Luisa Miller Is April 14, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The April 14, 2018, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Luisa Miller by 19th century Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi.

Nineteenth century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi's Luisa Miller is the April 14, 2018, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast; Bulgarian operatic soprano Sonya Yoncheva sings the title role; Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo sings the baritone role as Luisa's father: Placido Domingo @PlacidoDomingo, via Twitter March 27, 2018

Luisa Miller, a three-act opera about star-crossed lovers by 19th century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901), is the April 14, 2018, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

Italian librettist Salvadore Cammarano (March 19, 1801-July 17, 1852) wrote the Italian libretto. Previously, he collaborated with Giuseppe Verdi on Alzira (premiered Aug. 12, 1845) and La Battaglia di Legnano (premiered Jan. 27, 1849). The Italian librettist died before completing his last two Verdi collaborations. Italian poet Leone Emanuele Bardare (1820-ca. 1874) finessed Cammarano’s largely completed libretto for Il Trovatore. Cammarano left a detailed scenario and an unfinished libretto for Re Lear, Verdi’s proposed operatic adaptation of Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare’s King Lear.

The literary source for Cammarano’s libretto is Kabale und Liebe (“Intrigue and Love”), a five-act play by 19th century German philosopher-playwright Friedrich von Schiller (Nov. 10, 1759-May 9, 1805). Schiller’s play premiered April 13, 1784, at Schauspiel Frankfurt, Hesse state, west central Germany.

Luisa Miller premiered Dec. 8, 1849, at Teatro di San Carlo, Naples. The Neapolitan opera house had premiered the first Cammarano-Verdi collaboration, Alzira, on Aug. 12, 1845.

Seven performances of Luisa Miller are scheduled for the 2017-2018 Met Opera season. Opening night, Thursday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, marks the opera’s 87th performance at the Metropolitan Opera.

Six performances are scheduled for April, beginning Monday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m. The month’s five additional performances take place Friday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m.; Monday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday matinee broadcast April 16 at 12:30 p.m.; Wednesday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m; closing night, Saturday, April 21, at 12 p.m.

Estimated run time for the three-act opera is 3 hours 28 minutes. Act I is timed for 64 minutes. An intermission of 30 minutes follows the first act. The second act is set for 42 minutes. A second intermission of 30 minutes follows the second act. The third and final act spans 42 minutes.

Bertrand de Billy conducts all seven performances, including the April 14 Saturday matinee broadcast. His birthplace is Paris, Île de France, north central France. The French conductor debuted March 16, 1998, in the Metropolitan Opera’s 294th performance of Roméo et Juliette by French composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893). In the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Bertrand de Billy also conducts Tosca by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924) and Cendrillon by French Romantic Era composer Jules Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912).

Sonya Yoncheva appears in all performances, including the April 14 Saturday matinee broadcast, in the title role as a villager whose lover, Carlo, is really Rodolfo, son of Count Walter. Her birthplace is Plovdiv, south central Bulgaria. The Bulgarian operatic soprano debuted Nov. 21, 2013, as Gilda in the Metropolitan Opera’s 859th performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto. In the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Sonya Yoncheva also appears as Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème and in the title role of Puccini’s Tosca.

Olesya Petrova appears in all performances, including the April 14 Saturday matinee broadcast, as Federica. Her birthplace is St. Petersburg, northwestern Russia. The Russian mezzo-soprano debuted March 24, 2014, as Madelon in the Metropolitan Opera’s 180th performance of Andrea Chénier by Italian verismo (“realism”) composer Umberto Giordano (Aug. 28, 1867-Nov. 12, 1948). In the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Olesya Petrova also appears as Antonia’s mother in Les Contes d’Hoffmann by German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach (June 20, 1819-Oct. 5, 1880).

Piotr Beczala appears in all performances, including the April 14 Saturday matinee broadcast, as Rodolfo, a nobleman’s son who earnestly woos villager Luisa in his guise as villager Carlo but becomes unhinged by a breakup letter she writes to save her father. His birthplace is Czechowice-Dziedzice, Silesia Province, southwestern Poland. The Polish operatic tenor debuted Dec. 19, 2006, as the Duke of Mantua in the Metropolitan Opera’s 814th performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto.

Plácido Domingo appears in six performances (March 29; April 2, 6, 9, 21), including the Saturday matinee broadcast April 14, as Miller, Luisa’s father who is helpless to save his daughter in a class-conscious tragedy. Plácido Domingo debuts his 149th career role in his appearance as Miller.

Plácido Domingo's birthplace is Madrid, central Spain. The Spanish baritone/tenor, who sings the Miller baritone role, debuted Sept. 28, 1968, as Maurizio in the Metropolitan Opera’s 16th performance of Adriana Lecouvreur by Italian composer Francesco Cilea (July 23, 1866-Nov. 20, 1950). In the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Plácido Domingo moves to the conductor's podium to conduct Massenet's Roméo et Juliette.

Plácido Domingo shares the role of Miller this season with Luca Salsi, who appears in the April 18 performance. His birthplace is San Secondo Parmense, Parma province, Emilia-Romagna, northeastern Italy. The Italian baritone debuted Oct. 8, 2007, as Sharpless in the Metropolitan Opera’s 812th performance of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. In the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Luca Salsi also appears as Count di Luna in Verdi’s Il Trovatore.

Alexander Vinogradov appears in all performances, including the April 14 Saturday matinee broadcast, as Count Walter, Rodolfo’s scheming father who disapproves of his noble son’s love for a villager. His birthplace is Moscow, north central Russia. The Russian bass’s appearance as Count Walter this season marks his Metropolitan Opera debut. In the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Alexander Vinogradov also appears as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor by 19th century Italian bel canto composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848).

Dmitry Belosselskiy appears in all performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast April 14, as Wurm, Count Walter’s courtier whose scheming leads to death by poison for Luisa and Rodolfo and to his own sword death by Rodolfo. His birthplace is Pavlohrad, eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian bass debuted Nov. 5, 2011, as Zaccaria in the Metropolitan Opera’s 54th performance of Verdi’s Nabucco.

Met Opera’s 2017-2018 staging of Luisa Miller revives Elijah Moshinsky’s new production, which debuted Oct. 26, 2001, in the Metropolitan Opera’s 70th performance of Luisa Miller. The Australian opera director’s production team comprises Santo Loquasto, set and costume designer; Duane Schuler, lighting designer; Kristine McIntyre, stage director.

Luisa Miller appears as the 20th of the 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s 23 Saturday matinee broadcasts. Lucia di Lammermoor was the season’s 19th Saturday matinee broadcast. Lucia di Lammermoor aired Saturday, April 7, 2018, at 12:30 p.m.

The season’s 21st Saturday matinee broadcast is The Exterminating Angel by British composer, conductor and pianist Thomas Adès. The Exterminating Angel airs Saturday, April 21, at 1 p.m.

Luisa Miller appears as the second of two Verdi operas included in the 2017-2018 Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcasts. The first Verdi opera, Il Trovatore, aired for the Feb. 3 Saturday matinee at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Verdi’s Requiem opened the 2017-2018 Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast season. The Requiem aired for the Dec. 2 Saturday matinee at 1 p.m.

Online database Operabase places Giuseppe Verdi in first place in a worldwide ranking of 1,281 composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/2016. Eighteenth century Classical Era composer Wolfgang Mozart is in second place.

Luisa Miller occupies place 116 in the worldwide list of 2,658 most popular operas. Places 115 and 117 are held by Italy’s Renaissance-to-Baroque transitional composer Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea and 19th century German composer Gustav Albert Lortzing’s Der Wildschutz (“The Poacher”), respectively.

Luisa Miller’s Metropolitan Opera debut took place Dec. 21, 1929. Prior to the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Luisa Miller’s most recent Met Opera performances occurred during the 2005-2006 season.

The Metropolitan Opera’s Repertory Report provides statistics for the opera house’s operatic performances. Luisa Miller is in place 66. Places 65 and 67 are occupied by French Romantic Era composer Jules Massenet’s Werther and 19th century Czech composer Bedřich Smetana’s The Bartered Bride, respectively.

The takeaway for Luisa Miller as the April 14, 2018, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is that the 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s 20th Saturday matinee broadcast revives an opera that has not been staged by the Metropolitan Opera since the opera house’s 2005-2006 season.

The April 14, 2018, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast presents Giuseppe Verdi's Luisa Miller, with Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva in the title role (left), Polish operatic tenor Piotr Beczala (top right) as her aristocratic love and Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo (bottom right) in the baritone role of Luisa's father: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook March 29, 2018

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Nineteenth century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi's Luisa Miller is the April 14, 2018, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast; Bulgarian operatic soprano Sonya Yoncheva sings the title role; Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo sings the baritone role as Luisa's father: Placido Domingo @PlacidoDomingo, via Twitter March 27, 2018, @ https://twitter.com/PlacidoDomingo/status/978611033421045763

The April 14, 2018, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast presents Giuseppe Verdi's Luisa Miller, with Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva in the title role (left), Polish operatic tenor Piotr Beczala (top right) as her aristocratic love and Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo (bottom right) in the baritone role of Luisa's father: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook March 29, 2018, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10160349317605533

For further information:

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

“Debut: Alexander Vingradov.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356929 Luisa Miller {87} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/29/2018.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356929

“Debut: Dmitry Belosselskiy.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354136 Nabucco {54} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/05/2011.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354136

“Debut: Olesya Petrova.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355386 Andrea Chénier {180} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/24/2014.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355386

“Debut: Plácido Domingo.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 216130 Adriana Lecouvreur {16} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/28/1968.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=216130

“Debut: Sonya Yoncheva.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355145 Rigoletto {859} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/21/2013.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355145

“Debuts: Alfred Walker, Bertrand de Billy.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 330528 Roméo et Juliette {294} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/16/1998.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=330528

“Debuts: Luca Salsi, Kevin Augustine, Tom Lee.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352090 Madama Butterfly {812} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/08/2007.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352090

“Debuts: Piotr Beczala, Kate Aldrich .” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351731 Rigoletto {814} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/19/2006.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351731

FE DELCAMP @DELCAMP_FE. "Luisa Miller opening yersteday night at @MetOpera with @sonyayoncheva , the Maestro @PlacidoDomingo who made his 149th debut role as Miller and #PiotrBeczala was a great success. Listening them on the @MetOpera site was a very great joy and a deep emotion." Twitter. March 29, 2018.
Available @ https://twitter.com/DELCAMP_FE/status/979600642791673857

Marriner, Derdriu. "2017 Met Opera Premiere of Adès's The Exterminating Angel Is Oct. 26." Earth and Space News. Monday, Oct. 16, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/10/2017-met-opera-premiere-of-adess.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Lucia di Lammermoor Is April 7, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast.” Earth and Space News. Monday, April 2, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/04/lucia-di-lammermoor-is-april-7-2018-met.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Il Trovatore is Feb. 3, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Jan. 29, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/il-trovatore-is-feb-3-2018-met-opera.html

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "For this evening’s performance of Luisa Miller, Heather Johnson sings Laura replacing Rihab Chaieb, who is ill. #CastChange." Twitter. April 6, 2018.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/982374099765866496

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Tonight, March 29: The incomparable Placido Domingo adds yet another role to his storied Met career, opposite SONYA YONCHEVA as the tragic title character of Luisa Miller. Piotr Beczała is Rodolfo, the man she loves, and Bertrand de Billy conducts Verdi’s early yet masterful score. Tickets: bit.ly/2pYPKhy Photos by Chris Lee/Met Opera." Facebook. March 29, 2018.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10160349317605533

"Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml

Placido Domingo @PlacidoDomingo. "Yesterday’s “Luisa Miller” dress rehearsal with @sonyayoncheva & @MetOpera." Twitter. March 27, 2018.
Available @ https://twitter.com/PlacidoDomingo/status/978611033421045763