nbsp;<em>Norma</em>&nbsp;a signature role for her after she first performed in a 1948 production at Teatro Comunale di Firenze. She sang the part in 89 performances. The role is considered the Mount Everest of opera.&nbsp;</p>



<p>James Jorden&nbsp;examined what makes this role so challenging in a 2017 article for the&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span> that ran just before this production opened. You can read that story&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/20/arts/music/norma-bellini-metropolitan-opera.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.</p>



<p>Thursday, January 21 – Verdi’s<strong>&nbsp;<em>La Traviata</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Fabio Luisi; starring Natalie Dessay, Matthew Polenzani, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. This Willy Decker production is from the 2011-2012 season. This is an encore presentation of the production made available on April 24th.</p>



<p>Alexandre Dumas fils (the son of the author of&nbsp;<em>The Three Musketeers</em>) wrote the play,&nbsp;<em>La Dame aux camélias</em>&nbsp;on which Verdi’s opera is based. Francesco Maria Piave wrote the libretto for&nbsp;<em>La Traviata</em>&nbsp;which had its world premiere in Venice in 1853.</p>



<p>In the opera, Violetta, who is in declining health, throws an opulent party. At this party she is introduced to Alfredo by her lover, Baron Douphol. When signs of failing health get noticed by Alfredo, he encourages her to give up her lavish lifestyle. He also admits his great love for Violetta. A love triangle is now in play. From there the opera tells the story of a woman who sacrifices everything to live life on the edge.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Metropolitan Opera - La Traviata - Sempre Libera (2012)" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wnjpH8G7cJA?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>Dessay was ill when this production started and missed the opening night performance. She recovered and sang the role starting with the second performance. </p>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/arts/music/natalie-dessay-in-la-traviata-at-the-met.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anthony Tommasini</a>, writing in the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span>, said of Dessay&#8217;s performance, &#8220;This was her first time portraying the touchstone role of Violetta at the Met. And before she uttered a note, Ms. Dessay, who had originally intended to be an actress, made a wrenching impression as the fatally ill courtesan&#8230;Dragging her feet, she walked unsteadily, a woman with no doubt that her life is slipping away. But when she heard the bustle of guests approaching, she shook out the wrinkles from her dress, took a whiff of a white camellia, and put on her party face.&#8221;</p>



<p>Friday, January 22 – Puccini’s&nbsp;<strong><em>Tosca</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli; starring Hildegard Behrens, Plácido Domingo and Cornell MacNeil. This Franco Zeffirelli production is from the 1984-1985 season. </p>



<p>It is quite likely that Puccini’s&nbsp;<em>Tosca</em>&nbsp;was the first opera to premiere in 1900. Its first performance was on January 14 in Rome. Based on Victorien Sardou’s 1887 play of the same name,&nbsp;<em>Tosca</em>‘s libretto was written by Luigi Illica&nbsp;and&nbsp;Giuseppe Giacosa.</p>



<p>The setting for<em>&nbsp;Tosca</em>&nbsp;is Rome in 1800. The Napoleonic wars were raging and political unrest was omnipresent. The opera takes place over the course of slightly less than 24 hours. Floria Tosca is the object of Chief of Police Baron Scarpia’s lust. He uses suspicions that her lover, Mario Cavaradossi, aided a political prisoner who has escaped as an opportunity to get him out of his way which will leave Tosca for himself. After capturing Cavaradossi, Scarpia says that if Tosca doesn’t become his lover, he will have Cavaradossi killed.</p>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Placido DOMINGO and Hildegard BEHRENS. Tosca. 1 act love duet" width="696" height="522" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dLjnHFhmufU?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>This production was brand new to the Met. It also marked the first time Behrens had sung <em>Tosca</em> at the Met. </p>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/12/arts/opera-hildegard-behrens-sings-first-met-tosca.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Donal Henahan</a>, as only he could, was less than kind about Zeffirelli&#8217;s work in his <span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span> review. </p>



<p>&#8220;Miss Behrens, it is generally acknowleged, is one of the more astute and intelligent actresses on the opera stage today. Why, then, did her Tosca make so little impact? Perhaps Mr. Zeffirelli&#8217;s unimaginative and often clumsy direction got in her way &#8211; it is difficult to believe, for instance, that the &#8221;freeze-frame&#8221; attitude she struck upon first seeing the murder knife on Scarpia&#8217;s dining table was her idea. This was silent-movie posturing that took the place of any genuine dramatic idea at the crucial moment when Tosca must make up her mind to knife her prospective rapist.&#8221;</p>



<p>Saturday, January 23 – Massenet’s<strong>&nbsp;<em>Manon</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Maurizio Benini; starring Lisette Oropesa, Michael Fabiano and Artur Ruciński. This is a revival of the 2011-2012 Laurent Pelly production from the 2019-2020 season. This is an encore presentation of the production made available on June 25th.</p>



<p>Massenet’s opera was composed in 1883 and had its world premiere in January of 1884 in Paris. The libretto is by &nbsp;Henri Meilhac&nbsp;and&nbsp;Philippe Gille. They based the opera on the 1731 Abbé Prévost novel,&nbsp;<em>L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut</em>.</p>



<p>A young woman from a small town has an intense desire to lavish herself with all the riches and pleasures life has to offer her. But life doesn&#8217;t always work out the way we want. Sounds like a story that could be written today.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Manon: “Adieu, notre petite table”" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_QUxPSVD6V0?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>The main attraction of any production of&nbsp;<em>Manon</em>&nbsp;is the performance of the soprano singing the title role. Oropesa certainly didn’t disappoint.</p>



<p><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/arts/music/manon-met-opera-review.html" target="_blank">Joshua Barone</a>, writing for the&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span>,&nbsp;said of Oropesa’s performance, “With a voice by turns brightly crystalline and arrestingly powerful, she persuasively inhabits the role of this chameleon coquette. When she blows a kiss at a crowd of men in Laurent Pelly’s often stylized production, their heads whip backward, as if feeling a sudden gust of wind. The audience can’t avoid catching a bit of the gale, too.</p>



<p>“Ms. Oropesa’s performance, her first at the Met since&nbsp;winning its Beverly Sills Artist Award as well as the prestigious Richard Tucker Award&nbsp;this spring, is alone worth the price of admission.”</p>



<p>Sunday, January 24 – Wagner’s<strong>&nbsp;<em>Die Walküre</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by James Levine, starring Deborah Voigt, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Stephanie Blythe, Jonas Kaufmann, Bryn Terfel and Hans-Peter König. This Robert Lepage production is from the 2010-2011 season. This is an encore presentation of the production streamed on March 25th.</p>



<p>This is the second opera in Richard Wagner’s&nbsp;<em>Der Ring des Nibelungen</em>&nbsp;(also known as&nbsp;<em>The Ring Cycle</em>.) It had its premiere as a stand-alone opera in 1870 in Munich. The first performance of the entire cycle was at Bayreuth six years later. Wagner wrote the libretto as well as the music.</p>



<p>The son of the god Wotan is a fugitive named Siegmund. When he finds himself taking refuge at Sieglinde’s house, the two fall passionately in love. But Sieglinde is married and in order for her and Siegmund to be together Siegmund must defeat her husband in a battle to the death.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Die Walküre: Act II Opening -- Bryn Terfel &amp; Deborah Voigt (Met Opera)" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wFpoHcXtLJA?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>In his <span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span> review, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/arts/music/walkure-opera-review.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anthony Tommasini</a>, was very impressed by Voigt&#8217;s performance. </p>



<p>&#8220;Among the cast Ms. Voigt had the most at stake. A decade ago, when she owned the role of Sieglinde at the Met, she seemed destined to be a major Brünnhilde. Her voice has lost some warmth and richness in recent years. But the bright colorings and even the sometimes hard-edged sound of her voice today suits Brünnhilde’s music. I have seldom heard the role sung with such rhythmic accuracy and verbal clarity. From the start, with those go-for-broke cries of “Hojotoho,” she sang every note honestly. She invested energy, feeling and character in every phrase.&#8221;</p>



<p>That concludes Week 45 at the Met. Next week&#8217;s theme is <em>The Antiheroes</em> with one composer being represented with three operas. What do you think they will be?</p>



<p>Enjoy the opera and enjoy your week!</p>



<p>Photo: Lisette Oropesa in <em>Manon</em> (Photo by Marty Sohl/Courtesy Metropolitan Opera)</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2021/01/18/operas-greatest-heroines-week-45-at-the-met/">Opera&#8217;s Greatest Heroines: Week 45 at the Met</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
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		<title>Week 16 at the Met</title>
		<link>https://culturalattache.co/2020/06/28/week-16-at-the-met/</link>
					<comments>https://culturalattache.co/2020/06/28/week-16-at-the-met/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Jun 2020 23:48:12 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opera: Bravo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What's Hot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aleksandrs Antonenko]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alexander Lewis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alfredo Kraus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrey Popov]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anita Hartig]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anita Rachvelishvili]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Barbara Frittoli]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Beverly Sills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carmen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christa Ludwig]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daniela Barcellona]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Die Walküre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dmitri Shostakovich]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Don Giovanni]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Don Pasquale]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Enrique Mazzola]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fabio Luisi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gabriel Bacquier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaetano Donizetti]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gary Lakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Georges Bizet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gioachino Rossini]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Håkan Hagegård]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hildegard Behrens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ildar Abdrazakov]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Levine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Morris]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Javier Camarena]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jessye Norman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Dexter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Osborn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joyce DiDonato]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Juan Diego Flórez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kathleen Turner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kurt Moll]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[La Donna del Lago]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[La Fille du Régiment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Laurent Pelly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Luca Pisaroni]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marina Rebeka]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mariusz Kwiecień]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maurizio Muraro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Grandage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michele Mariotti]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mojca Erdmann]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nicola Rescigno]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oren Gradus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Otto Schenck]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pablo Heras-Casado]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paulo Szot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pavel Smelkov]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pretty Yende]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ramón Vargas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Eyre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Wagner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stephanie Blythe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Nose]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[William Kentridge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>Metropolitan Opera Website<br />
<br />
June 29th - July 5th</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2020/06/28/week-16-at-the-met/">Week 16 at the Met</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
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<p>Week 16 at the Met finds a mix of very well-known operas with some lesser-known ones. In one production a famed performer says farewell to the Met while another plays a challenging role for the first time on their stages. An opera singer who won a Tony Award also sings a rarely performed opera. </p>



<p>All operas are available on the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Metropolitan Opera's website (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.metopera.org" target="_blank">Metropolitan Opera&#8217;s website</a> beginning at 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PM PDT and remain available for 23 hours. Remember, schedules and timings are always subject to change.</p>



<p>If you read this column early enough, you can still catch Julie Taymor&#8217;s production of <em>The Magic Flute</em>  on Monday until 6:30 PM EDT/3:30 PM PDT.</p>



<p>Here is the full line-up for Week 16 at the Met:</p>



<p>Monday, June 29 – Donizetti’s <strong><em>La </em></strong><em><strong>Fille du Régiment</strong></em></p>



<p>Conducted by Enrique Mazzola; starring Pretty Yende, Stephanie Blythe, Kathleen Turner, Javier Camarena and Maurizio Muraro. This revival of the 2008 Laurent Pelly production is from the 2018-2019 season.</p>



<p>This two-act comic opera written by Gaetano Donizetti was first performed in 1840 in Paris. The libretto is by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.</p>



<p><em>La Fille du Régiment</em> tells the story of a young woman, Marie, who was raised by the 21st Regiment after having been found as a baby on a battlefield. The plan is that when she is old enough she will marry one of the men of the Regiment. She falls in love with Tyrolean Tonio. When the Marquise de Berkenfield shows up, it is discovered that she is Marie&#8217;s aunt and she wants to take Marie away to raise her as a lady. Will love win out for Marie?</p>



<p>One of the hallmarks of this opera is the challenge that faces every tenor singing the role of Tonio to hit nine high C&#8217;s in the opera&#8217;s best known aria, “Ah! mes amis.” In this production Camarena did this so effortlessly he was allowed an encore to do a second pass at the aria and another nine high C&#8217;s.</p>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="La Fille du Régiment: “Ah! Mes amis ... Pour mon âme” (Encore)" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uYgRFZdinTQ?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>Tuesday, June 30 – Wagner’s<em> <strong>Die Walküre</strong></em></p>



<p>Conducted by James Levine; starring Hildegard Behrens, Jessye Norman, Christa Ludwig, Gary Lakes, James Morris and Kurt Moll. This revival of the 1986 Otto Schenck production is from the 1988-1989 season.</p>



<p>This is the second opera in Richard Wagner&#8217;s <em>Der Ring des Nibelungen</em> (also known as <em>The Ring Cycle</em>.) It had its premiere as a stand-alone opera in 1870 in Munich. The first performance of the entire cycle was at Bayreuth six years later. Wagner wrote the libretto as well as the music.</p>



<p>The son of the god Wotan is a fugitive named Siegmund. When he finds himself taking refuge at Sieglinde&#8217;s house, the two fall passionately in love. But Sieglinde is married and in order for her and Siegmund to be together Siegmund must defeat her husband in a battle to the death.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Jessye Norman: &quot;O hehrstes Wunder!&quot;" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yLshZgI6Iqk?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p> This production marked the first time Norman sang the role of Sieglinde at the Metropolitan Opera. She earned rave reviews. What disappointed <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Donal Henahan (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/26/arts/review-opera-first-walkure-of-met-season.html" target="_blank">Donal Henahan</a> is his <span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span><em> </em>review were the very things that make this film possible.</p>



<p>&#8220;The most objectionable feature of the evening, however, was also a technological one. Television cameras worked away throughout the performance from positions at either side of the stage and at the foot of both aisles, distracting what surely must have been hundreds of people seated in line with brightly lighted monitor screens. The machines, one learned, were rehearsing for a later <em>Walkure</em>  telecast and making &#8216;scratch&#8217; tapes that might be needed as backups. This, mind you, from a company that will not employ supertitles because they detract the audience&#8217;s attention from the stage.&#8221;</p>



<p>With this production you&#8217;ll get to see the end result of that distraction.</p>



<p>Wednesday, July 1 – Shostakovich’s&nbsp;<strong><em>The Nose</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Pavel Smelkov; starring Andrey Popov, Alexander Lewis and Paulo Szot. This William Kentridge production is from the 2013-2014 season.</p>



<p>Dmitri Shostakovich&#8217;s satirical <em>The Nose</em> was the composer&#8217;s first opera. It had its debut in Leningrad in 1930. The libretto was by Shostakovich, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Georgy Ionin and Alexander Preis. It is based on a novel by Nikolai Gogol.</p>



<p>The premise is rather simple. The nose of a Saint Petersburg official leaves his face to go off and explore life by itself. The man goes in search of his missing nose and finds it suddenly much bigger and assuming a position of power over him.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Nose: Scene 3 (Paulo Szot)" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/If4rGKbFCcM?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p><em>The Nose</em> was not performed in Russian again after its premiere until 1974. This was the Metropolitan Opera&#8217;s first production of the opera. It also marked the Met Opera debut of tenor Paulo Szot as the man with the missing nose. In addition to his opera career, Szot appeared on Broadway in the 2008 revival of <em>South Pacific</em> and won a Tony Award for his performance.</p>



<p>Thursday, July 2 – Bizet’s&nbsp;<strong><em>Carmen</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado; starring Anita Hartig, Anita Rachvelishvili, Aleksandrs Antonenko and Ildar Abdrazakov. This revival of the 2009 Richard Eyre production is from the 2014-2015 season.</p>



<p>Georges Bizet collaborated with librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy on this immensely popular opera. It was based on Propser Mérimée&#8217;s novella of the same name. </p>



<p>When <em>Carmen</em> was first performed in Paris in 1875 it was considered both shocking and scandalous. </p>



<p>Set in Seville, Spain, Carmen is a gypsy who has caught everyone&#8217;s eye. A soldier, Don José, plays coy and gives her no attention. Her flirtation causes troubles for both when Don José&#8217;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.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Carmen: &quot;L&#039;amour est un oiseau rebelle&quot; (Rachvelishvili)" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zJE8qArKI6o?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>In his <span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span> review of this production, Zachary Woolfe came to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/arts/music/anita-rachvelishvili-in-richard-eyres-carmen-at-the-met.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="a new realization (opens in a new tab)">a new realization</a> about the characters in this opera. </p>



<p>&#8220;Watching Ms. Rachvelishvili stare stonily at the tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko, as Don José, I was aware as never before of the opera’s conceit that these characters have been thrown together, mostly miserably, by fate. They love each other without ever much liking each other.&#8221;</p>



<p>Friday, July 3 – Mozart’s <strong><em>Don Giovanni</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Fabio Luisi; starring Marina Rebeka, Barbara Frittoli, Mojca Erdmann, Ramón Vargas, Mariusz Kwiecień, Luca Pisaroni and Štefan Kocán. This Michael Grandage production is from the 2011-2012 season.</p>



<p>The legend of Don Juan inspired this opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto is by Lorenzo da Ponte. <em>Don Giovanni</em> had its world premiere in 1787 in Prague.</p>



<p>Don Giovanni loves women. All women. Early in the opera he tries fleeing Donna Anna. In doing so her father, the Commendatore, awakens and challenges him to a duel. Giovanni kills the Commendatore &#8211; an event that will ultimately lead to his own descent into hell. </p>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Don Giovanni: Highlights" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gPSSlUIuLEg?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>Michael Grandage, best known for his stage credits including his Tony Award-winning direction of <em>Red</em>, made his Metropolitan Opera debut with this production. His opening night was marked with a major challenge as Mariusz Kwiecień who was announced to sing the title role, had injured his back during the dress rehearsal and was unable to perform. Dwayne Croft sang the role on opening night. Before Kwiecień returned for the rest of the run on the fourth performance, Peter Mattei filled in for the second and third performances.</p>



<p>Saturday, July 4 – Donizetti’s <strong><em>Don Pasquale</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Nicola Rescigno; starring Beverly Sills, Alfredo Kraus, Håkan Hagegård and Gabriel Bacquier. This John Dexter production is from the 1978-1979 season.</p>



<p>This Donizetti opera had its world premiere in Paris in 1843. The composer collaborated with Giovanni Ruffini on the libretto. It was inspired by the libretto Angelo Anelli had written for <em>Ser Mercantonio</em>, an opera by Stefano Pavesi from 1810.</p>



<p>Ernesto is Don Pasquale&#8217;s nephew. He wants to marry Norina, but Don Pasquale wants to choose his nephew&#8217;s bride. Others conspire against Pasquale and trick him so that ultimately Ernesto and Norina can marry.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Alfredo Kraus, Beverly Sills - Com&#039;è genti...Tornami a dir che m&#039;ami - Don Pasquale" width="696" height="522" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bS-Hs5xeBkg?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>With her role as Norina in this production of <em>Don Pasquale</em>, Beverly Sills gave her final performance at the Metropolitan Opera. This was a new production of the opera and was apparently created with Sills in mind.</p>



<p>Harold C. Schonberg, writing for the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/09/archives/dexter-stages-don-pasquale-for-miss-sills-at-met.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="said of Sills's performance (opens in a new tab)">said of Sills&#8217;s performance</a>, &#8220;The role of Norina did not tax Miss Sills’ vocal resources as much as some recent ones she has attempted. It would be idle to claim that she could handle everything in the part, but she paced herself well, avoided elaborate cadenzas or interpolations, and tried to project a clear line. Her work Thursday night was a triumph of experience and professionalism.&#8221;</p>



<p>Sunday, July 5 – Rossini’s&nbsp;<strong><em>La Donna del Lago</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Michele Mariotti; starring Joyce DiDonato, Daniela Barcellona, Juan Diego Flórez, John Osborn and Oren Gradus. This Paul Curran production is from the 2014-2015 season.</p>



<p>Sir Walter Scott&#8217;s poem, <em>The Lady of the Lake</em>, served as the inspiration for this opera by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto is by Andrea Leone Tottola. <em>La Donna del Lago</em> had its world premiere in Naples  1819.</p>



<p>Rossini&#8217;s opera is set in Scotland in the first half of the 16th century when King James V reigned. Elena has been promised to Rodrigo, but she&#8217;s in love with Malcom. Both men are rebels as is her father, Douglas. The King, disguised as a man named Umberto, falls in love with Elena at first sight, but knows she is related to rebels who want him overthrown. How both the relationships and the politics play out will ultimately impact Elena for the rest of her life.</p>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="La Donna del Lago: &quot;Cielo! in qual estasi&quot; (DiDonato, Flόrez)" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HpMWJVPWOTQ?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>This production was first seen in 2013 at the Santa Fe Opera who co-produced with the Metropolitan Opera and this was the first time this opera was performed by the Met.</p>



<p>Di Donato regularly sings “Tanti affetti&#8221; from <em>La Donna del Lago</em> in concerts. The <span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span>&#8216;s<em> </em>Anthony Tommasini <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="said of her performance (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/18/arts/music/review-a-la-donna-del-lago-with-melting-tenderness-at-the-met.html" target="_blank">said of her performance</a> in this production, &#8220;It was good to have the stage so bright for Ms. DiDonato’s triumphant performance of &#8216;Tanti affetti.&#8217; Besides adding an important Rossini opera to the Met’s repertory, this production gives those who have only heard her sing that aria as an encore a chance to get to know the long opera that precedes it.&#8221;</p>



<p>That&#8217;s Week 16 at the Met. Join us next week to see what they have in store for Week 17.</p>



<p>Photo: Mariusz Kwiecien (center) in the title role of Mozart&#8217;s <em>Don Giovanni</em>. (Photo by Marty Sohl/Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera)</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2020/06/28/week-16-at-the-met/">Week 16 at the Met</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
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