The Metropolitan Opera
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Composer: Gioachino Rossini Librettist: Cesare Sterbini
Benini; DiDonato, Flórez, Mattei, Del Carlo, RelyeaMetropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Approximate running time: 4 min. 46 sec.
Audiences went wild for Bartlett Sher’s dynamic production, which found fresh and surprising ways to bring Rossini’s effervescent comedy closer to them than ever before. The stellar cast leapt to the challenge with irresistible energy and bravura vocalism. Juan Diego Flórez is Count Almaviva, who fires off showstopping coloratura as he woos Joyce DiDonato’s spirited Rosina—with assistance from Peter Mattei as the one and only Figaro, Seville’s beloved barber and man-about-town.
Composer: Hector Berlioz Librettist: Almire Gandonnière and Hector Berlioz
Levine; Graham, Giordani, RelyeaMetropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Ballet
Approximate running time: 3 min. 20 sec.
Conducted by James Levine, Robert Lepage’s stunning production—with its brilliant marriage of art and technology—thrilled HD audiences around the world. In Berlioz’s rarely performed vision of the immortal Faust legend, Marcello Giordani is a fiery title hero whose impulsive bargain with Méphistophélès (a commanding John Relyea) proves fatal. Susan Graham is a lovely and tragic Marguerite, the woman who gives everything to the man she loves.
Composer: Gaetano Donizetti Librettist: Giovanni Ruffini and Gaetano Donizetti
Rescigno; Sills, Kraus, Hagegård, Castel, BacquierMetropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Approximate running time: 6 min. 43 sec.
This John Dexter production, designed by Desmond Heeley, was a parting gift to the great American soprano Beverly Sills, who bid farewell to the Met as Norina, the smart young widow at the center of Donizetti’s comedy. The sensational Alfredo Kraus sings her beloved Ernesto. Håkan Hagegård, in his Met debut role and season, is Dr. Malatesta, the man who helps the young couple trick the crusty old bachelor of the title (Gabriel Bacquier at his comical best) into a fake marriage. This being a Donizetti comedy, it all turns out perfectly well at the end—and getting there is pure operatic fun.
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi Librettist: Francesco Maria Piave and Andrea Maffei
Levine; Guleghina, Pittas, Lucic, RelyeaMetropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 35 min.
Esteemed Shakespearean director Adrian Noble focuses on the timeless and universal themes embraced by Verdi. This atmospheric production, starring Željko Lučić and Maria Guleghina, highlights the ferocious royal couple’s erotic connection as the lynchpin of their ruthlessness. James Levine presides over a powerful performance that features some of Verdi’s most stirring choral writing.
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Librettist: Emanuel Schikaneder
Levine; Huang, Miklósa, Polenzani, Pape, GunnMetropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Approximate running time: 1 hrs. 52 min.
This was the groundbreaking broadcast that launched the Met’s heralded Live in HD series, seen by opera lovers in movie theaters around the world. Adults and children alike were enchanted by the whimsical humor and breathtaking puppetry of Julie Taymor’s hit production, presented in a shortened English-language version. Under the baton of Maestro James Levine, a winning ensemble cast – including Nathan Gunn, Ying Huang, Matthew Polenzani, Erika Miklosa, and René Pape – brings fresh life to Mozart's timeless fairy tale.
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi, Jules Massenet, Richard Strauss Librettist: Francesco Maria Piave, Henri Meilhac, Philippe Gille and Clemens Krauss
Levine, Armiliato, Summers; Fleming, Vargas, HampsonMetropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Ballet
Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 22 min.
There are few occasions to match the excitement and glamour and of an Opening Night at the Met. This spectacular gala showcased the extraordinary soprano Renée Fleming in three different, equally dazzling roles, each costumed by a different designer. The famous productions by Franco Zeffirelli (Verdi’s La Traviata, Act II, conducted by James Levine), Jean-Pierre Ponnelle (Massenet’s Manon, Act III), and John Cox (Strauss’s Capriccio, final scene) were fully staged. With Ramón Vargas, Thomas Hampson, Dwayne Croft, and Robert Lloyd.
Composer: Richard Strauss Librettist: Hedwig Lachmann after Oscar Wilde
Summers; Mattila, Komlósi, Uusitalo, Begley, KaiserMetropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Approximate running time: 1 hrs. 46 min.
It is no wonder that Met audiences have gone wild over Karita Mattila’s sizzling Salome. Indisputably one of the greatest Salomes of our time, Mattila utterly incarnates Oscar Wilde’s petulant, willful, and lust-driven heroine. With Strauss’s groundbreaking music magnifying the degenerate atmosphere and building the erotic tension, this is one opera that is as shocking today as it was at its premiere in 1905. (Subtitles available in English, French, German and Spanish.)
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi Librettist: Antonio Somma
Levine; Millo, Blackwell, Quivar, Pavarotti, NucciMetropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 15 min.
This atmospheric production by Piero Faggioni, conducted by James Levine, captures all the brooding power and elegance of Verdi’s drama of love and politics. Luciano Pavarotti stars as Riccardo, the unlucky ruler in love with his best friend’s wife, Amelia (Aprile Millo). Leo Nucci is the husband torn between loyalty and his thirst for revenge, and Florence Quivar sings Ulrica, the fortuneteller who prophesizes the tragic ending.
Composer: Jacques Offenbach Librettist: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré
Dutoit; Bradley, Alexander, Troyanos, Shicoff, MorrisMetropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 46 min.
Otto Schenk’s brilliant production captures both the dark romanticism of the story as well as its fairy-tale magic. It is a superb setting for Neil Shicoff’s vivid portrayal of the tortured poet Hoffmann, as he recounts the loves of his life and the way he has been foiled by his nemesis—a marvelous James Morris in a tour-de-force performance of the opera’s four villains. Gwendolyn Bradley is the doll Olympia, Tatiana Troyanos sings the courtesan Giulietta, and Roberta Alexander portrays the innocent Antonia.
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven Librettist: Joseph von Sonnleithner
Levine; Mattila, Heppner, Struckmann, PapeMetropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 3 min.
Jürgen Flimm’s haunting production of Beethoven’s only opera brings the work’s desperate plea for freedom and justice into the modern era, reminding us just how powerful and urgent its story is. Under James Levine’s passionate leadership, Beethoven’s score blazes, as does the superb cast. Karita Mattila is Leonore, the faithful wife who disguises herself as a man to search for her husband Florestan (Ben Heppner), unjustly imprisoned by his political enemy, Pizarro (Falk Struckmann). René Pape is Rocco, the jailor caught between conscience and duty.
Composer: Giacomo Puccini Librettist: Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
Sinopoli; Behrens, Domingo, MacNeilMetropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Franco Zeffirelli’s productions are legendary—and for good reason. This new production of Puccini’s intensely dramatic opera had opened only two weeks before this performance and the excitement is palpable. Zeffirelli captures the overwhelming grandeur of Rome, as well as the dark undercurrent of decadence and corruption in the drama. Under his direction, the cast of great singing actors crackles with intensity. Hildegard Behrens as Tosca, the passionate singer in love with Cavaradossi (Plácido Domingo), who agrees to a night with Scarpia, the evil chief of police (Cornell MacNeil), in exchange for Cavaradossi’s freedom. Giuseppe Sinopoli conducts.
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi Librettist: Antonio Ghislanzoni
Cleva; Milanov, Barbieri, Baum, Warren, HinesMetropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 18 min.
Verdi’s Aida has come to symbolize grand opera, and with such a legendary cast as the one assembled for this performance it’s easy to see why. With her sumptuous sound, Zinka Milanov embodied Aida for a generation of opera-lovers, and her distinctive voice filled the theater, and listeners’ hearts, with every facet of the character’s conflicting emotions. With the great Leonard Warren as her father, Amonasro, their monumental clash, then reconciliation, is a performance for the ages. Fedora Barbieri is Amneris, Aida’s rival for the love of the mighty warrior Radamès (Kurt Baum), and Jerome Hines is the high priest Ramfis.
Cleva; Tebaldi, Carson, Tucker, WalkerMetropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Approximate running time: 1 hrs. 45 min.
Renata Tebaldi, Richard Tucker, and Puccini’s La Bohème. That says it all. Two greatly beloved singers in roles they made their own—but seldom got to sing on the Met stage together. For many opera lovers, Tebaldi was the quintessential Mimì. The Italianate warmth and generosity of her voice ideally expressed every facet of Mimì’s character: her trusting simplicity as she falls in love, the anguish of parting from her beloved Rodolfo (Tucker at his ardent best), their brief poignant reunion, and finally her tragic death. The supporting cast includes Cesare Siepi as Colline.
Composer: Georges Bizet Librettist: Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy
Lewis; Ricciarelli, Crespin, Lewis, Van DamMetropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 30 min.
Bizet’s enticing gypsy has seldom been as earthy and Gallic as when Régine Crespin unleashed her feminine wiles to capture the heart of every man in her path. Don José (William Lewis) doesn’t really stand a chance of resisting her allure. Katia Ricciarelli is the innocent Micaela and José van Dam sings Escamillo, the charismatic bullfighter who turns Carmen’s head and ultimately seals her doom.
Composer: Richard Wagner Librettist: Richard Wagner
Bodanzky; Lawrence, Melchior, Schorr, HofmannMetropolitan Opera Orchestra
Approximate running time: 3 hrs. 41 min.
This legendary broadcast begins deep in the mists of myth, with the Fates weaving the destiny of the world—and ends with nothing less than its cataclysmic destruction. Love, betrayal, magic potions, and nefarious plotting all combine in this epic finale of Wagner’s Ring cycle. This performance features a radiant Marjorie Lawrence as Brünnhilde, who electrified the audience by actually jumping onto her horse and triumphantly riding off the stage at the end of her glorious immolation scene. Lauritz Melchior’s heroic Siegfried is the standard against which all others are measured.
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