Tannhäuser Is the Dec. 23, 2023, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: Tannhäuser is the Dec. 23, 2023, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as third of the 2023-2024 season's 27 Saturday matinee radio broadcasts.

Relaxation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for Edinburghian Scottish conductor Sir Donald Runnicles prior to a 2023-2024 season that includes conductorship of the 10th revival of Otto Schenk's 1977-1978 production of Wagner's Tannhäuser at Met Opera: Sir Donald Runnicles, via Facebook July 21, 2023

Tannhäuser is the Dec. 23, 2023, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time as the third of the 2023-2024 season's lineup of 27 Saturday matinee radio broadcasts.

Tannhäuser, fully titled as Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg ("Tannhäuser and the Minnesängers' Contest at Wartburg"), by 19th-century German composer and librettist Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883) receives eight performances in the 2023-2024 season. The Wagnerian opera opened Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The second through sixth performances took place Sunday matinee, Dec. 3, at 2:00 p.m.; Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 9, at 7:00 p.m.; Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 16, at 7:00 p.m. The season's last two performances of Tannhäuser are scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 19, at 7:00 p.m., and Saturday matinee, Dec. 23, at 1:00 p.m.

Sir Donald Runnicles conducts all eight performances in the 2023-2024 season. The Scottish conductor had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, April 7, 1998, in Lulu by Austrian composer Alban Berg (Feb. 9, 1885-Dec. 24, 1935).

Elza van den Heever appears as Elisabeth, Landgraf Hermann's niece who is caught in a triangle formed by minstrel Tannhäuser's fascination with Venus the Goddess of Love and his love for Elisabeth. The South African soprano had 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).

Ekaterina Gubanova sings Venus, who wants to keep Tannhäuser in her underground realm but finally allows the minstrel to return to the human world. The Russian mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Monday, Dec. 10, 2007, as Hélène Bezubenkov in the opera company's 11th performance of War and Peace by Russian-Soviet composer, conductor and pianist Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (April 23, 1891-March 5, 1953).

Andreas Schager appears in the title role as Tannhäuser the minstrel who is conflicted by impulses toward Venus the Goddess of Love in Venusberg and Elisabeth in Wartburg. The Austrian operatic tenor’s Met Opera debut had taken place Saturday, April 27, 2019, as Siegfried in the opera company's performance of Wagner's Götterdämmerung.

Christian Gerhaher sings minstrel Wolfram, who competes with Tannhäuser in Wartburg Castle's Hall of Song. The German baritone reprises the role in which he had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022.

Georg Zeppenfeld appears as Landgraf Hermann, whose niece Elizabeth redemptively loves Tannhäuser. The German operatic bass had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009, as Sarastro in the opera company's 393rd performance of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

The opera's eight performances mark the 10th revival of the new 1977-1978 production debuted Thursday, Dec. 22, 1977, by Austrian opera and theater director Otto Schenk. The Austrian opera and theater director had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Oct. 4, 1968, in the opera company's 490th performance of Puccini's Tosca.

Schenk's production team comprises Günther Schneider-Siemssen (June 7, 1926-June 2, 2015), set designer, Patricia Zipprodt, costume desinger; Gil Wechsler (born Feb. 5, 1942), lighting designer; and Canadian choreographer and Metropolitan Opera Ballet director Norbert Vesak (Oct. 22, 1936-Oct. 2, 1990), choreographer. German-born Austrian scenic designer Günther Schneider-Siemssen had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Nov. 21, 1967, in the opera company's 400th performance of Wagner's Die Walküre. American costume designer Patricia Zipprodt (Feb. 24, 1925-July 17, 1999) had made her Met Opera debut Thursday, Dec. 22, 1977, in Schenk's new production of Tannhäuser. American theatrical lighting designer Gil Wechsler had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Jan. 18, 1977, in the opera company's 74th performance of Le Prophète by German Jewish opera composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (Sep. 5, 1791-May 2, 1864). Norbert Vesak directed the Metropolitan Opera Ballet from 1976 to 1980, according to Vesak's obituary, "Norbert Vesak, 53, Former Chief Of the Met Opera Ballet, Is Dead," published Oct. 5, 1990, by The New York Times dance critic Jack Anderson (June 15, 1935-Oct. 20, 2023). Vesak's first choreography at Met Opera, Esclarmonde by French Romantic Era composer Jules Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912), debuted in the opera's Metropolitan Opera premiere Friday, Nov. 19, 1976, according to the Metropolitan Opera Archive Database (MetOpera Database).

Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro airs Dec. 30 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time as the 2023-2024 season's fourth Saturday matinee radio broadcast. The matinee broadcasts a throwback performance from Saturday, April 7, 1956, in honor of the centenaries of Italian bass Cesare Siepi (Feb. 10, 1923-July 5, 2010), who appears as Figaro, and Catalan Spanish operatic lyric soprano Victoria de los Angeles (Victoria de los Ángeles López García; Nov. 1, 1923-Jan. 15, 2005), who sings Countess Almaviva.

Sir Donald Runnicles' global music career mixes conductorships at prestigious opera houses, such as Met Opera's Lincoln Center, with an annual summer commitment since 2005 as Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF); the "sights and sounds" of the festival and of its setting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, have spellbound, renewed and restored the Edinburghian Scottish conductor, according to his attestation on the "About" page of the festival's website (https://gtmf.org/donald-runnicles/): Grand Teton Music Festival, via Facebook July 12, 2023

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Relaxation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for Edinburghian Scottish conductor Sir Donald Runnicles prior to a 2023-2024 season that includes conductorship of the 10th revival of Otto Schenk's 1977-1978 production of Wagner's Tannhäuser at Met Opera: Sir Donald Runnicles, via Facebook July 21, 2023, @ https://www.facebook.com/DonaldRunnicles/posts/pfbid021bwUC9cWarK5YEXNvYwSMnRsbddvtTJ9UiXF5ypLQsrwoeyQvLtBD7qonawFSDdSl

Sir Donald Runnicles' global music career mixes conductorships at prestigious opera houses, such as Met Opera's Lincoln Center, with an annual summer commitment since 2005 as Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF); the "sights and sounds" of the festival and of its setting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, have spellbound, renewed and restored the Edinburghian Scottish conductor, according to his attestation on the "About" page of the festival's website (https://gtmf.org/donald-runnicles/): Grand Teton Music Festival, via Facebook July 12, 2023, @ https://www.facebook.com/GrandTetonMusicFestival/posts/pfbid0sm5cFGnHmQZDd77oVmaQwZKCk7KasrZtHCuXskhzTgqqjsf81d6SPj6fADkZSnG2

For further information:

"Choreographer Norbert Vesak." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 247420 Metropolitan Opera Premiere, New Production Esclarmonde Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, November 19, 1976. Debut: Clifford Grant, Lotfi Mansouri. Esclarmonde (1) Jules Massenet / Alfred Blau/Louis Ferdinand de Gramont.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0376183

"Debut: Bernd Weikl, Kathleen Battle, Mark Freiman, Gerard Hecht, Daniel Tramontozzi, Patricia Zipprodt." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 251780 New Production Tannhäuser Metropolitan Opera House, Thu, December 22, 1977. Debut: Bernd Weikl, Kathleen Battle, Mark Freiman, Gerard Hecht, Daniel Tramontozzi, Patricia Zipprodt. Tannhäuser (393) Richard Wagner / Richard Wagner.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0376468

“Debut: Donald Runnicles.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID:292020 Lulu {23} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/7/1988.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=292020

“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: Otto Schenk." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 216180 New production Tosca {490} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/4/1968.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=216180

"Debut: Raimund Herincx, Gil Wechsler, Stuart Sebastian." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 248030 New production Le Prophète {74} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/18/1977.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=248030

"Debuts: Aleksei Markov, Marina Poplavskaya, Keith Jameson, Ekaterina Gubanova, Vitaliy Bilyy, Alexander Morozov, Todd Thomas, Lucas Meachem, Jennifer Zetlan, Samuel Dylan Rosner, Jeffrey Roger, Scott Graham, Michael Gomborone, Ashley Kohl." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352228 War and Peace {11} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/10/2007. Sirius Broadcast live. Streamed at metopera.org.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=314310

“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: Gundula Janowitz, Karl Ridderbusch, Phyllis Brill, Rosalind Hupp, Barbro Ericson, Gwendolyn Killebrew, Herbert Von Karajan, Günther Schneider-Siemssen, George Wakhevitch." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 212640 New production Die Walküre {400} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/21/1967.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=212640

Grand Teton Music Festival. "I attest to having fallen completely under the spell of the sights and sounds of the Grand Teton Music Festival and of this natural paradise. I return to Jackson and am restored and renewed.” GTMF > About.
Available via GTMF @ https://gtmf.org/donald-runnicles/

Grand Teton Music Festival. "Our Board of Directors is pleased to announce the extension of Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles’ contract, previously effective through 2026, now effective through 2029. This brings his tenure with the Festival to 23 years. After conducting an extensive strategic vision project, the community of musicians, staff, and audience members have time and time again expressed gratitude for Maestro Runnicles’ stewardship. We are delighted that with his guidance, GTMF will continue to bring world-class music experiences to the Jackson Hole community!" Facebook. July 12, 2023.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/GrandTetonMusicFestival/posts/pfbid0sm5cFGnHmQZDd77oVmaQwZKCk7KasrZtHCuXskhzTgqqjsf81d6SPj6fADkZSnG2l

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Calendars 2023-2024 Season Operas Sep. 26 Through June 8." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 18, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-calendars-2023-2024-season.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-metropolitan-opera-performs-18.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/metropolitan-opera-revives-12.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Saturday Matinee Broadcasts Include Six Special Programs in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 27, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/saturday-matinee-broadcasts-include-six.html

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Available @ https://www.metopera.org/about/press-releases/the-metropolitan-opera-announces-its-202324-season-with-the-most-new-works-in-the-companys-modern-history/

Sir Donald Runnicles. "Just another day in Jackson Hole." Facebook. July 21, 2023.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/DonaldRunnicles/posts/pfbid021bwUC9cWarK5YEXNvYwSMnRsbddvtTJ9UiXF5ypLQsrwoeyQvLtBD7qonawFSDdSl