Rodelinda Is Met Opera's March 19, 2022, Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: Rodelinda is Met Opera's March 19, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as 12th of the 2021-2022 season's 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts.

In Met Opera's 2021-2022 season, Iestyn Davies returns to the opera in which he made his 2011 Met Opera debut, as Unulfo, but in the production's third revival he upgrades to King Bertarido: i i davies @iestyn_davies, via Twitter April 18, 2021

Handel's Rodelinda is Met Opera's March 19, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, numbering as the 12th of the 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season.

Rodelinda by German-British baroque composer George Frideric Handel (Feb. 23, 1685-April 14, 1759) receives six performances in the 2021-2022 season. The season's first performance of Rodelinda took place Friday, March 11, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The second through sixth, closing performances are scheduled for Tuesday, March 15, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday matinee, March 19, at 12 p.m. noon; Thursday, March 24, at 7:00 p.m.; Sunday, March 27, at 3:00 p.m.; and Thursday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m.

Harry Bicket conducts all 2021-2022 season performances of Rodelinda. The British conductor, harpsichordist and Baroque interpreter had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004, in the Rodelinda's Metropolitan Opera premiere.

Elza van den Heezer sings the title role of the historical, seventh-century queen who reveals resilience amid the opera's love and power struggles. The South African soprano made her Met Opera debut Monday, Dec. 31, 2012, as Elisabetta in the opera company’s premiere of Maria Stuarda by 19th-century Italian bel canto opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848).

Iestyn Davies sings Bertarido, historical King of Lombardy, whom Grimoaldo deposes but then ultimately restores to kingship. The British classical countertenor had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Nov. 14, 2011, as Unulfo in the opera company’s 15th performance of Rodelinda.

Paul Appleby sings Grimoaldo, Duke of Benevento, who ultimately rejects his usurpitous designs in favor of love with Eduige, the king's sister. The American operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, May 7, 2011, as Brighella in the opera company’s 89th performance of Ariadne auf Naxos by German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sep. 8, 1949).

Rodelinda numbers as the first of two Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season for Paul Appleby. He sings David in the May 14 Saturday matinee opera broadcast of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by German Romantic era composer-librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

Jamie Barton sings Eduige, Rodelinda's sister-in-law, whose difficult relationship with usurpitous Grimoaldo ultimately has a happy resolution. The American mezzo-soprano made her Met Opera debut Wednesday, Sep. 23, 2009, as the second of three ladies in the opera company’s 393rd performance of Die Zauberflöte by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Update: BWW Opera World and Sasha Cooke announced, via their respective Twitter accounts Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, replacement of Jamie Barton by Sasha Cooke as Eduige in all performances. The American mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007, as The Second Priestess in the opera company's sixth performance of Iphigénie en Tauride by 18th-century German classical composer Christoph von Gluck (July 2, 1714-Nov. 15, 1787).

Update: The Metropolitan Opera announced, via Twitter Tuesday, March 15, 2022, at 12:11 p.m. the replacement of Sasha Cooke by Sarah Mesko as Eduige in the evening's performance. The American mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016, as The Second Lady in the opera company's 426th performance of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (abridged, English-language version).

Anthony Roth Costanza sings Unulfo, Bertarido's trustworthy counselor. The American countertenor reprises the role in which he had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, during the opera company’s 21st performance of Rodelinda.

Rodelinda numbers as the first of two Saturday matinee opera broadcasts for Anthony Roth Costanza in the 2021-2022 season. He sings the title role in the May 28 Saturday matinee opera broadcast of Akhnaten by American composer Philip Glass (born Jan. 31, 1937).

Adam Plachetka sings Garibaldo, Grimoaldo's counselor, who has his own ambitions for King Bertarido's throne. The Czech bass-baritone made his Metropolitan Opera debut Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015, as Masetto in the opera company’s 539rd performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

The 2021-2022 season's staging of Rodelinda marks the opera house's third revival of Stephen Wadsworth's production. The Wadsworth-directed production of Rodelinda received its Metropolitan Opera premiere in the 2004-2005 season and its first and second revivals in the 2005-2006 and 2011-2012 seasons, respectively. Stephen Wadsworth (born April 3, 1953, as Stephen Wadsworth Zinsser) had made his Met Opera debut with Rodelinda's Metropolitan Opera premiere, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004.

Rodelinda's production team comprises Thomas Lynch, set designer; Martin Pakledinaz, costume designer; and Peter Kaczorowski, lighting designer. Thomas Lynch and Peter Kaczorowski had made their Met Opera debuts in the opera's Metropolitan Opera premiere. Martin Pakledinaz had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Nov. 19, 1992, in the opera company's 475th performance of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

Rodelinda numbers as the third of three Wadsworth productions in the 2021-2022 season's Saturday matinee opera broadcast series. The American opera and theater director's production of Boris Godunov by Russian composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (March 21, 1839-March 28, 1881) aired Feb. 19 as the season's ninth Saturday matinee opera broadcast. Wadsworth's production of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride played Feb. 26 as the season's 10th Saturday matinee opera broadcast.

The takeaways for Rodelinda as Met Opera's March 19, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast are that Handel's opera numbers as the 2021-2022 season's 12th of 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts; that the season's staging of Rodelinda marks the third revival of Stephen Wadsworth's production, which received its Metropolitan Opera premiere in the 2004-2005 season; and that Rodelinda numbers as the first of two Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season for Anthony Roth Costanza and Paul Appleby.

In Met Opera's 2021-2022 season, Baroque interpreter Harry Bicket reprises his conductorship of Handel's Rodelinda from the opera's Metropolitan Opera premiere in the 2004-2005 season and its second revival in the 2010-2011 season: Divas & Scholars @DivasScholar, via Twitter July 22, 2020

Acknowledgment

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

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

In Met Opera's 2021-2022 season, Iestyn Davies returns to the opera in which he made his 2011 Met Opera debut, as Unulfo, but in the production's third revival he upgrades to King Bertarido: i i davies @iestyn_davies, via Twitter April 18, 2021, @ https://twitter.com/iestyn_davies/status/1383832897820319761

In Met Opera's 2021-2022 season, Baroque interpreter Harry Bicket reprises his conductorship of Handel's Rodelinda from the opera's Metropolitan Opera premiere in the 2004-2005 season and its second revival in the 2010-2011 season: Divas & Scholars @DivasScholar, via Twitter July 22, 2020, @ https://twitter.com/DivasScholar/status/1286000232363438081

For further information:

BWWOperaWorld @BWWOperaWorld. "Sasha Cooke to Replace Jamie Barton as Eduige in The Met's RODELINDA." Twitter. Feb. 3, 2022.
Available @ https://twitter.com/BWWOperaWorld/status/1489319783350915075

“Debut: Anthony Roth Costanzo.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354199 Rodelinda {21} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/07/2011.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354199

“Debut: Elza van den Heever.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354759 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Maria Stuarda {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/31/2012.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354759

"Debut: Francesca Zambello, Martin Pakledinaz, Pat Collins." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 310600 New Production Lucia di Lammermoor {475} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/19/1992.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=310600

Debuts: Bernard Labadie, Matthias Klink, Jamie Barton, Georg Zeppenfeld.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353076 Die Zauberflöte {393} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/23/2009.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=353076

“Debuts: Dmitry Korchak, Adam Plachetka.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355791 Don Giovanni {539} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/04/2015.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355791

“Debuts: Iestyn Davies, Moritz Linn.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354154 Rodelinda {15} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/14/2011.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354154

"Debuts: Jessica Pratt, Sarah Mesko, Misha Grossman, Dylan Hansen Hamme." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356569 Die Zauberflöte {426} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/20/2016.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356569

"Debuts: Kobie van Rensburg, Zachary Vail Elkind, Harry Bicket, Stephen Wadsworth, Thomas Lynch, Peter Kaczorowski." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351094 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Rodelinda {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/02/2004.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351094

"Debuts: Louis Langrée, Sasha Cooke, Michele Losier, Jacqueline Antaramian, Mark Capri." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352202 New Production Iphigénie en Tauride {6} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/27/2007.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352202

“Debuts: Paul Appleby, Noah Baetge.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353993 Ariadne auf Naxos {89} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 05/07/2011.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=353993

Divas & Scholars @DivasScholar. "Harry Bicket, renowned conductor does my q&a from his splendid isolation in remote Scotland. Has he enjoyed this pause in his work with @EnglishConcert @santafeopera which he directs? When will he perform again @MetOpera & elsewhere? What’s next? Message me if you’d like to hear." Twitter. July 22, 2020.
Available @ https://twitter.com/DivasScholar/status/1286000232363438081

i i davies @iestyn_davies. "Dare I post this for fear of Covid-Jinx, but hooray for next season, singing Bertarido in Handel’s Rodelinda. @MetOpera @paulappleby @jbartonmezzo @A_R_Costanzo." Twitter. April 18, 2021.
Available @ https://twitter.com/iestyn_davies/status/1383832897820319761

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera's 2021-2022 Season Has 28 Saturday Matinee Broadcasts." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 22, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/11/met-operas-2021-2022-season-has-28.html

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "For this evening’s performance of Handel’s Rodelinda, the role of Eduige will be sung by Sarah Mesko. #CastChange." Twitter. March 15, 2022.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/1503765953850576902

"Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Rodelinda." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351094 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Rodelinda {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/02/2004.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351094

The Opera Pod @TheOperaPod. "On today’s episode I’m chatting to the conductor Harry Bicket, from being shouted at by Charles MacKerras on his 1st day @E_N_O to jumping in @glyndebourne as a young assistant, we chat through the highs & lows of his journey . . . @EnglishConcert @santafeopera." Twitter. May 27, 2021.
Available @ https://twitter.com/TheOperaPod/status/1397838403115356162

Sasha Cooke. "Some exciting news. Looks like I'll be headed back to the Met a little earlier than planned! Can't wait to sing with this incredible cast and team. https://www.metopera.org/season/2021-22-season/rodelinda/." Facebook. Feb. 3, 2022.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/sashamezzo/posts/351104690350781

Tyler Barton @TylerBarton27. "Replying to @RMillennielle. Handel's 'Rodelinda' was my first opera I ever heard on the radio. Sir Harry Bicket conducts, @elzasoprano (cake baker extraordinaire) stars as the rightful queen, and we get *two* countertenors here, @iestyn_davies and @A_R_Costanzo. @jbartonmezzo is a wonderful surprise." Twitter. April 18, 2021.
Available @ https://twitter.com/TylerBarton27/status/1383821109708017669