<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Patrice Caurier Archives - Cultural Attaché</title>
	<atom:link href="https://culturalattache.co/tag/patrice-caurier/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>https://culturalattache.co/tag/patrice-caurier/</link>
	<description>The Guide to Arts and Culture events in and around Los Angeles</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Tue, 21 Feb 2023 21:27:55 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en-US</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>
	hourly	</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>
	1	</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1</generator>
	<item>
		<title>Happy Mother&#8217;s Day &#8211; Week 60 at the Met</title>
		<link>https://culturalattache.co/2021/05/03/happy-mothers-day-week-60-at-the-met/</link>
					<comments>https://culturalattache.co/2021/05/03/happy-mothers-day-week-60-at-the-met/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 May 2021 07:01:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opera: Bravo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adriannę Pieczonka]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Agrippina]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alban Berg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ambroise Thomas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andreas Scholl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anthony Minghella]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brenda Rae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Burkhard Ulrich]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carlo Rizzi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christian Van Horn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David McVicar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Duncan Rock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dwayne Croft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elektra]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elza van den Heever]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eric Owens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Esa-Pekka Salonen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[George Frideric Handel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gerhard Siegel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giacomo Puccini]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hamlet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Harry Bicket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iestyn Davies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Morris]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jennifer Larmore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joseph Calleja]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joseph Kaiser]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joyce DiDonato]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kate Lindsey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Louis Langrée]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Madama Butterfly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marcello Giordani]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maria Zifchak]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marlis Petersen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matthew Rose]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Metropolitan Opera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moshe Leiser]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nina Stemme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Norma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patrice Caurier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patrice Chéreau]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patricia Racette]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patrick Summers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peter Mattei]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Renée Fleming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Strauss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rodelinda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shenyang]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Simon Keenlyside]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sondra Radvanovsky]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stephanie Blythe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stephen Wadsworth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vincenzo Bellini]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Waltraud Meier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[William Kentridge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wozzeck]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yannick Nézet-Séguin]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://culturalattache.co/?p=14299</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Metropolitan Opera Website<br />
<br />
May 3rd - May 9th</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2021/05/03/happy-mothers-day-week-60-at-the-met/">Happy Mother&#8217;s Day &#8211; Week 60 at the Met</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>Someone at the Metropolitan Opera has a wicked sense of humor. The theme for Week 60 at the Met is <em>Happy Mother&#8217;s Day</em>. But if you look at the mothers involved in these operas, I don&#8217;t think you would describe too many of them as happy.</p>



<p>They do, however, have great roles for performers such as Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Elza van den Heever, Jennifer Larmore, Patrice Racette, Sondra Radvanovsky and Nina Stemme. </p>



<p>Since the Met is re-running productions as the bulk of their weekly streaming schedule, I’m going to mix in interviews with the performers and creators in place of clips to avoid the redundancy of showing the same few clips available. Let me know your thoughts!</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 early enough on May 3rd, you’ll still have time to see the 2008-2009 season production of Puccini&#8217;s <em>La Rondine</em>&nbsp;which concludes&nbsp;<a href="https://culturalattache.co/2021/04/26/city-of-light-week-59-at-the-met/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>City of Light</em>&nbsp;</a>week. </p>



<p>Here&#8217;s the full line-up for Week 60 at the Met:</p>



<p>Monday, May 3 – Strauss’s&nbsp;<strong><em>Elektra</em></strong> <em>STRONGLY RECOMMENDED</em></p>



<p>Conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen; starring Nina Stemme, Adrianne Pieczonka, Waltraud Meier, Burkhard Ulrich and Eric Owens. This Patrice Chéreau production is from the 2015-2016 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was previously available last year on April 20th, August 31st and November 26th and this year on March 25th.</p>



<p>Richard Strauss’s&nbsp;<em>Elektra</em>&nbsp;had its world premiere in Dresden in 1909. The libretto was written by&nbsp;Hugo von Hofmannsthal and was based on his 1903 drama of the same name.</p>



<p>For a one-act opera,&nbsp;<em>Elektra</em>&nbsp;has a tangled web of intrigue at its core. Simply put, Elektra is enraged by the murder of her father, King Agamemnon. Elektra’s mother, Klytämnestra, convinced her lover, Aegisth, to kill her husband. Once Elektra finds out, she is out for nothing short of total revenge and enlists her brother, Orest, to kill their mother.</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="Conductor Salonen on Chéreau’s New Production of Elektra" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v39_Mi7bbog?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>When&nbsp;<em>Elektra</em>&nbsp;was first presented, critics were deeply divided. Perhaps none more so than Ernest Newman, then London’s most important former music critic and playwright George Bernard Shaw. Newman found the opera abhorrent. Shaw fiercely defended it. Their argument about the merits of Strauss’s opera were published in a series of letters in&nbsp;The Nation<em>.</em></p>



<p>Of this production,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">The New York Times</span>&#8216;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/arts/music/review-elektra-at-the-met-does-full-justice-to-strausss-masterpiece.html?searchResultPosition=3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anthony Tommasini</a>&nbsp;said,</p>



<p>“…nothing prepared me for the seething intensity, psychological insight and sheer theatrical inventiveness of this production on Thursday night, conducted by the brilliant&nbsp;Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mr. Chéreau’s partner in this venture from the start. A superb cast is headed by the smoldering soprano&nbsp;Nina Stemme&nbsp;in the title role.”</p>



<p>Tuesday, May 4&nbsp;–&nbsp;Handel’s&nbsp;<strong><em>Rodelinda</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Harry Bicket; starring Renée Fleming, Stephanie Blythe, Andreas Scholl, Iestyn Davies, Joseph Kaiser and Shenyang. This revival of Stephen Wadsworth’s 2004 production is from the 2011-2012 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was previously available last year on June 14th and November 2nd and this year on January 16th.</p>



<p>Handel’s opera had its world premiere in London in 1725. The&nbsp;libretto&nbsp;is by&nbsp;Nicola Francesco Haym who revised Antonio Salvi’s earlier libretto. Scholars have long considered&nbsp;<em>Rodelinda</em>&nbsp;to be amongst Handel’s finest works.</p>



<p>Queen Rodelinda’s husband has been vanquished and she is plotting her revenge. Multiple men have plans to take over the throne, but they have Rodelinda to contend with who is maneuvering herself to prevent that from happening. She is still faithful to her husband who is presumed dead.</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="Rodelinda: &quot;Lo farò&quot; -- Stephanie Blythe (Met Opera)" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1hQDorSOIqc?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>Fleming and Blythe appeared at the Met in these role in the first revival of this production in 2006.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/arts/music/renee-fleming-returns-in-rodelinda-opera-review.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">James R. Oestreich</a>, in his review for the&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span>, said of Fleming’s return to&nbsp;<em>Rodelinda</em>, “But it would be asking too much of a singer like Ms. Fleming to revamp her technique in midcareer, so there was inevitably some disjunction between stage and pit. Ms. Fleming painted her coloratura in broad strokes, but it was enough that she threw herself and her voice wholeheartedly into the considerable drama.”</p>



<p>Wednesday, May 5&nbsp;–&nbsp;Thomas’s&nbsp;<strong><em>Hamlet</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Louis Langrée, starring Marlis Petersen, Jennifer Larmore, Simon Keenlyside and James Morris. This Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser production is from the 2009-2010 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was previously available last year on May 5th and November 25th.</p>



<p>Ambroise Thomas collaborated with librettists Michel Carré&nbsp;and&nbsp;Jules Barbier&nbsp;for this opera. Shakespeare’s play obviously is the inspiration, but they based their libretto on a French adaptation by Alexandre Dumas and&nbsp;Paul Meurice.&nbsp;<em>Hamlet</em>&nbsp;had its world premiere in Paris in 1868.</p>



<p>French composer Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas is not the best known of opera composers. Over a two-year period he wrote the two operas for which he’s best known:&nbsp;<em>Mignon</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Hamlet</em>.</p>



<p>Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, believes his Uncle Claudius and his mother, Gertrude, were involved in his father’s sudden death. As Claudius ascends the throne, Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father asking Hamlet to avenge his murder. This becomes Hamlet’s sole purpose at the expense of other responsibilities. Amongst those responsibilities is his relationship with Ophelia who, convinced these distractions mean Hamlet doesn’t lover her, descends into madness. Will the Prince be able to do as his father’s ghost requests and what will be the price if he does?</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="Simon Keenlyside - Hamlet, Ma Douler Est Immense! (2010)" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n9o6zu8KnPU?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/arts/music/18hamlet.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anthony Tommasini</a>, in his&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span>&nbsp;review, raved about Keenlyside in the title role. “The opera is also a star vehicle for the right baritone in this punishing title role. Simon Keenlyside, the Ralph Fiennes of baritones, was the acclaimed Hamlet when this production was introduced, and he dominated the evening here. His singing was an uncanny amalgam, at once elegant and wrenching, intelligent and fitful. Handsome, haunted and prone to fidgety spasms that convey Hamlet’s seething anger and paralyzing indecision, Mr. Keenlyside embodied the character in every moment, and you could not take your eyes off him.”</p>



<p>Thursday, May 6&nbsp;–&nbsp;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 previously available last year on April 5th and September 20th and this year on January 20th and March 29th.</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 loading="lazy" title="Norma: Sondra Radvanovsky" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hbC0thhT4ew?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 after she first performed in a 1948 production at Teatro Comunale di Firenze. She gave 89 performances in the part. 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>Friday, May 7&nbsp;–&nbsp;Berg’s<strong>&nbsp;<em>Wozzeck</em></strong> <em>STRONGLY RECOMMENDED</em></p>



<p>Conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin; starring Elza van den Heever,&nbsp;Gerhard Siegel, Peter Mattei and Christian van Horn.&nbsp;This William Kentridge production, which had its debut in Salzburg in 2017, is from the 2019-2020 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was previously available last year on July 16th and November 22nd.</p>



<p>This first opera by Austrian composer Alban Berg is based on an unfinished play of the same name by Georg Büchner. Berg wrote the libretto as well.&nbsp;<em>Wozzeck</em>&nbsp;had its world premiere in Berlin in 1925.</p>



<p>This dark opera tells the story of the title character who is a soldier. During a conversation about decency with his Captain, Wozzeck is ridiculed for having a child out of wedlock. The mother of that child, Marie, is unfaithful to Wozzeck and that betrayal leads to tragic outcomes for them both.</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="William Kentridge on Wozzeck" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4AwwwMN6q3I?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/29/arts/music/wozzeck-review-met-opera.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anthony Tommasini</a>, writing for the&nbsp;New York Times,&nbsp;said of this production, “…few works look at life with more searing honesty than “Wozzeck.” The issues that drive this wrenching, profound opera are especially timely: the impact of economic inequality on struggling families; the looming threats of war and environmental destruction; the rigid stratification — almost the militarization — of every element of society.</p>



<p>“Those themes resonate through the artist William Kentridge’s extraordinary production of&nbsp;<em>Wozzeck</em>, which opened at the Metropolitan Opera on Friday evening. That it arrives as 2020 beckons feels right.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>I wonder what Tommasini knew about the year 2020 would have in store for us all when he wrote this review.</p>



<p>Saturday, May 8&nbsp;–&nbsp;Puccini’s<strong>&nbsp;<em>Madama Butterfly</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Patrick Summers; starring Patricia Racette, Maria Zifchak, Marcello Giordani and Dwayne Croft. This revival of Anthony Minghella’s 2006 production is from the 2008-2009 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was previously made available last year on April 17th and September 24th</p>



<p>Puccini’s&nbsp;<em>Madama Butterfly</em>&nbsp;is every bit as popular as&nbsp;<em>La Bohéme.</em>&nbsp;Luigi Illica&nbsp;and&nbsp;Giuseppe Giacosa wrote the libretto based on John Luther Long’s short story,&nbsp;<em>Madame Butterfly</em>&nbsp;and on the 1887 French novel&nbsp;<em>Madame Chrysanthème</em>&nbsp;by&nbsp;Pierre Loti. David Belasco turned Long’s story into the play&nbsp;<em>Madame Butterfly: A Tragedy in Japan</em>. Puccini saw the play in 1900 in London. His opera had its world premiere in 1904 at La Scala in Milan.</p>



<p>Cio-Cio San falls in love with an Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy named Pinkerton while he is stationed in Japan. They hold a wedding ceremony that Cio-Cio San takes very seriously. When Pinkerton has orders to go back to the States, she awaits his return. Unbeknownst to Pinkerton, Cio-Cio San has gotten pregnant and given birth to a son. When he finally does return with his American wife, Cio-Cio San is devastated. (If this sounds like the musical&nbsp;<em>Miss Saigon</em>, it is because&nbsp;<em>Madama Butterfly</em>&nbsp;served as the inspiration for that musical.)</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="Madama Butterfly: &quot;Vogliatemi bene&quot; -- Patricia Racette &amp; Marcello Giordani (Met Opera)" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VLtwCaYptdQ?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>Steven Smith, writing in the&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/27/arts/music/27butter.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">praised Racette’s performance</a>&nbsp;as Cio-Cio San.</p>



<p>“Returning as Cio-Cio-San, the 15-year-old former geisha of the title, was the soprano Patricia Racette, whose first appearances in this production last season drew resounding acclaim. Her singing was robust, nuanced and passionate, befitting a performer of her skill and experience.</p>



<p>“Even more striking was the dramatic specificity with which she inhabited the role. Her facial expressions, gestures and physical tics were those of an innocent, trusting girl, incapable until the end of accepting abandonment by Pinkerton, her American husband. In every dimension Ms. Racette’s effort was exceptional; hers is a performance not to be missed.”</p>



<p>Sunday, May 9&nbsp;–&nbsp;Handel’s&nbsp;<strong><em>Agrippina</em></strong> <em>STRONGLY RECOMMENDED</em></p>



<p>Conducted by Harry Bicket; starring Brenda Rae, Joyce DiDonato, Kate Lindsey, Iestyn Davies, Duncan Rock and Matthew Rose. This David McVicar production is from the 2019-2020 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was previously made available last year on August 8th and October 27th and this year on March 21st.</p>



<p>George Frideric Handel’s&nbsp;<em>Agrippina</em>&nbsp;has a libretto by Cardinal&nbsp;Vincenzo Grimani. The opera had its world premiere in 1709 in Venice at the Teatro S Giovanni Grisostomo which was owned by Grimani.</p>



<p>Agrippina is the Roman empress who is fixated on the idea of having her highly unqualified son, Nerone, take over the throne. To do that, she will stop at nothing to get her husband, Claudio, to cede it to 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="Joyce DiDonato and Kate Lindsey share their experience of Handel&#039;s Agrippina at the Met" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y0pAxQD-Fvo?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>Though McVicar’s production was first staged in Brussels in 2000, this marked the first ever Metropolitan Opera production of&nbsp;<em>Agrippina</em>. Conductor Harry Bicket lead from the harpsichord and audiences and critics were enthralled.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/arts/music/met-opera-agrippina-review.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zachary Woolfe</a>,&nbsp;in his review&nbsp;for the&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span>&nbsp;said, “Three centuries on,&nbsp;<em>Agrippina</em>&nbsp;remains bracing in its bitterness, with few glimmers of hope or virtue in the cynical darkness. But it’s irresistible in its intelligence — and in the shamelessness it depicts with such clear yet understanding eyes.”</p>



<p>That closes out Week 60 at the Met. Next week&#8217;s theme features alumni from the Metropolitan Opera&#8217;s National Council Auditions. </p>



<p>Do you know who some of their alumni are? Let me know your thoughts in our comments section.</p>



<p>Enjoy your week and enjoy the operas! (Even if some of these mothers are nasty!)</p>



<p>Photo: Kate Lindsey and Joyce DiDonato in <em>Agrippina</em> (Photo by Marty Sohl/Courtesy Metropolitan Opera)</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2021/05/03/happy-mothers-day-week-60-at-the-met/">Happy Mother&#8217;s Day &#8211; Week 60 at the Met</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
					<wfw:commentRss>https://culturalattache.co/2021/05/03/happy-mothers-day-week-60-at-the-met/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Vienna State Opera: April 27th &#8211; April 30th</title>
		<link>https://culturalattache.co/2021/04/26/vienna-state-opera-april-27th-april-30th/</link>
					<comments>https://culturalattache.co/2021/04/26/vienna-state-opera-april-27th-april-30th/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Apr 2021 00:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opera: Bravo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Streaming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adam Fischer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adam Palka]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Albert Dohmen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anja Kempe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bertrand de Billy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charles Gounod]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David McVicar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Die Zauberflöte]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Étienne Dupuis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Evgeny Nikitin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Faust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frank Castorf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hill Fahima]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iréne Theorin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jörg Schneider]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Juan Diego Flórez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Klaus Florian Vogt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ludwig van Beethoven]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moshe Leiser]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nicole Car]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Olga Bezsmertna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Otto Schenk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patrice Caurier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peter Schneider]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peter Seiffert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Petra Lang]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[René Pape]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Wagner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stephen Milling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thomas Tatzl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tomas Konieczny]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tristan und Isolde]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Valentina Nafornita]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vienna State Opera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wiener Staatsoper]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://culturalattache.co/?p=14181</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Vienna State Opera Website<br />
<br />
April 27th - April 30th</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2021/04/26/vienna-state-opera-april-27th-april-30th/">Vienna State Opera: April 27th &#8211; April 30th</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>If you read my Best Bets for this just concluded weekend, you know that I&#8217;ve started added streaming productions from Wiener Staatsoper in Austria. As long as they continue to stream productions, I will now include a weekly listing of their productions. So let&#8217;s begin with Vienna State Opera: April 27th &#8211; April 30th.</p>



<p>There are four productions being made available this week and one of them will be performed live. All productions will be available for 24 hours for free. The archive films being shown become available at 1:00 PM EDT/10:00 AM PDT. The live performance on Thursday will take place at 12:00 PM EDT/9:00 AM PDT.</p>



<p>Each opera has a unique link taking you to its event page.</p>



<p>Here is the line-up for Vienna State Opera: April 27th &#8211; April 30th:</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Valentina-Nafornita-Stephen-Milling-and-Anja-Kempe-in-22Fidelio22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-14185" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Valentina-Nafornita-Stephen-Milling-and-Anja-Kempe-in-22Fidelio22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Valentina-Nafornita-Stephen-Milling-and-Anja-Kempe-in-22Fidelio22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Valentina-Nafornita-Stephen-Milling-and-Anja-Kempe-in-22Fidelio22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Valentina-Nafornita-Stephen-Milling-and-Anja-Kempe-in-22Fidelio22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Valentina-Nafornita-Stephen-Milling-and-Anja-Kempe-in-22Fidelio22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Valentina-Nafornita-Stephen-Milling-and-Anja-Kempe-in-22Fidelio22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Valentina-Nafornita-Stephen-Milling-and-Anja-Kempe-in-22Fidelio22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Valentina-Nafornita-Stephen-Milling-and-Anja-Kempe-in-22Fidelio22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Valentina Nafornita, Stephen Milling and Anja Kempe in &#8220;Fidelio&#8221; (Courtesy Wiener Staatsoper)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>Tuesday, April 27th: <a href="https://play.wiener-staatsoper.at/event/644728bd-3757-483e-8a73-c6a8cdcbc64f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beethoven&#8217;s <em><strong>Fidelio</strong></em></a></p>



<p>Conducted by Peter Schneider; starring Klaus Florian Vogt, Anja Kempe, Evgeny Nikitin, Stephen Milling and Valentina Nafornita. This Otto Schenk production is from the 2015-2016 season.</p>



<p>The only opera ever composed by Ludwig van Beethoven had its premiere in 1814 in Vienna. This was the third version of the opera. </p>



<p>Beethoven went through several librettists and made multiple changes until the opera we all know was finally presented to the world.</p>



<p>Leonore gets a job in a prison disguised as a man who goes by the name Fidelio. She’s there because her husband, Florestan, has been imprisoned by a political rival, Don Pizarro. Even with a burgeoning relationship with Rocco who runs the jail, Leonore might not have time enough to rescue her husband as Pizarro is set on executing Florestan just as an investigation into prison cruelty is launched.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Albert-Dohmen-and-Bermudez-in-22Tristan-und-Isolde22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-14186" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Albert-Dohmen-and-Bermudez-in-22Tristan-und-Isolde22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Albert-Dohmen-and-Bermudez-in-22Tristan-und-Isolde22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Albert-Dohmen-and-Bermudez-in-22Tristan-und-Isolde22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Albert-Dohmen-and-Bermudez-in-22Tristan-und-Isolde22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Albert-Dohmen-and-Bermudez-in-22Tristan-und-Isolde22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Albert-Dohmen-and-Bermudez-in-22Tristan-und-Isolde22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Albert-Dohmen-and-Bermudez-in-22Tristan-und-Isolde22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Albert-Dohmen-and-Bermudez-in-22Tristan-und-Isolde22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Albert Dohmen and Gabriel Bermúdez in &#8220;Tristan und Isolde&#8221; (Courtesy Wiener Staatsoper)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>Wednesday, April 28th &#8211; <a href="https://play.wiener-staatsoper.at/event/4f0fe351-7e91-43a7-a3ae-f4c3325af967" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wagner&#8217;s <em><strong>Tristan und Isolde</strong></em></a></p>



<p>Conducted by Peter Schneider; starring Peter Seiffert, Iréne Theorin, Albert Dohmen, Tomas Konieczny and Petra Lang. This David McVicar production is from the 2014-2015 season.</p>



<p>Richard Wagner wrote the music and the libretto for&nbsp;<em>Tristan and Isolde</em>. Gottfried von Strassburg’s novel,<em>&nbsp;Tristan</em>, from the 12th century, serves as his inspiration. The opera had its world premiere in Munich in 1865.</p>



<p>It is a bit of oversimplifying to say that the story in&nbsp;<em>Tristan und Isolde</em>&nbsp;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.</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="Theorin - Tristan und Isolde" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W9MUpbZXUHk?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Juan-Diego-Florez-Photo-©Gregor-Hohenberg-Courtesy-Sony-Classical-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-14187" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Juan-Diego-Florez-Photo-©Gregor-Hohenberg-Courtesy-Sony-Classical-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Juan-Diego-Florez-Photo-©Gregor-Hohenberg-Courtesy-Sony-Classical-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Juan-Diego-Florez-Photo-©Gregor-Hohenberg-Courtesy-Sony-Classical-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Juan-Diego-Florez-Photo-©Gregor-Hohenberg-Courtesy-Sony-Classical-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Juan-Diego-Florez-Photo-©Gregor-Hohenberg-Courtesy-Sony-Classical-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Juan-Diego-Florez-Photo-©Gregor-Hohenberg-Courtesy-Sony-Classical-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Juan-Diego-Florez-Photo-©Gregor-Hohenberg-Courtesy-Sony-Classical-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Juan-Diego-Florez-Photo-©Gregor-Hohenberg-Courtesy-Sony-Classical.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Juan Diego Flórez (©Gregor Hohenberg/Courtesy Sony Classical)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>Thursday, April 29th &#8211; <a href="https://play.wiener-staatsoper.at/event/f7ddf19d-d7d6-40df-8a35-78c041270d0e" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gounod&#8217;s <em><strong>Faust</strong></em><strong> &#8211; LIVE PERFORMANCE</strong></a> (starts one hour earlier)</p>



<p>Conducted by Bertrand de Billy; starring Juan Diego Flórez, Nicole Car, Adam Palka and Étienne Dupuis. This is a Frank Castorf production.</p>



<p>Charles Gounod’s&nbsp;<em>Faust</em>&nbsp;had its world premiere in Paris in 1859. The libretto was written by Jules Barbier&nbsp;and&nbsp;Michel Carré&nbsp;who used both Carré’s play&nbsp;<em>Faust et Marguerite</em>&nbsp;and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s&nbsp;<em>Faust, Part One</em>&nbsp;as inspiration.</p>



<p>This oft-told story is about a man who sacrifices his soul to the devil, Méphistophélès, in order to maintain his youth and the love of Marguerite.&nbsp;</p>



<p>But you know what happens when you make a deal with the devil…it’s not going to end well.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Wiener-Staatsopers-2017-production-of-22Die-Zauberflote22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-14188" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Wiener-Staatsopers-2017-production-of-22Die-Zauberflote22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Wiener-Staatsopers-2017-production-of-22Die-Zauberflote22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Wiener-Staatsopers-2017-production-of-22Die-Zauberflote22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Wiener-Staatsopers-2017-production-of-22Die-Zauberflote22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Wiener-Staatsopers-2017-production-of-22Die-Zauberflote22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Wiener-Staatsopers-2017-production-of-22Die-Zauberflote22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Wiener-Staatsopers-2017-production-of-22Die-Zauberflote22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Wiener-Staatsopers-2017-production-of-22Die-Zauberflote22-Courtesy-Wiener-Staatsoper.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Wiener Staatsoper&#8217;s 2017-2018 production of &#8220;Die Zauberflöte (Photo courtesy of Wiener Staatsoper)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>Friday, April 30th &#8211; <a href="https://play.wiener-staatsoper.at/event/3ef116b4-f7c0-48b4-a031-c1931af55a45" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mozart&#8217;s <em><strong>DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE</strong></em></a></p>



<p>Conducted by Adam Fischer; starring Jörg Schneider, Olga Bezsmertna, Hill Fahima, Thomas Tatzl and René Pape. This Moshe Lesier and Patrice Caurier production is from the 2017-2018 season.</p>



<p>Mozart’s opera premiered in September 1791 in Vienna a mere two months before the composer died. It features a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder.</p>



<p>Prince Tamino is asked by the Queen of the Night to free her daughter Pamina from Sarastro. Tamino, however, is impressed with Sarastro and the way his community lives in the world and wants to be a part of it. Both alone and together Tamino and Pamina endure multiple tests. If they succeed, what will happen to them? To the Queen of the Night?</p>



<p>I hope you enjoy Vienna State Opera: April 27th &#8211; April 30th</p>



<p>Photo: Peter Seiffert and Iréne Theorin in <em>Tristan und Isolde</em> (Photo Courtesy Wiener Staatsoper)</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2021/04/26/vienna-state-opera-april-27th-april-30th/">Vienna State Opera: April 27th &#8211; April 30th</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
					<wfw:commentRss>https://culturalattache.co/2021/04/26/vienna-state-opera-april-27th-april-30th/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Family Drama: Week 37 at  the Met</title>
		<link>https://culturalattache.co/2020/11/23/family-drama-week-37-at-the-met/</link>
					<comments>https://culturalattache.co/2020/11/23/family-drama-week-37-at-the-met/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2020 08:01:31 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adriannę Pieczonka]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ambroise Thomas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Burkhard Ulrich]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christine Goerke]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christopher Maltman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David McVicar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Die Walküre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dmitri Hvorostovsky]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dolora Zajick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elektra]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eric Owens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Esa-Pekka Salonen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eva-Maria Westbroek]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaetano Donizetti]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giancarlo del Monaco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giuseppe Verdi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Greer Grimsley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Günther Groissböck]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hamlet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iestyn Davies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Il Trovatore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Isabel Leonard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Levine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Morris]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jamie Barton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jennifer Larmore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joseph Calleja]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kiri Te Kanawa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kwangchul Youn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Louis Langrée]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lucia di Lammermoor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ludovic Tézier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marcelo Álvarez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marco Armiliato]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marlis Petersen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mary Zimmerman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Metropolitan Opera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Mayer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Scott]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moshe Leiser]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Natalie Dessay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nico Muhly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nina Stemme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patrice Caurier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patrice Chéreau]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patrick Summers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Philippe Jordan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Plácido Domingo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Strauss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Wagner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robert Lepage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robert Lloyd]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roberto Spano]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Simon Boccanegra]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Simon Keenlyside]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sondra Radvanovsky]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stuart Skelton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vladimir Chernov]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Waltraud Meier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[William Shakespeare]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://culturalattache.co/?p=11867</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Metropolitan Opera Website<br />
<br />
November 23rd - November 29th</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2020/11/23/family-drama-week-37-at-the-met/">Family Drama: Week 37 at  the Met</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>It&#8217;s Thanksgiving week and the Metropolitan Opera has opted for operas that depict family drama. That&#8217;s appropriate isn&#8217;t it? Week 37 at the Met offerings up the kind of dramas no one wants in their own lives, but we all love to watch.</p>



<p>Amongst the highlights this week are Nina Stemme giving the performance of a lifetime, one of <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2018/02/22/composer-nico-muhly-registers-organ-concerto/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nico Muhly</a>&#8216;s operas (which features a stunning performance by Isabel Leonard) and a seldom-seen opera based on one of Shakespeare&#8217;s most famous plays.</p>



<p>Each production becomes available at 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PM PDT on the Metropolitan Opera&nbsp;<a href="https://www.metopera.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">website</a>. Every opera remains available for 23 hours. They are heavily promoting their Met Stars Live in Concert series and recently announced the cancellation of the full 2020-2021 season, so you’ll have to go past those announcements and promos to find the streaming productions. Schedules and timings may be subject to change.</p>



<p>If you read this column early enough on November 23rd, you might still have time to catch the 2019-2020 season production of&nbsp;<em>Wozzeck </em>by Alban Berg that concludes <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2020/11/16/week-36-at-the-met/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">last week’s&nbsp;operas</a> conducted by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.</p>



<p>Here is the full line-up for Week 37 at the Met.</p>



<p>Monday, November 23&nbsp;–&nbsp;Verdi’s<strong>&nbsp;<em>Il Trovatore&nbsp;</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Marco Armiliato; starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Dolora Zajick, Marcelo Álvarez and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. This revival of the 2009 David McVicar production is from the 2010-2011 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was made available July 30th.</p>



<p>Giuseppe Verdi’s&nbsp;<em>Il Trovatore</em>&nbsp;is based on the play&nbsp;<em>El trovador</em>&nbsp;by&nbsp;Antonio García Gutiérrez published in 1836. The libretto was written by Salvadore Cammarano with additions by Leone Emanuele Badare. The opera had its world premiere in Rome in 1853.</p>



<p>The setting is Zaragoza, the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon, circa 1412. To offer up a quick synopsis here would be a fool’s game to play. Several stories happen simultaneously and sometimes share the same characters. The opera has rarely been hailed for its story, but it certainly ranks as one of Verdi’s finest compositions.</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="Udiste? ... mira di acerbe lagrime -Il Trovatore - Verdi I Radvanovsky - Hvorostovsky" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gf5tSNk5QQg?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>If you think I was a bit unfair about the plot in&nbsp;<em>Il Trovatore</em>, let me share with you&nbsp;what<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/22/arts/music/sondra-radvanovsky-in-il-trovatore-at-the-met-review.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Zachary Woolfe </a>said&nbsp;at the start of his review of this production in the&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span>:</p>



<p>“With its cackling Gypsies, mistaken identities and secret brothers, the convoluted plot of Verdi’s&nbsp;<em>Trovatore</em>&nbsp;can seem like the setup for a joke. Already verging on chaos, it makes a natural backdrop for the anarchic final scene of the Marx Brothers’&nbsp;<em>Night at the Opera</em>.</p>



<p>“<em>Il Trovatore</em>&nbsp;overcomes its absurdities, though, with its vitality, its irresistible melodies and tightly driven rhythms.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>Tuesday, November 24&nbsp;–&nbsp;Nico Muhly’s<strong>&nbsp;<em>Marnie</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Roberto Spano; starring Isabel Leonard, Iestyn Davies and Christopher Maltman. This Michael Mayer production is from the 2018-2019 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was made available on April 30th.</p>



<p>Muhly’s opera, with a libretto by Nicholas Wright, had its world premiere at the English National Opera in 2017. The opera is based on Winston Graham&#8217;s 1961 novel.</p>



<p>If the title,&nbsp;<em>Marnie</em>, sounds familiar, this is based on the same novel by Winston Graham that inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s 1964 film. The title character is a woman who steals from people, changes her identity and quickly moves on to other victims. Until an employer catches her and blackmails her.</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="“Goodbye Mary Holland” | Marnie | Great Performances at the Met" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6XN_L2MMyKk?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/21/arts/music/marnie-opera-review-nico-muhly.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anthony Tommasini</a>, in his review for the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span>, said of the opera, &#8220;<em>Marnie</em> benefits from the director Michael Mayer’s sleek and fluid staging, with inventive sets and projections designed by Julian Crouch and 59 Productions. (It was first seen last year in London for&nbsp;the work’s premiere&nbsp;at the English National Opera.) Scenery changes are deftly rendered through sliding and descending panels on which evocative images are projected.</p>



<p>&#8220;Mr. Muhly’s music could not have had a better advocate than the conductor Robert Spano, making an absurdly belated Met debut at 57. He highlighted intriguing details, brought out myriad colorings, kept the pacing sure and never covered the singers.&nbsp;&#8220;</p>



<p>Wednesday, November 25&nbsp;–&nbsp;Thomas’s&nbsp;<strong><em>Hamlet</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Louis Langrée, starring Marlis Petersen, Jennifer Larmore, Simon Keenlyside and James Morris. This Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser production is from the 2009-2010 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was made available on May 5th.</p>



<p>Ambroise Thomas collaborated with librettists Michel Carré&nbsp;and&nbsp;Jules Barbier&nbsp;for this opera. Shakespeare&#8217;s play obviously  is the inspiration, but they based their libretto on a French adaptation by Alexandre Dumas and&nbsp;Paul Meurice. <em>Hamlet</em> had its world premiere in Paris in 1868.</p>



<p>French composer Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas is not the best known of opera composers. Over a two-year period he wrote the two operas for which he’s best known:&nbsp;<em>Mignon</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Hamlet</em>.</p>



<p>Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, believes his Uncle Claudius and his mother, Gertrude, were involved in his father&#8217;s sudden death. As Claudius ascends the throne, Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father asking Hamlet to avenge his murder. This becomes Hamlet&#8217;s sole purpose at the expense of other responsibilities. Amongst those responsibilities is his relationship with Ophelia who, convinced these distractions mean Hamlet doesn&#8217;t lover her, descends into madness. Will the Prince be able to do as his father&#8217;s ghost requests and what will be the price if he does?</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="Hamlet - 2010 - Simon Keenlyside - J&#039;ai pu frapper le misérable" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yne1Sv5iWGM?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/arts/music/18hamlet.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anthony Tommasini</a>, in his <span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span> review, raved about Keenlyside in the title role. &#8220;The opera is also a star vehicle for the right baritone in this punishing title role. Simon Keenlyside, the Ralph Fiennes of baritones, was the acclaimed Hamlet when this production was introduced, and he dominated the evening here. His singing was an uncanny amalgam, at once elegant and wrenching, intelligent and fitful. Handsome, haunted and prone to fidgety spasms that convey Hamlet’s seething anger and paralyzing indecision, Mr. Keenlyside embodied the character in every moment, and you could not take your eyes off him.&#8221;</p>



<p>Thursday, November 26&nbsp;–&nbsp;Strauss’s<strong>&nbsp;<em>Elektra</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen; starring Nina Stemme, Adrianne Pieczonka, Waltraud Meier, Burkhard Ulrich and Eric Owens. This Patrice Chéreau production is from the 2015-2016 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was made available on April 20th and August 31st.</p>



<p>Richard Strauss’s&nbsp;<em>Elektra</em>&nbsp;had its world premiere in Dresden in 1909. The libretto was written by&nbsp;Hugo von Hofmannsthal and was based on his 1903 drama of the same name.</p>



<p>For a one-act opera,&nbsp;<em>Elektra</em>&nbsp;has a tangled web of intrigue at its core. Simply put, Elektra is enraged by the murder of her father, King Agamemnon. Elektra’s mother, Klytämnestra, convinced her lover, Aegisth, to kill her husband. Once Elektra finds out, she is out for nothing short of total revenge and enlists her brother, Orest, to kill their mother.</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="Elektra: &quot;Vater! Agamemnon!&quot; (Nina Stemme)" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qJtH1SmJgqo?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>When&nbsp;<em>Elektra</em>&nbsp;was first presented, critics were deeply divided. Perhaps none more so than Ernest Newman, then London’s most important former music critic and playwright George Bernard Shaw. Newman found the opera abhorrent. Shaw fiercely defended it. Their argument about the merits of Strauss’s opera were published in a series of letters in&nbsp;The Nation<em>.</em></p>



<p>Of this production,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">The New York Times</span>‘&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/arts/music/review-elektra-at-the-met-does-full-justice-to-strausss-masterpiece.html?searchResultPosition=3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anthony Tommasini</a>&nbsp;said, “…nothing prepared me for the seething intensity, psychological insight and sheer theatrical inventiveness of this production on Thursday night, conducted by the brilliant&nbsp;Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mr. Chéreau’s partner in this venture from the start. A superb cast is headed by the smoldering soprano&nbsp;Nina Stemme&nbsp;in the title role.”</p>



<p>Friday, November 27&nbsp;–&nbsp;Donizetti’s<strong>&nbsp;<em>Lucia di Lammermoor</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Patrick Summers; starring Natalie Dessay, Joseph Calleja, Ludovic Tézier and Kwangchul Youn.&nbsp;This revival of the 2007 Mary Zimmerman production is from the 2010-2011 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was made available on July 27th.</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-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Lucia di Lammermoor: &quot;Chi mi frena in tal momento?&quot; (Act II FInale)" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TR1zzv9zIO8?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 was first presented in 2007, Dessay also sang the title role. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/arts/music/26lucia.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zachary Woolfe</a>, writing for the&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span>&nbsp;felt this return of the production after seven years&nbsp;allowed the men to shine.</p>



<p>“The manipulative brother Enrico, sung richly and acted with laconic ruefulness by Ludovic Tézier, seems almost reasonable in his heartless demands. Kwangchul Youn had burnished tone and great dignity as the well-meaning chaplain Raimondo. Even Arturo, the arranged husband Lucia murders, was charming as sung by the young tenor Matthew Plenk.</p>



<p>“And&nbsp;Joseph Calleja&nbsp;was sensationally ardent as Lucia’s lover, Edgardo, one of the best roles of his young, exciting Met career.”</p>



<p>Saturday, November 28&nbsp;–&nbsp;Wagner’s<strong>&nbsp;<em>Die Walküre</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by Philippe Jordan; starring Christine Goerke, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Jamie Barton, Stuart Skelton, Greer Grimsley and Günther Groissböck. This revival of Robert Lepage’s 2013 production is from the 2018-2019 season.&nbsp;This is an encore presentation of the production that was made available on August 2nd</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="The MET: Live in HD 2019 - Die Walkure Excerpt" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IE1YETnInmc?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>I’ve seen Christine Goerke sing music from Wagner’s&nbsp;<em>Der Ring des Nibelungen</em>&nbsp;in concert and can attest to the fact that she is amongst the finest and best Wagnerian sopranos working today. Her presence in this production (which drew very mixed reviews and faced challenges with its technology when first performed in 2013) is reason enough to watch this&nbsp;<em>Die Walküre</em>.</p>



<p>Sunday, November 29&nbsp;–&nbsp;Verdi’s<strong>&nbsp;<em>Simon Boccanegra</em></strong></p>



<p>Conducted by James Levine; starring Kiri Te Kanawa, Plácido Domingo, Vladimir Chernov and Robert Lloyd. This Giancarlo del Monaco and Michael Scott&nbsp;production is from the 1994-1995 season. This is an encore presentation of the production that was made available on August 5th.</p>



<p>Giuseppe Verdi’s opera is based on a play by Antonio García Gutiérrez, the same playwright whose work inspired&nbsp;<em>Il Trovatore</em>. &nbsp;Francesco Maria Piave wrote the libretto.&nbsp;<em>Simon Boccanegra</em>had its world premiere in its first version in Venice in 1857. Verdi re-worked the opera and the revised version (with assistance from Arrigo Boito) was first performed at La Scala in Milan in 1881.</p>



<p>Simon Boccanegra is the Doge of Genoa. As the opera begins politics surround him and threaten to envelop him as rumors about his past follow him. But they are not just rumors. Twenty-five years ago Maria, his lover, died and their daughter disappeared.</p>



<p>Maria’s father and his adopted daughter are plotting to overthrow Boccanegra. Simultaneously the Doge is going to finally discover the whereabouts of his missing daughter. But will his enemies and the rising political storm make him another casualty?</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="Verdi: Simon Boccanegra - &quot;O inferno!... Cielo pietoso rendila&quot; - Plácido Domingo" width="696" height="522" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WGfmCtrewfg?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>This is not one of Verdi’s most beloved works. The fact he tried to re-work it doesn’t suggest great confidence. Critics often call in to question the absurd plotting and its reliance on secret revelations and coincidences.&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/21/arts/opera-review-the-met-offers-a-new-boccanegra.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Edward Rothstein </a>wrote&nbsp;in his&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span><em>&nbsp;</em>review, this was Verdi exploring themes that had long been a part of his work:</p>



<p>“Verdi’s lifelong preoccupations come to maturity in this work, as Boccanegra attempts to apply the laws of the family to the laws of the state. It is why the opera’s climaxes turn on recognitions: the hidden connections between citizens are being revealed, bringing with them the possibilities of political as well as familial reconciliation.&#8221;</p>



<p>Those are the family dramas to be found in Week 37 at the Met. Next week&#8217;s theme will be Stars in Signature Roles. What might those be? Send us your guesses.</p>



<p>Enjoy Week 37 at the Met and Happy Thanksgiving.</p>



<p>Photo: Simon Keenlyside in the title role of <em>Hamlet</em>  (Photo by Marty Sohl/Courtesy The Metropolitan Opera)</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2020/11/23/family-drama-week-37-at-the-met/">Family Drama: Week 37 at  the Met</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
					<wfw:commentRss>https://culturalattache.co/2020/11/23/family-drama-week-37-at-the-met/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
	</channel>
</rss>