‘One of the strongest seasons in years’
The Met promises intriguing revivals, new productions and Lepage’s Ring
NEW YORK Jonas is back, if only briefly. Anna is here, in full diva mode. The seemingly unstoppable Placido marks his 50th anniversary. And the Ring contraption returns — maybe for the last time — with a promise of greater reliability and fewer “clunks and clicks.”
These attractions and more are on offer with the kickoff of the Metropolitan Opera’s 134th season Sept. 24 with a new production of Saint-Saens’ Samson et Dalila starring Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna. It winds up 212 performances later on May 11, with the final instalment of Wagner’s four-part Der Ring des Nibelungen, starring Christine Goerke as Bruennhilde.
This will be the last season before the Met launches Sunday matinee performances, a move aimed at boosting sagging ticket sales.
Besides Samson, there are new productions of Verdi’s La Traviata, Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur and a recent work, Nico Muhly’s Marnie, adapted from the book that inspired the Alfred Hitchcock film. But many opera lovers are just as enthusiastic about the wealth of intriguing revivals.
“It’s one of the strongest seasons in years, featuring important, starry revivals of some of the operas I love best,” said James Jorden, editor and publisher of the online opera magazine Parterre Box. He cited in particular a revival of Debussy’s Pelleas et Melisande, conducted by the Met’s new music director, Yannick Nezet- Seguin, also conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Metropolitain.
Other major revivals include Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites, again conducted by NezetSeguin; Puccini’s three one-acts, Il Trittico, commemorating the 100th anniversary of its Met world premiere; and Verdi’s Otello, led by L.A. Philharmonic maestro Gustavo Dudamel in his Met debut. A few of the highlights:
The elusive Jonas Kaufmann, the most acclaimed tenor in the world today, jets in midway through the run of Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West to sing four performances — including an HD broadcast — as Dick Johnson, the bandit with a heart of gold.
Anna Netrebko, the Russian soprano who has been a mainstay at the Met since her 2002 debut, has moved from light lyric roles into heavier repertory, scoring huge successes as Verdi’s Lady Macbeth and Puccini’s Tosca. Now she’s taking on the touchstone of spinto soprano roles, Verdi’s Aida. The Met’s general manager, Peter Gelb, heard her debut in the role in Salzburg, Austria, and said he was “not surprisingly blown away. ... In my opinion she’s the best Aida since Leontyne Price.” Netrebko will also headline the new Lecouvreur, a verismo chestnut that’s a favourite of prima donnas with a flair for melodrama.
Placido Domingo, the 77-yearold tenor-turned-baritone, is, as Gelb noted, “somewhat obsessed with his various milestone achievements, as he deserves to be.” Having just sung the 150th role of his career, in Salzburg, he celebrates his Met anniversary with a flurry of appearances: seven in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and five in La Traviata. He’ll also conduct Aida three times and reign as guest of honour at a black-tie dinner dance on the Met stage (tickets start at $2,500).
Finally, and most controversially, the $16-million, 40-tonne Ring set conceived by Canadian director Robert Lepage, consisting of 24 giant aluminum planks arrayed on a central spine like a gigantic seesaw and supported by 26-foot-tall towers on either side of the stage. Through use of projections, the set created some spectacular visual effects, but it also was plagued by safety, reliability and noise issues from its first appearance in 2010.