Met Opera Launched Iphigénie en Tauride's New Production Nov. 27, 2007

Summary: Met Opera launched Iphigénie en Tauride's new production Nov. 27, 2007, and staged a revival in the 2010-2011 season, after an absence of two seasons.

Met Opera's staging Stephen Wadsworth's new production of German classical composer Christoph von Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride in the 2007-2008 season ended the 90-year non-performance drought that followed the opera's United States premiere in the 1916-1917 season: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook June 17, 2020

Met Opera launched Iphigénie en Tauride's new production Nov. 27, 2007, with eight performances and then, after an absence of two seasons, staged a revival of six performances in the 2010-2011 season.

The United States premiere of Iphigénie en Tauride (Iphigenia in Tauris) by German classical composer Christoph von Gluck (July 2, 1714-Nov. 15, 1787) took place Saturday, Nov. 25, 1916, at the Metropolitan Opera House. The opera was performed with a German libretto credited to German composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sep. 8, 1949) and German composer and poet Carl August Peter Cornelius (Dec. 24, 1824-Oct. 26, 1874).

Iphigénie en Tauride received five performances in the 1916-1917 season. The opera's closing night, Thursday, April 19, stood as the opera's last performance at Met Opera for ninety seasons (1917-1918 through 2006-2007).

In the 2007-2008 season, Iphigénie en Tauride appeared Tuesday, Nov. 27, on Met Opera's stage as a new production that was sung with the original French libretto and co-produced with Seattle Opera. Iphigénie en Tauride's new production received eight performances in the 2007-2008 season. The Metropolitan Opera House was the venue for all performances (premiere Tuesday, Nov. 27; Saturday, Dec. 1; Wednesday, Dec. 5; Saturday, Dec. 8; Tuesday, Dec. 11; Friday, Dec. 14; Wednesday, Dec. 19; eighth, closing Saturday, Dec. 22).

Iphigénie en Tauride was conducted by Louis Langrée (born Jan. 11, 1961). The French conductor's appearance in the production's premiere Tuesday, Nov. 27, marked his Met Opera debut.

Iphigénie en Tauride's new production was directed by opera and theater director Stephen Wadsworth (born April 3, 1953, as Stephen Wadsworth Zinsser). The American opera and theater director had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004, in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Rodelinda by German-British baroque composer George Frideric Handel (Feb. 23, 1685-April 14, 1759).

The production team comprised Thomas Lynch as set designer and Martin Pakledinaz (Sep. 1, 1953-July 8, 2012), costume designer; Neil Peter Jampolis (March 14, 1943-Dec. 15, 2019), lighting designer; and Daniel Pelzig, choreographer. Thomas Lynch had made his Met Opera debut in the same performance as Stephen Wadsworth. Martin Pakledinaz had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Nov. 19, 1992, in the opera house's 475th performance of Lucia di Lammermoor by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

The production's lighting designer was Neil Peter Jampolis (March 14, 1943-Dec. 15, 2019). He had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Jan. 25, 1973, in the opera house's 26th performance of Verdi's Macbeth.

Daniel Pelzig was credited as the production's choreographer. He had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Sep. 24, 2007, in the opera house's 558th performance of Lucia di Lammermoor by Italian opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848).

Susan Graham (born July 23, 1960) sang the title role in all eight performances. The American mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Thursday, Sep. 26, 1991, as the Second Lady in the opera house's 271st performance of Die Zauberflöte by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Plácido Domingo (born Jan. 21, 1941) appeared in all eight performances as Oreste, Iphigénie's brother, whose shipwreck on Tauris reunites brother and sister. The Spanish tenor had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Sep. 28, 1968, as Maurizio in the opera house's 16th performance of Adriana Lecouvreur by Italian composer Francesco Cilea (July 23, 1866-Nov. 20, 1950).

Paul Groves (born Nov. 24, 1964) sang Pylade, Oreste's lifelong friend and fellow shipwreckee, in all eight performances. The American operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Jan. 9, 1992, as the Steersman in the opera house's 127th performance of Der Fliegende Holländer by German Romantic era composer-librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

William Shimell (born Sep. 23, 1952) sang Thoas, King of Scythia, in all eight performances. The English operatic baritone had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, April 10, 1996, as Marcello in the opera house's 1,031st performance of La Bohème by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Michèle Losier (born March 27, 1978) sang goddess Diane in all eight performances. The Canadian mezzo-soprano's appearance in the new production's opening performance marked her Met Opera debut.

Lisette Oropesa (born Sep. 29, 1983) sang the First Priestess in all eight performances. The Cuban-American operatic soprano had made her Met Opera debut Thursday, Sep. 28, 2006, as a Woman of Crete in the opera house’s 60th performance of Idomeneo by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Sasha Cooke sang the Second Priestess in all eight performances. The American mezzo-soprano's appearance in the new production's opening performance marked her Met Opera debut.

David Won sang the Scythian Minister in all eight performances. The South Korean tenor had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Nov. 14, 2005, as Grégorio in the opera house's 301st performance of Roméo et Juliette by 19th-century French composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893).

Jacqueline Antaramian (born Oct. 7, 1962) acted in all eight performances as Clytemnestre, Iphigénie's mother, who appears in her daughter's prophetic nightmare of mariticide (Latin: maritus "husband" plus -cide, from caedere "to cut, to kill"), regicide (Latin rex, reg- ‘king’ + -cide) and matricide (Latin: matri- "mother" plus -cide) in the family. The Armenian actress marked her Met Opera debut with her appearance in the new production's opening performance.

Mark Capri (born July 19, 1951) acted in all eight performances as King Agamemnon, Iphigénie's father, who appears in his daughter's prophetic nightmare as a regicide and mariticide, murdered by Queen Clytemnestre. The American actor's appearance in the new production's opening performance marked his Met Opera debut.

After an absence of two seasons (2008-2009 through 2009-2010), the new production received its first revival in the 2010-2011. The revival added six performances to the opera's performance history at the Metropolitan Opera.

The takeaways for Met Opera's launching Iphigénie en Tauride's new production Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007, are that the 2007-2008 season's new production under Stephen Wadsworth's directorship ended a 90-season drought for Iphigénie en Tauride at the Metropolitan Opera House; that the new production introduced the opera's original French libretto into Met Opera's repertoire; and that the new production contributed eight performances to the opera's performance history at Met Opera.

French conductor Louis Langrée made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007, in the opening performance of Stephen Wadsworth's new production of Iphigénie en Tauride: Louis Langrée @LouisLangree, via Twitter. Jan. 11, 2019

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Met Opera's staging Stephen Wadsworth's new production of German classical composer Christoph von Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride in the 2007-2008 season ended the 90-year non-performance drought that followed the opera's United States premiere in the 1916-1917 season: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook June 17, 2020, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10163901796835533

French conductor Louis Langrée made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007, in the opening performance of Stephen Wadsworth's new production of Iphigénie en Tauride: Louis Langrée @LouisLangree, via Twitter Jan. 11, 2019, @ https://twitter.com/LouisLangree/status/1083730213203312640

For further information:

"Debut: Stephen Costello, Mary Zimmerman, Daniel Ostling, Mara Blumenfeld, T. J. Gerckens, Daniel Pelzig." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352065 New Production Lucia di Lammermoor {558} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/24/2007. Sirius Broadcast live.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352065

"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

"Debut: Paul Groves." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 307060 Der Fliegende Holländer {127} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/9/1992.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=307060

"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

"Debuts: Glenn Bater, Linore Aronson, Neil Peter Jampolis." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 232310 Macbeth {26} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/25/1973.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=232310

"Debuts: Guy Joosten, Johannes Leiacker, Jorge Jara, David Cunningham, Seán Curran, Stéphane Degout, David Won." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351350 New Production Roméo et Juliette {301} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/14/2005.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351350

“Debuts: Lisette Oropesa, Jeffrey Francis, Simon O’Neill.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID:351557 Idomeneo {60} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/28/2006.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351557

"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: Mikael Melbye, Winifred Faix Brown, Susan Graham." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 306030 Die Zauberflöte {271} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/26/1991.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=306030

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

"Debuts: Roberto Alagna, William Shimell, Simone Young." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 323890 La Bohème {1031} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/10/1996.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=323890

Kors, Stacey. "Hellenic Ideal." The Metropolitan Opera > Nightly Opera Streams, June 15–21.
Available @ https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/articles/hellenic-ideal/

Louis Langrée @LouisLangree. "Celebrating tomorrow night @MetOpera my 50th performance in the pit of this amazing institution! Such a privilege to conduct @METOrchestra & @MetOperaChorus, and great singers. Merci!!! #Iphigénie, #DonGiovanni, #LaBohème, #Hamlet, #Carmen, #DialoguesDesCarmélites." Twitter. Jan. 11, 2019.
Available @ https://twitter.com/LouisLangree/status/1083730213203312640

Marriner, Derdriu. "Iphigénie en Tauride Was To Be Saturday Matinee Broadcast Feb. 26, 2022." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 8, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/08/iphigenie-en-tauride-was-to-be-saturday.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Staged Iphigénie en Tauride's U.S. Premiere Nov. 25, 1916." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/08/met-opera-staged-iphigenie-en-taurides.html

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "In 2007, mezzo-soprano Susan Graham took on the title role in a new production of Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, returning the work to the Met stage for the first time since 1917. She reprised her portrayal four years later, when Stephen Wadsworth’s evocative staging was broadcast live in HD. The full performance is available as tonight’s free Nightly Met Opera Stream starting at 7:30PM EDT until tomorrow, June 18, at 6:30PM EDT. . . ." Facebook. June 17, 2020.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10163901796835533

"New Production: Iphigénie en Tauride." 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

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Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=64130