Italian Masterworks 1

Series Detail - Italian Masterworks 1 /

3 Performances

Tosca

Thursday, September 24, 2009
8:00 pm

“Tosca combines Puccini’s glorious musical inspiration with the melodramatic vitality of one of the great Hitchcock films,” says Music Director James Levine who conducted the opening night performance. “From the very first bar of the piece, the opera seizes you and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the last note.” Karita Mattila, who sings the title role for the first time at the Met, says, “There are so many fascinating qualities to Tosca. At first I thought, ‘How will it feel to kill somebody on stage?’ But Tosca is like an action movie, and the drama just happens.” Luc Bondy, acclaimed for his imaginative theater and opera productions, directs. Marcelo Álvarez and George Gagnidze open as Cavaradossi and Scarpia, with Jonas Kaufmann, Marcello Giordani, and Bryn Terfel stepping in for later performances.

A co-production of the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Milan, and Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich.

Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Cast: Levine; Mattila, Álvarez, Gagnidze, Plishka

Sung in Italian with Met Titles in English, German and Spanish

Simon Boccanegra

Monday, January 18, 2010
8:00 pm

Five decades into a legendary Met career, Plácido Domingo makes history singing the baritone title role. With James Levine on the podium, Adrianne Pieczonka, Marcello Giordani, and James Morris star in Verdi’s gripping political thriller.

Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Cast: Levine; Pieczonka, Giordani, Domingo, Morris

Sung in Italian with Met Titles in English, German and Spanish

La Traviata

Wednesday, April 21, 2010
8:00 pm

Angela Gheorghiu recreates her famous portrayal of Verdi’s most engaging heroine. Franco Zeffirelli’s production features James Valenti as Alfredo and Thomas Hampson as Germont. Leonard Slatkin conducts.

Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Cast: Slatkin; Gheorghiu, Valenti, Hampson

Sung in Italian with Met Titles in English, German and Spanish