@MetOpera

After eight years, the Met’s 1994 production of Shostakovich’s 1934 opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk – a grim, existential tale of an unhappy housewife in rural Russia driven by boredom and a never-ending cycle of degradation to adultery and murder – is back for a thrilling third revival. The imaginative staging by Sir Graham Vick, who died …

The Metropolitan Opera – Graham Vick’s production of Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk – Svetlana Sozdateleva, Brandon Jovanovich, Nikolai Schukoff, John Relyea; conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson Read More »

Puccini’s Tosca is back at the Met for the third revival of Sir David McVicar’s 2017 grand and opulent production, with Aleksandra Kurzak as the diva and Michael Fabiano as her artist lover, Cavaradossi. Luca Salsi is the blood-thirsty Chief of Police, Scarpia, replacing John Lundgren who withdrew due to illness. Patrick Carfizzi joins them as the …

The Metropolitan Opera – David McVicar’s production of Puccini’s Tosca – Alexsandra Kurzak, Michael Fabiano, Luca Salsi; conducted by Carlo Rizzi Read More »

The Met Opera’s 2022-23 season got off to a tempestuous start with a spectacular opening gala performance of the company’s first ever production of Cherubini’s terrifying masterpiece, Medea, a late eighteenth-century classical tragedy that looks forward into the romantic distance as it recounts the savagery of the sorceress Medea, who – after helping Giasone (Jason, leader of …

Metropolitan Opera’s Opening Night – David McVicar’s production of Cherubini’s Medea – Sondra Radvanovsky, Janai Brugger, Ekaterina Gubanova, Matthew Polenzani and Michele Pertusi; conducted by Carlo Rizzi Read More »

Akhnaten, the final opera, from 1984, in Philip Glass’s ‘Portrait Trilogy’ of influential historical figures, is back at the Met. Phelim McDermott’s visually spectacular production features circus-like elements of juggling and acrobatics, dazzling imagery, luxurious costumes, solid performances, and the Orchestra and Chorus in splendid form.  Like Glass’s other operatic works, the libretto – which chronicles the seventeen-year reign …

The Metropolitan Opera – Phelim McDermott’s production of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten – Anthony Roth Costanzo; conducted by Karen Kamensek Read More »

Brett Dean and Matthew Jocelyn’s operatic adaptation of Hamlet, which premiered at the 2017 Glyndebourne Festival, has arrived at the Met, and their daring reconfiguration of Shakespeare’s longest play is elegant and enthralling. Set to a highly complex and confident score, sung by a formidable cast, and brilliantly directed, Neil Armfield’s production is nothing less …

The Metropolitan Opera – Brett Dean’s Hamlet – Allan Clayton, Brenda Rae, Sarah Connolly, John Relyea, Jacques Imbrailo; conducted by Nicholas Carter Read More »

Simon Stone makes his Met debut with an audacious staging of Lucia di Lammermoor, updating Donizetti’s tragedy from 17th-century Scotland to present-day American Rust Belt, a once prosperous area now fallen into decline and neglect. Nadine Sierra leads the cast as the titular heroine of the familiar tale of a fragile young woman whose abusive brother deceives …

The Metropolitan Opera – Simon Stone’s production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor – Nadine Sierra, Javier Camarena, Artur Ruciński and Matthew Rose; conducted by Riccardo Frizza Read More »

The late Patrice Chéreau’s starkly sinister staging of Strauss’s Elektra, last seen at the Met in 2018, is back in the house for a second revival. Richard Peduzzi’s stripped-down set, which depicts Agamemnon’s palace and its courtyard as a surrealistic, De Chirico-like place, holds up well and – assisted by Caroline de Vivaise’s dingy, vaguely modern costumes and Dominique …

The Metropolitan Opera – Patrice Chéreau’s production of Richard Strauss’s Elektra – Nina Stemme; conducted by Donald Runnicles Read More »