3 of the best
Met Opera productions to watch at home
Worldclass opera can be enjoyed from homes across the country as New York’s finest continues its season of streamed performances.
The Met Opera’s free series of recorded presentations and classic telecasts has been running for the past few months, with more spectaculars lined up for the coming days.
All nightly Met Opera streams begin at 12.30am (UK time) and remain available via metopera.org for 23 hours. The performances are also accessible on all Met Opera on Demand apps.
Here’s what’s coming up ...
MUSSOR1
GSKY’S BORIS GODUNOV October 30, starring Ekaterina Semenchuk, Aleksandrs Antonenko, Oleg Balashov, Evgeny Nikitin, René Pape,
Mikhail Petrenko, and Vladimir Ognovenko, conducted by Valery Gergiev, from October 23, 2010 Mussorgsky’s only completed opera is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar (1598 to 1605) during the Time of Troubles, and his nemesis, the False Dmitriy (reigned 1605 to 1606). The Russian-language libretto was written by the composer, with the work having the status of the most recorded Russian opera.
JOHN CORIGLIANO’S THE GHOSTS OF VERSAILLES
2 October 31, starring Teresa Stratas, Håkan Hagegård, Gino Quilico, Graham Clark, Marilyn Horne, and Renée Fleming, conducted by James Levine, from January 10, 1992 Corigliano considers this work a “grand opera buffa”because it incorporates both elements of the grand
opera style (large chorus numbers, special effects) and the silliness of the opera buffa style. Commentators have noted how the opera satirises and parodies accepted operatic conventions. The MetOpera had commissioned the work from Corigliano in 1980 in celebration of its 100th anniversary.
PHILIP GLASS’S 3
SATYAGRAHA
November 1, starring Rachelle Durkin, Richard Croft, Kim Josephson, and Alfred Walker, conducted by Dante Anzolini, from November 19, 2011 Loosely based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, Satyagrahais a 1979 opera in three acts for orchestra, chorus and soloists, composed by Philip Glass. The title refers to Gandhi’s concept of nonviolent resistance to injustice, Satyagraha, and the text, from the Bhagavad Gita, is sung in the original Sanskrit. In keeping with Glass’s minimalist style, known for its repetition and extensive use of arpeggios, the orchestra consists of strings and woodwinds only, with no brass or percussion.