2017-2018 Metropolitan Opera Season Schedules 26 Productions

Summary: The 2017-2018 Metropolitan Opera season schedules 25 productions, with a new production of Norma by Italian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini as opener.

Scottish opera and theatre director Sir David McVicar's new production of Bellini's Norma opens the 2017-2018 Met Opera season: Meet Me At The Opera @MMATOpera, via Twitter Feb. 15, 2017

The 2017-2018 Metropolitan Opera season schedules 26 productions and opens the season with a new production of Norma, a two-act tragedia lirica (“lyrical tragedy”) by short-lived Italian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini (Nov. 3, 1801-Sept. 23, 1835).

The season’s first performance takes place Sept. 25. The 2017-2018 season’s last performance is scheduled for May 12.

Alphabetically, the 26 productions range from Puccini’s La Bohème to Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.

La Bohème by Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924) offers 15 performances, beginning Oct. 2 and ending March 10. Puccini’s four-act tragedy is sung in Italian. British conductor Alexander Soddy conducts October and November performances. Genoese conductor Marco Armiliato conducts February and March performances.

Seven performances of Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni (Dec. 7, 1863-Aug. 2, 1945) and Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo (April 23, 1857-Aug. 9, 1919) are given, beginning Jan. 8 and closing Feb. 1. The two tragic operas, known informally as “Cav and Pag” for their frequent staging together, are sung in Italian. Italian conductor Nicola Luisotti conducts all of the double-billed performances.

Cendrillon by Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912) offers eight performances, opening April 12 and closing May 11. Massenet’s four-act fairy tale is sung in French. The new production, which marks the opera's Metropolitan Opera debut, features staging by French opera and theatre director Laurent Pelly. French conductor Bertrand de Billy conducts all eight performances.

Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach (June 20, 1819-Oct. 5, 1880) runs for nine performances, opening Sept. 26 and closing Oct. 28. The three-act opera fantastique is sung in French. German conductor Johannes Debus conducts all nine performances.

Così fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791) offers 11 performances, beginning March 15 and closing April 19. The two-act opera buffa (“comic opera”) is sung in Italian. English stage director Phelim McDermott directs the 1950s-style staging of the new production of Mozart’s classic comedy of love's foibles. American conductor David Eric Robertson conducts all 11 performances.

Elektra by Richard Georg Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949) runs for six performances, opening March 1 and closing March 23. The one-act tragedy is sung in German. The production revives the 2015-2016 season’s staging legacy of French opera and theatre director Patrice Chéreau (Nov. 2, 1944-Oct. 7, 2013). Chéreau’s last staging premiered at the Aix-en-Provence Festival (Festival International d’Art Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence) in July 2013. Montrealese conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Met’s music director designate, conducts all six performances.

L’Elisir d’Amore by Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848) offers 10 performances, beginning Jan. 16 and ending Feb. 17. The two-act melodramma giocoso (“comic opera,” “playful melodrama”) is sung in Italian. Venezuelan conductor Domingo Garcia Hindoyan conducts all 10 performances.

The Exterminating Angel by British composer and conductor Thomas Adès runs for eight performances, opening Oct. 26 and closing Nov. 21. The two-act surreal fantasy is based upon El ángel exterminador, a 1962 surrealist film by Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel (Feb. 22, 1900-July 29, 1983). Adès’s third opera is sung in English. British director Tom Cairns, who wrote the libretto, directs the staging of the opera’s American premiere. Thomas Adès conducts all performances.

Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck (Sept. 1, 1854-Sept. 27, 1921) offers seven performances, beginning Dec. 18 and ending Jan. 6. Scottish conductor Donald Runnicles conducts all performances of the Met English-language holiday presentation.

Lucia di Lammermoor, the 2017-2018 season’s second opera by Gaetano Donizetti, runs for 12 performances, opening March 22 and closing May 10. The three-act dramma tragico is sung in Italian. Milanese conductor Roberto Abbado conducts all 12 performances.

Luisa Miller by Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901) offers seven performances, beginning March 29 and ending April 21. The three-act melodramma tragico is sung in Italian. Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducts all performances.

Madama Butterfly, one of the 2017-2018 season’s four operas by Giacomo Puccini, runs for 12 performances, opening Nov. 2 and closing March 16. The exotic tragedy is sung in Italian. Italian conductor Jader Bignamini makes his Metropolitan Opera debut by way of conducting the opera’s November performances. Genoese conductor Marco Armiliato conducts February and March performances.

The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart offers five holiday performances, beginning Nov. 25 and ending Dec. 9. Dutch conductor Edo de Waart conducts all performances of the Met’s English-language family version of Mozart’s magical fable.

The Merry Widow by Franz Léhar (April 30, 1870-Oct. 24, 1948) runs for nine performances, opening Dec. 14 and closing Jan. 11. The three-act operetta is sung in English. American conductor Ward Stare conducts all performances.

Norma by short-lived Italian opera composer Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (Nov. 3, 1801-Sept. 23, 1835) offers 12 performances, beginning Sept. 25 and ending Dec. 16. The two-act tragedia lirica (“lyric tragedy”) is sung in Italian. Glaswegian opera and theatre director Sir David McVicar directs the staging of the 2017-2018 season’s new production of Norma. Milanese conductor Carlo Rizzi conducts September and October performances. American conductor Joseph Colaneri conducts the opera’s December performances.

Le Nozze di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart runs for 11 performances, opening Dec. 6 and closing Jan. 19. Mozart’s four-act ebullient comic opera is sung in Italian. British conductor Harry Bicket conducts all performances.

Parsifal by Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883) offers seven performances, beginning Feb. 5 and ending Feb. 27. The three-act dramma musicale, based upon a medieval knight’s legendary quest for the Last Supper’s Holy Grail, is sung in German. Montrealer Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Metropolitan Opera’s music director designate, conducts all performances.

Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi plays for four concerts, opening Nov. 24 and closing Dec. 2. Verdi’s musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass is sung in Italian. Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducts all four holiday concerts of Verdi’s Messa da Reqiuem. Concert soloists are Bulgarian soprano Krassimira Stoyanova, Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk, Latvian tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko and Italian bass Ferruccio Ferlanetto.

Roméo et Juliette by Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893) offers six performances, beginning April 23 and ending May 12. The five-act tragic opera is sung in French. Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo conducts all performances.

Semiramide by Gioachino Antonio Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868) plays for eight performances, opening Feb. 19 and closing March 17. The two-act melodramma tragico is sung in Italian. Italian conductor Maurizio Benini conducts all performances.

Thaïs, one of the 2017-2018 season’s two operas by Jules Massenet, offers eight performances, beginning Nov. 11 and ending Dec. 2. The three-act comédie lyrique is sung in French. French conductor Emmanuel Villaume conducts all performances.

Tosca, one of the 2017-2018 season’s four operas by Giacomo Puccini, plays for 15 performances, opening Dec. 31 and closing May 12. The three-act opera lirica is sung in Italian. The opera’s new production represents one of the season’s two new stagings by Glaswegian opera and theatre director Sir David McVicar. Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons, whose wife, Latvian operatic soprano Kristine Opolais, shares the production’s title role with Russian operatic soprano Anna Netrebko, conducts the December performance and seven of January’s eight performances. He shares the baton with British conductor Gareth Morrell, who conducts the Jan. 18 performance. French conductor Bertrand de Billy conducts the opera’s April and May performances.

Il Trovatore, one of the 2017-2018 season’s two operas by Giuseppe Verdi, offers eight performances, beginning Jan. 22 and ending Feb. 15. The four-act tragedy is sung in Italian. Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducts all performances.

Turandot, one of the season’s four operas by Giacomo Puccini, plays for 15 performances, opening Oct. 12 and closing April 5. Puccini’s final opera is sung in Italian. Milanese conductor Carlo Rizzi conducts the opera’s October and November performances. Genoese conductor Marco Armiliato conducts Turandot’s March and April performances.

Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, offers five performances, beginning Sept. 27 and ending Oct. 14. Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducts all performances of the 2017-2018 season’s full-length German-language version of Mozart’s enchanting fable.

The takeaway for the 2017-2018 Metropolitan Opera season schedule of 26 productions is that five new productions include the American premiere of Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel and also revitalize Bellini’s Norma, Massenet’s Cendrillon, Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Puccini’s Tosca.

The 2017-2018 Met Opera season premiere of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro takes place early in the holiday month of December: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Feb. 15, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Scottish opera and theatre director Sir David McVicar's new production of Bellini's Norma opens the 2017-2018 Met Opera season: Meet Me At The Opera @MMATOpera, via Twitter Feb. 15, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/MMATOpera/status/832004752984641536

The 2017-2018 Met Opera season premiere of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro takes place early in the holiday month of December: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Feb. 15, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.10158357868585533.1073741928.20807115532/10158357950295533/

For further information:

Cooper, Michael. “Highlights From the Met Opera’s 2017-18 Season.” The New York Times > Music. Feb. 15, 2017.
Available @ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/arts/music/metropolitan-opera-2017-2018-season-highlights.html?smid=tw-nytimesarts&smtyp=cur

Fredonia Opera House. "Live at the Met's Tosca." YouTube. June 20, 2017.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSRHVzW_I2w

Marriner, Derdriu. "2017-2018 Metropolitan Opera Season Includes a Premiere and a Requiem." Earth and Space News. Monday, June 12, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/06/2017-2018-metropolitan-opera-season_12.html

Meet Me At The Opera @MMATOpera. "Metropolitan Opera 2017-18 New Season. Five new productions. Opens with Bellini's Norma starring Sondra Radvanovsky." Twitter. Feb. 15, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MMATOpera/status/832004752984641536

Metropolitan Opera. "Joyce DiDonato and the Met's New Production of Cendrillon." YouTube. June 13, 2017.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs1IfgUUnOs

Metropolitan Opera. "Phelim McDermott on his new Production of Così fan tutte." YouTube. Feb. 15, 2017.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbdM6sOijKE

Metropolitan Opera. "Sir David McVicar on his new Production of Tosca." YouTube. July 10, 2017.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwsPiDilfng

Metropolitan Opera. "Sondra Radvanovsky and Sir David McVicar on the Met's new Production of Norma." YouTube. Feb. 15, 2017.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCAo2rIf3nc

Metropolitan Opera. "Thomas Adès and Tom Cairns on The Exterminating Angel." YouTube. June 5, 2017.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ7-PanwJCI&t=1s

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro December 6 –January 19." Facebook. Feb. 15, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.10158357868585533.1073741928.20807115532/10158357950295533/

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “Today is the day! Stay tuned for the 2017-18 Season Announcement at 12 noon ET!” Twitter. Feb. 15, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/831881133025591296

"Metropolitan Opera's 2017-18 Season Will Feature 220 Performances of 26 Works, With Five New Productions, Including Two Met Premieres." The Metropolitan Opera > About > Press Releases. Feb. 17, 2017.
Available @ http://www.metopera.org/About/Press-Releases/2017-18Season/

New York Times Arts @nytimesarts. “Next season at the @MetOpera: a new ‘Tosca,’ a Thomas Adès premiere and Mozart on Coney Island.” Twitter. Feb. 15, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/nytimesarts/status/831913227776884737

“On Stage 2017-18.” The Metropolitan Opera > Season.
Available @ http://www.metopera.org/Season/2017-18-Season/

Ross, Alex. “An Explosive Opera of ‘The Exterminating Angel.’” The New Yorker > Musical Events. Aug. 22, 2016.
Available @ http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/08/22/thomas-ades-the-exterminating-angel

Royal College Music @RCMLondon. "#RCMOpera alumna Sophie Bevan will be making her @MetOpera debut this year in @Thomas_adès' The Exterminating Angel." Twitter. Feb. 17, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/RCMLondon/status/832615321450250240