Verdi Requiem Is First 2017-2018 Saturday Matinee Broadcast Dec. 2

Summary: The Verdi Requiem is the first 2017-2018 Saturday matinee broadcast Dec. 2 and the last of four concert performances of Verdi’s famous requiem.

Maestro James Levine around the time of his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1971: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook June 5, 2015

The Verdi Requiem is the first 2017-2018 Saturday matinee broadcast Dec. 2 and Metropolitan Opera’s first performance of the requiem since 2008’s concert in memory of Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Music Director Emeritus James Levine reprises his role as conductor for the season’s performances.

The 2017-2018 Met Opera season presents Messa da Requiem by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901) as a special series of four concerts in November and December 2017.

November’s three performances begin the Nov. 24, the Friday after Thanksgiving, at 8 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time). Two additional performances are offered Monday, Nov. 27, at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 7:30 p.m.

The concert on Saturday, Dec. 2, opens the 2017-2018 Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast season. The concert begins at 1 p.m. and has an estimated run time of 84 minutes (1 hour 24 minutes).

Music Director Emeritus James Levine is scheduled to conduct all four performances. Metropolitan Opera’s last performance of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem took place Sept. 18, 2008, as a concert in memory of Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti (Oct. 12, 1935-Sept. 6, 2007). James Levine conducted the memorial concert.

Maestro Levine’s birthplace is Cincinnati, Hamilton County, southwestern Ohio. His Metropolitan Opera debut took place June 5, 1971, as conductor of Tosca by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Including the Verdi Requiem, Maestro Levine is conducting five productions during the 2017-2018 Met Opera season. He conducts all five performances of Die Zauberflöte, presented in September and October, by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791). He reprises his debut role as conductor of December and January performances of the season’s new production of Tosca. Maestro Levine conducts all performances of two Verdi operas: Il Trovatore in January and February; Luisa Miller in March and April.

Four soloists appear with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus for the 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s performances of the Verdi Requiem. Bulgarian soprano Krassimira Stoyanova, Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk, Latvian tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko and Italian bass Ferruccio Ferlanetto perform as the series’ soloists.

Krassimira Stoyanova’s birthplace is Veliko Tarnovo, north central Bulgaria. The Bulgarian soprano debuted Nov. 28, 2001, as Violetta Valéry in Met Opera’s 2001-2002 production of Verdi’s La Traviata.

Ekaterina Semenchuk was born in Minsk, central Belarus. The Russian mezzo-soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut Feb. 14, 2002, as Sonya in War and Peace by Ukrainian composer Sergei Prokofiev (April 23, 1891-March 5, 1953). For the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, she also appears as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana by Italian composer Pietro Mascagni (Dec. 7, 1863-Aug. 2, 1945).

Aleksandrs Antonenko’s birthplace is Riga, Latvia. The Latvian tenor debuted March 9, 2009, as the Prince in Met Opera’s 2008-2009 production of Rusalka by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák (Sept. 8, 1841-May 1, 1904).

Ferruccio Furlanetto was born in Sacile, Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, northeastern Italy. The Italian bass made his Metropolitan Opera debut Feb. 26, 1980, as the Grand Inquisitor in Verdi’s Don Carlo.

Verdi’s Messa da Requiem is also known as the Manzoni Requiem. The Italian composer, who primarily devoted his musicianship to operas, created Messa da Requiem as a funeral mass in memory of his friend, Italian dramatist, novelist and poet Alessandro Manzoni (March 7, 1785-May 22, 1873).

The takeaways for the Verdi Requiem as the first 2017-2018 Saturday matinee broadcast Dec. 2 are that the Metropolitan Opera last presented Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in 2008 and that Music Director Emeritus reprises his role as conductor for the season’s series of four concert performances of Verdi’s Requiem.

For the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Music Director Emeritus James Levine reprises his 2008-2009 Met Opera season role as conductor of the Verdi Requiem; the 2008-2009 concert was offered in memory of Luciano Pavarotti: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook July 27, 2017

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Maestro James Levine around the time of his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1971: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook June 5, 2015, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10155719123955533/

For the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Music Director Emeritus James Levine reprises his 2008-2009 Met Opera season role as conductor of the Verdi Requiem; the 2008-2009 concert was offered in memory of Luciano Pavarotti: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook July 27, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10159204993345533/

For further information:

“Debuts: Peter Glossop, James Levine.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 225710 > Tosca {539} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 06/05/1971.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=225710

Marriner, Derdriu. “Met Opera Premieres Verdi Requiem and The Magic Flute Nov. 24 and 25.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 13, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/11/met-opera-premieres-verdi-requiem-and.html

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Happy Anniversary, Maestro! On this day in 1971 Maestro James Levine made his Met debut, leading a June Festival performance of Puccini's Tosca. In his over 40 years at the podium Maestro Levine has conducted nearly 2500 performances of 85 different operas! http://bit.ly/1EZSyWs Photo by Hastings Willinger Associates courtesy of Met Opera Archives." Facebook. June 5, 2015.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10155719123955533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "#TBT The legendary Luciano Pavarotti sang the role of Calàf in a 1997 production of Turandot. Puccini's grand spectacle returns Oct 12. bit.ly/2sIQjfz Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera Archives." Facebook. July 27, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10159204993345533/

“Verdi Requiem Mass {49}.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives. Sept. 18, 2008.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352562