Earth and Space News: Met Opera 2021-2022 Saturday matinee broadcasts

Showing posts with label Met Opera 2021-2022 Saturday matinee broadcasts. Show all posts

Monday, August 8, 2022

Iphigénie en Tauride Was To Be Saturday Matinee Broadcast Feb. 26, 2022

Summary: Iphigénie en Tauride was to be the Feb. 26, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, numbering as the 10th of 24 in the 2021-2022 Met Opera season's schedule.

American mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey returned to Met Opera in the 2021-2022 season for the title role in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride; her last Met Opera role was Nerone (Nero) in the 2019-2020 season's Metropolitan Opera premiere of George Frideric Handel's Agrippina; photo by New York City-based portrait photographer Dario Acosta: Kate Lindsey Mezzo Soprano, via Facebook Jan. 9, 2011

Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride was to be the Feb. 26, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as the 10th of 24 scheduled Saturday matinee radio broadcasts during the 2021-2022 Met Opera season.

In mid-July 2021, however, Met Opera announced the cancellation of Iphigénie en Tauride. The opera's cancellation ensued from accommodation of "technical prepartions" necessitated by Met Opera's 16-month, COVID-19 closure.

Prior to the cancellation notice, Met Opera had provided cast and performance information for the opera on the opera company's website. That information is presented here as a record of the 2021-2022 season's original roster.

The 2021-2022 Met Opera season's staging of Iphigénie en Tauride by 18th-century German classical composer Christoph von Gluck (July 2, 1714-Nov. 15, 1787) was scheduled for five performances in the 2021-2022 season. The opera's first performance would have taken place Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The second through fifth, closing performances were to be offered Saturday, Oct. 2, at 1:00 p.m.; Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 9, at 8:00 p.m.; and Friday, Oct. 15, at 7:30 p.m.

The opera's autumn Saturday matinee of Oct. 2 originally had been planned as the 2021-2022 season's Saturday matinee broadcast for Feb. 26, 2022. The opera's cancelled Feb. 26 Saturday matinee broadcast had been scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

French contralto and conductor Nathalie Stutzmann was to be Iphigénie en Tauride's conductor. Her conductorship of the opera's first performance, Wednesday, Sept. 29, would have marked her Met Opera debut.

Kate Lindsey was to sing the title role of Princess and High Priestess Iphigénie, whom a shipwreck reunites with her brother, Oreste, and his friend, Pylade. The American mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2005, as Javotte in the opera company's 250th performance of Manon by French Romantic Era composer Jules Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912).

Ben Bliss was to appear as the Feb. 26 matinee broadcast's Pylade. He would have sung the role in the opera's first three (Wednesday, Sept. 29; Saturday, Oct. 2; Wednesday, Oct. 6) and fifth, closing (Friday, Oct. 15) performances. The American tenor had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014, as Vogelgesang in the opera company's 410th performance of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by German Romantic era composer-librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

Iphigénie en Tauride would have numbered as the first of two Saturday matinee broadcasts in which Ben Bliss performed in the 2021-2022 season. His second (now his only) Saturday matinee broadcast appearance occurs in The Rake's Progress by Russian-born composer, conductor and pianist Igor Stravinsky (June 17, 1882-April 6, 1971). Ben Bliss sings the title role of Tom Rakewell in the 2021-2022 season's 24th, last Saturday matinee broadcast, June 11.

Ben Bliss shared his Iphigénie en Tauride role with David Portillo, who would have sung Pylade in the opera's fourth (Saturday, Oct. 9) performance. The American tenor made his Metropolitan Opera debut Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015, as Count Almaviva in the opera company’s 614th performance of Il Barbiere di Siviglia by 19th-century Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868).

Etienne Dupuis would have appeared as the 2021-2022 season's Oreste. The French-Canadian baritone had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018, as Marcello in the opera company’s 1,321st performance of La Bohème by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Iphigénie en Tauride would have numbered as the first of two Saturday matinee broadcast performances for Etienne Dupuis. He makes his second (now first and only) Saturday matinee broadcast appearance in the 2021-2022 season's 13th opera, Don Carlos by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901). Etienne Dupuis sings Rodrigue in the opera's Saturday matinee broadcast, March 26.

Elchin Azizov would have sung Thoas, King of Scythia, doomed for his possession of a stolen statue of Goddess Diane (Diana). The Azerbaijani operatic baritone made his Metropolitan Opera debut Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, as Ibn-Hakia in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Iolanta by Russian late-Romantic composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840-Nov. 6, 1893).

The 2021-2022 Met Opera season's staging of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride would have marked the second revival of Stephen Wadsworth's production. His new production debuted in the 2006-2007 season and received its first revival in the 2010-2011 season. Stephen Wadsworth (born April 3, 1953, as Stephen Wadsworth Zinsser) 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 takeaways for Iphigénie en Tauride as the Feb. 26, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast are that Gluck's opera was intended as the 2021-2022 season's 13th of 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts; that the 2021-2022 season's staging would have marked the second revival of Stephen Wadsworth's new production, which had debuted in the 2006-2007 season; and that Iphigénie en Tauride's Saturday matinee broadcast would have numbered as the first of two Saturday matinee broadcast appearances in the 2021-2022 season for Ben Bliss and Etienne Dupuis.

Gluck's happily-ending Iphigénie en Tauride contrasts with the 2021-2022 Met Opera season's other opera about ancient Greece's dysfunctional House of Atreus, Strauss's horrific Elektra; Pylades and Orestes Brought as Victims before Iphigenia, 1766 oil on canvas by American artist Benjamin West (Oct. 10, 1738-March 11, 1820), Tate Britain, Room 6, London UK: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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:

“Debut: Kate Lindsey.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351294 Manon {250} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/20/2005.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351294

“Debuts: David Portillo, Valeriano Lanchas.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356192 Il Barbiere di Siviglia {614} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/16/2015.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356192

“Debuts: Ilya Bannik . . . Eichin [sic] Azizov.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355785 Metropolitan Opera Premiere (Iolanta) New Production (Bluebeard’s Castle) Iolanta {1} Bluebeard’s Castle {25} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/29/2015.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355785

“Debuts: James Gaffigan, Nicole Car, Etienne Dupuis.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356999 La Bohème {1321} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/25/2018.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356999

"Debuts: Johannes Martin Kränzle, Benjamin Bliss, Martin Gantner." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355664 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg {410} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/02/2014. Metropolitan Opera Radio Sirius XM channel 74 Broadcast live Streamed at metopera.org.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355664

"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

Kate Lindsey Mezzo Soprano. "Agrippina is coming back to The Metropolitan Opera livestream tonight! Let me know if you catch it- I still haven’t quite worked up the courage to see it! This photo was taken as I was headed out to start the show one evening back in February. I do miss that moment headed to the stage with all these amazing folks.... Brenda Rae Joyce DiDonato Iestyn Davies MBE -- Countertenor Nicholas Tamagna -- Countertenor Matthew Rose Duncan Rock -- Baritone." Facebook. Oct. 27, 2020.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3505402239506635&id=162309323815960

Kate Lindsey Mezzo Soprano. "With Kate Lindsey Mezzo Soprano." Facebook. Jan. 9, 2011.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/162309323815960/photos/t.100063481159490/162862610427298/

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

"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

Monday, June 6, 2022

The Rake's Progress Is the June 11, 2022, Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The Rake's Progress is the June 11, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as the last of the 2021-2022 season's Saturday matinee opera broadcasts.

Sir Jonathan Miller's staging of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress experiences its third Met Opera revival in the 2021-2022 season; Sir Jonathan debuted his new production in the 1997-1998 season; 1999 oil on canvas portrait of Sir Jonathan Miller by Scottish figurative painter Stephen Conroy (born 1964); National Portrait Gallery, London UK; Jan. 15, 2015: Caroline (The hills are alive*), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress is the June 11, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, scheduled as the last of 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season.

The Rake's Progress by Russian-born composer, conductor and pianist Igor Stravinsky (June 17, 1882-April 6, 1971) receives four performances in the 2021-2022 season. The first two performances took place Monday, May 30, at 7:30 p.m., and Friday, June 3, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The third and fourth, closing performances are scheduled for Tuesday, June 7, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, June 11, at 1:00 p.m.

The 2021-2022 season's presentation of The Rake's Progress represents the third revival of the new production debuted Thursday, Nov. 20, 1997, by Sir Jonathan Miller (July 21, 1934-Nov. 27, 2019). The English opera and theatre director had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Feb. 25, 1991, in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Kát'a Kabanová by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854-Aug. 12, 1928).

Susanna Mälkki is the third revival's conductor. The Finnish conductor had made her Met Opera debut Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of L'Amour de Loin by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho (born Oct. 14, 1952).

Ben Bliss sings the title role of Tom Rakewell, who is cursed with insanity by Nick Shadow but who finds some redemption in the love of his fiancée, Anne Trulove, whom he imagines as Venus. The American tenor had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014, as Vogelgesang in the opera company's 410th performance of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by German Romantic era composer-librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

The Rake's Progress originally numbered as the second of two Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season for Ben Bliss. He was scheduled to sing Pylade in the Feb. 26, 2022, Saturday matinee opera broadcast of Iphigénie en Tauride by 18th-century German classical composer Christoph von Gluck (July 2, 1714-Nov. 15, 1787). But in July 2021 Met Opera cancelled the opera as part of changes necessitated by technical preparations ensuing from the opera house's 16-month closure.

Golda Schultz sings Anne Trulove, who saves her fiancé's soul from Nick Shadow and visits him in the insane asylum, where he imagines her as Venus to his Adonis. The South African soprano had made her Met Opera debut Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, as Pamina in the opera company’s 433rd performance of Die Zauberflöte by 18th century Classical Era composer Wolfgang Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Christian Van Horn sings Nick Shadow, who tempts Tom Rakewell away from Anne Trulove but ultimately loses possession of Tom's soul to the Queen of Hearts in a card game. The American bass-baritone had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Dec. 6, 2013, as Pistola in the opera company’s 176th performance of Falstaff by 19th century opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

The Rake's Progress numbers as the second of two Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season for Christian Van Horn. He sang the title role of Figaro in the April 9, 2022, Saturday matinee opera broadcast of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro.

Alice Coote sings Baba the Turk, the bearded lady whom Nick Shadow convinces Tom Rakewell to marry. The British lyric mezzo-soprano debuted April 12, 2006, in the trouser role of Cherubino in the Metropolitan Opera’s 425th performance of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

James Creswell sings Trulove, Anne's father, whose doubts about the character of his daughter's fiancé prove to be justified. The American bass had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018, as Ashby in the opera company's 108th performance of La Fanciulla del West by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Sir Jonathan's production team for The Rake's Progress comprises Peter J. Davison, set designer; Judy Levin, costume designer; and Jennifer Tipton, lighting designer. All three designers made their Met Opera debut in the 1997-1998 season's debut of the new production.

The production's first revival had taken place in the 2002-2003 season. The second revival was held in the 2014-2015 season. Sir Jonathan's production numbers as Met Opera's first new staging of The Rake's Progress since the opera's addition to the opera company's repertoire.

The Metropolitan Opera House's United States premiere of The Rake's Progress occurred Saturday, Feb. 14, 1953, in the composer's presence. The opera received six performances in the 1997-1998 season.

The takeaways for The Rake's Progress as the June 11, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast are that Stravinsky's moralistic opera about love, temptation and redemption airs as the 2021-2022 season's closing Saturday matinee opera broadcast; that the 2021-2022 season's four performances of The Rake's Progress represents the opera house's third revival of the 1997-1997 season's new production by Sir Jonathan Miller; and that The Rake's Progress numbers as the second of two Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season for Christian Van Horn.

Igor Stravinsky attended The Metropolitan Opera's United States premiere of his moralistic, redemptive opera, The Rake's Progress, on Saturday, Feb. 14, 1953; photo credit Sedgwick "Sedge" LeBlang (July 2, 1910-June 1977): Opera News @OperaNews, via Facebook April 23, 2015

Acknowledgment

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

Dedication

Debut: Alice Coote.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351491 Le Nozze di Figaro {425} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/12/2006.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351491

"Debut: James Creswell." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357024 La Fanciulla del West {108} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/17/2018.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351491

"Debuts: David Pittsinger, Peter J. Davison, Judy Levin, Jennifer Tipton." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 330180 New Production The Rake's Progress {9} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/20/1997.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=322990

“Debuts: Golda Schultz, Lucas Mann.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356741 Die Zauberflöte {433} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/27/2017.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356741

“Debuts: Peter Van Praet, Paolo Fanale, Carlo Bosi, Christian Van Horn.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355173 Falstaff {176} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/06/2013.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355173

"Debuts: Susanna Mälkki, Sybille Wilson." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356550 Metropolitan Opera Premiere L'Amour de Loin {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/01/2016.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356550

“Debuts: William Burden, David Robertson, Anthony Ward, Dona Granata, Howard Harrison.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 322990 The Makropulos Case {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/11/1996.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=322990

"New Production: The Rake's Progress." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 330180 New Production The Rake's Progress {9} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/20/1997.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=322990

Opera News @OperaNews. "Here's a 1953 photo of Hilde Gueden and Igor Stravinsky rehearsing Anne Truelove's aria before premiere of The Rake's Progress at the Metropolitan Opera! Stravinsky's opera returns to the Met on May 1st! #tbt." Facebook. April 23, 2015.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/OperaNews/posts/10152725989142466/

"United States Premiere: The Rake's Progress." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 161960 United States Premiere In the presence of the composer The Rake's Progress {1} Matinee Broadcast ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 02/14/1953.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=161960

Monday, May 30, 2022

Hamlet Is Met Opera's June 4, 2022, Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: Hamlet is Met Opera's June 4, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as the 23rd of the 2021-2022 season's 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts.

Neil Armfield's production of Brett Dean's Hamlet crosses the pond in the 2021-2022 season for Met Opera staging with retention of the original production team and most of the singers; Act I, scene 1 of Hamlet, Glyndebourne Festival 2017, photo credit Richard Hubert Smith: Brett Dean @brett.dean.official, via Facebook Sep. 23, 2020

Brett Dean's Hamlet is Met Opera's June 4, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, scheduled as the 23rd of 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season.

Hamlet by contemporary Australian composer, violist and conductor Brett Dean (born Oct. 23, 1961) is based on the same-named play by Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare (bapt. April 26, 1564-April 23, 1616). Dean's Hamlet received seven performances in Met Opera's 2021-2022 season. The new opera's Metropolitan Opera premiere took place Friday, May 13, 2022, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The second through fifth performances were offered Wednesday, May 18, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 21, at 8:00 p.m.; Thursday, May 26, at 8:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, May 31, at 7:30 p.m. The sixth through seventh, closing performances are scheduled for Saturday, June 4, at 1:00 p.m., and Thursday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m.

The new production traces to the opera's world premiere Sunday, June 11, 2017, in South East England's Glyndebourne Festival. The world premiere's director, Neil Armfield, directs the opera's Metropolitan Opera premiere. The Australian theatre, film and opera director made his Met Opera debut in the opera's Metropolitan Opera premiere, Friday, May 13, 2022.

Nicholas Carter conducts all seven performances of Hamlet. He had conducted the opera's Australian premiere Friday, March 2, 2018, at the Adelaide Festival in Adelaide, South Australia, southern central Australia. The Australian conductor made his Met Opera debut in the opera's Metropolitan Opera premiere.

Allan Clayton sings the title role of a prince whose life is skewered by the murder of his father, King Hamlet, and his widowed mother's hasty second marriage with his paternal uncle, Claudius. Allan Clayton created the role in the opera's world and Australian premieres. The British tenor made his Met Opera debut in Hamlet's Metropolitan Opera premiere.

Brenda Rae sings Ophelia, whose possible happiness with Prince Hamlet dissolves into madness and death. The American operatic soprano had made her Met Opera debut Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, as Poppea in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Agrippina by German-British baroque composer George Frideric Handel (Feb. 23, 1685-April 14, 1759).

Hamlet numbers as the second of two Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season for Brenda Rae. She sang Zerbinetta in the March 12 Saturday matinee opera broadcast of Ariadne auf Naxos by German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sep. 8, 1949).

Rod Gilfry sings Claudius, Prince Hamlet's uncle, whose covetous power schemes include murdering his brother and marrying his sister-in-law. Rod Gilfry created King Claudius in the opera's world and Australian premieres. The American operatic baritone had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Nov. 25, 1996, as Demetrius in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by 20th-century English composer, conductor and pianist Edward Benjamin Britten (Nov. 22, 1913-Dec. 4, 1976).

Sarah Connolly sings Gertrude, Prince Hamlet's mother, whose hasty marriage to her deceased husband's brother unsettles her son. She created Gertrude in the opera's world premiere. The English mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Friday, April 29, 2005, in the trouser role of Annio in the opera house's 31st performance of La Clemenza di Tito by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

William Burden sings Polonius, Ophelia's crafty father whom Prince Hamlet mistakenly slays. The American tenor had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Jan. 11, 1996, as Janek in the Metropolitan Opera’s premiere of The Makropulos Case by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854-Aug. 12, 1928).

Jacques Imbrailo sings Horatio, Prince Hamlet's friend. He created the role in the opera's world and Australian premieres. The South African classical baritone made his Met Opera debut in Hamlet's Metropolitan Opera premiere.

John Tomlinson sings the Ghost of King Hamlet, who reveals his murder by his brother Claudius to his son. He created the role in the opera's world and Australian premieres. The British operatic bass had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Dec. 8, 1999, as Moses in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Moses und Aron by Austrian composer and music theorist Arnold Schoenberg (Sep. 13, 1874-July 13, 1951).

David Butt Philip sings Laertes, Ophelia's brother, whose duel with Prince Hamlet ends fatally for both duelists. He created the role in the opera's world and Australian premieres. The British operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Tuesday, Sep. 28, 2021, as Grigory in the opera house's 273rd performance of Boris Godunov by Russian composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (March 21, 1839-March 28, 1881).

Hamlet is the second of two Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season for David Butt Philip. He sang Grigory in the Feb. 19 Saturday matinee opera broadcast of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.

Christopher Lowery sings Guildenstern, who joins with Rosencrantz in manipulating a duel between Prince Hamlet and Laertes. He created the role in the opera's world and Australian premieres. The American countertenor made his Met Opera debut in Hamlet's Metropolitan Opera premiere.

Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen sings Rosencrantz, recruited, along with Guildenstern, by King Claudius to orchestrate a duel and accidentally stabbed, along with Guildenstern, by Prince Hamlet. The American countertenor made his Met Opera debut in Hamlet's Metropolitan Opera premiere.

Neil Armfield's production team comprises Ralph Myers, scenic designer; Alice Babidge, costume designer; Jon Clark, lighting designer; Denni Sayers, movement director; and Nicholas Hall, fight director. The production team worked with Neil Armfield for the opera's world and Australian premieres.

Hamlet's Metropolitan Opera premiere marked Met Opera debuts for Australian theatre designer Ralph Myers; British choreographer and director Denni Sayers; and theatre, opera, ballet, television and film fight director Nicholas Hall. Australian costume designer Alice Babidge made her Met Opera debut Saturday, April 23, 2022, in Simon Stone's new production of Lucia di Lammermoor by Italian opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848). British lighting designer Jon Clark had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017, in Metropolitan Opera's United States premiere of The Exterminating Angel by British composer, conductor and pianist Thomas Adès.

The takeaways for Hamlet as Met Opera's June 4, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast are that Brett Dean's Shakespearean opera airs as the penultimate of 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season; that the staging is a Glyndebourne production, recreated from the opera's world premiere at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2017 by director Neil Armfield and his production team; and that Allan Clayton (Hamlet), Sarah Connolly (Gertrude), Rod Gilfry (Claudius), Jacques Imbrailo (Horatio), John Tomlinson (King Hamlet's Ghost), David Butt Philip (Laertes) and Christopher Lowery (Guildenstern) create the roles at Met Opera that they had created in the opera's world and Australian premieres.

In Met Opera's 2021-2022 season, Melbourne-born Australian conductor Nicholas Carter makes his Met Opera debut in Brett Dean's Shakespearean opera, Hamlet, which he had conducted in the opera's Australian premiere at the Adelaide Festival in 2018; March 13, 2017, photo of Nicholas Carter, as principal conductor of Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (2016-2019) with his wife, Australian baroque violinist Bianca Muggleton, and their daughter Claudia, by Roy Van Der Vegt / Newsphotos: Adelaide Symphony Orchestra @The_ASO, via Twitter April 15, 2017

Acknowledgment

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

Dedication

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra @The_ASO. "Our Principal Conductor, Nicholas Carter, his daughter Claudia and wife Bianca wishing all a happy Easter this lon… http://ift.tt/2oCJU2Y." Twitter. April 15, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/The_ASO/status/853398323268640768

Beckett, John. "In Review: Hamlet at Glyndebourne." Schmopera. June 22, 2017.
Available @ https://www.schmopera.com/in-review-hamlet-at-glyndebourne/

Brett Dean @brett.dean.official. "Thrilled to announce that Hamlet will be included in the The Metropolitan Opera 2021-22 season, starring Allan Clayton, Brenda Rae, Dame Sarah Connolly, David Butt Philip and Rod Gilfry, and conducted by Nicholas Carter. https://www.metopera.org/season/2021-22-season/hamlet/." Facebook. Sep. 23, 2020.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/brett.dean.official/posts/3326678514089628/

"Debuts: Brenda Rae, Nicholas Tamagna." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357409 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Agrippina {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/06/2020.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357409

“Debuts: John Tomlinson, Malin Fritz.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 331393 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Moses und Aron {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/08/1999.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=331393

“Debuts: Rodney Gilfry, Nick Stahl, Peter Rose, Barry Banks, William Scot Murray, Nicholas Frisch, Benjamin Ungar, Tim Albery, Antony McDonald, Matthew Richardson, Philippe Giraudeau.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 326580 Metropolitan Opera Premiere A Midsummer Night’s Dream {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/25/1996.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=326580

“Debuts: Sarah Connolly, Luca Pisaroni.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351250 La Clemenza di Tito {31} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/29/2005.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351250

"Debuts: Tom Cairns, Hildegard Bechtler, Jon Clark, Tal Yarden, Amir Hosseinpour, Sally Matthews, Sophie Bevan, Frédéric Antoun, David Adam Moore, John Irvin, Ian Koziara." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356772 United States Premiere The Exterminating Angel {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/26/2017.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356772

Marriner, Derdriu. "Caurier and Leiser Debuted New Met Staging of Thomas's Hamlet in 2010." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 15, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/11/caurier-and-leiser-debuted-new-met.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Hamlet Opened Feb. 21, 1884, as 18th Opera in Met Opera's First Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Jan. 18, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/01/hamlet-opened-feb-21-1884-as-18th-opera.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Staged Thomas's Hamlet Feb. 21, 1884, as First Hamlet Opera." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/11/met-opera-staged-thomass-hamlet-feb-21.html

McDowall, Carolyn. "Adelaide Festival 2018 -- Hamlet, Stellar Shakespearean Opera." The Culture Concept Cirlce. Aug. 17, 2017.
Available @ https://www.thecultureconcept.com/adelaide-festival-2018-hamlet-stellar-shakespearean-opera

Monday, May 23, 2022

Akhnaten Is Met Opera's May 28, 2022, Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: Akhnaten is Met Opera's May 28, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as 22nd of the 2021-2022 season's 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts.

Akhnaten, the third installment in Philip Glass's Portrait Trilogy, received its Metropolitan Opera premiere in autumn 2019 and experiences its first revival in spring 2022; Karen Almond/Met Opera photo of J'Nai Bridges (Nefertiti) and Anthony Roth Costanzo (Akhnaten), costumed by designer Kevin Pollard, in Akhnaten's 2019 premiere season: Philip Glass @philipglass, via Twitter Nov. 17, 2019

Glass's Akhnaten is Met Opera's May 28, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, scheduled as the 22nd of the 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season.

Akhnaten by American composer Philip Glass (born Jan. 31, 1937) receives seven performances in the 2021-2022 season. The first and second performances took place Thursday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 22, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The third through seventh, closing performances are scheduled for Wednesday, May 25, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 28, at 1:00 p.m.; Thursday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, June 5, at 3:00 p.m.; and Friday, June 10, at 7:00 p.m.

The 2021-2022 season's presentation of Akhnaten represents the first revival of Glass's ancient Egypt-themed opera. The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Akhnaten took place Friday, Nov. 8, 2019.

Karen Kamensek conducts the production's first revival. She reprises her conductorship from the opera's premiere season, 2019-2020. The American opera and orchestral conductor had made her Met Opera debut in the opera's premiere, Nov. 8, 2019.

Anthony Roth Costello sings the title role in his first reprisal of the pharaoah who unsuccessfully promoted a new religion. The American countertenor had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, as Unulfo in the opera house’s 21st performance of Rodelinda by German, later British, Baroque composer George Handel (Feb. 23, 1685-April 14, 1759).

Akhnaten numbers as the second of two Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season for Anthony Roth Costello. He sang his Met Opera debut role of Unulfo in the March 19 Saturday matinee opera broadcast of Handel's Rodelinda.

Rihab Chaieb sings Akhnaten's wife, Nefertiti. The Canadian-Tunisian mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016, as Zulma in the opera house’s 72nd performance of L’Italiana in Algeri by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868).

Dísella Lárusdóttir makes her first reprisal as Queen Tye, Akhnaten’s mother, who participates in her son's efforts to promote a monotheistic religion. The Icelandic soprano had made her Met Opera debut Monday, March 4, 2013, as Garsenda in the opera house’s 38th performance of Francesca da Rimini by Italian composer Riccardo Zandonai (May 28, 1883-June 5, 1944).

Aaron Blake reprises the role of the High Priest of Amon, who opposes the monotheistic religion promoted by Akhnaten, Queen Nefertiti and Queen Tye. The American tenor had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, March 29, 2017, as Gastone in the opera house’s 1,006th performance of La Traviata by 19th-century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Richard Bernstein reprises Aye, Queen Nefertiti's father, who joins with Horemhab in inciting the population against the royal family. The American bass-baritone had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Oct. 7, 1995, as Zuniga in the opera house’s 828th performance of Carmen by French Romantic Era composer Georges Bizet (Oct. 25, 1838-June 3, 1875).

Zachary James reprises Amenhotep IV, Akhnaten's father, whom he succeeded as pharoah. The American operatic bass had made his Met Opera debut in Akhnaten's Metropolitan Opera premiere, Friday, Nov. 8, 2019.

Will Liverman reprises Horemhab, Army commander-in-chief, who opposes Akhnaten's monotheistic campaigns. The American operatic baritone had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Oct. 19, 2018, as Malcom Fleet in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Marnie by American contemporary classical music composer Nico Asher Muhly (born Aug. 26, 1981).

Phelim McDermott directs Met Opera's production of Akhnaten. The English stage director had made his Met Opera debut Friday, April 11, 2008, in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Glass's Satyagraha.

Phelim McDermott's production team comprises Tom Pye, set designer; Kevin Pollard, costume designer; Bruno Poet, lighting designer; and Sean Gandini, choreographer. British production designer Tom Pye had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Sep. 23, 2013, in the opera house's 136th performance of Eugene Onegin by Russian late Romantic era composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840-Nov. 6, 1893). British costume designer Kevin Pollard made his Met Opera debut Friday, April 11, 2008, in Glass's Satyagraha, alongside Phelim McDermott. British lighting designer Bruno Poet and Cuban-born, London-based choreographer and juggler Sean Gandini made their Met Opera debuts in Akhnaten's Metropolitan Opera premiere, Friday, Nov. 8, 2019.

The takeaways for Akhnaten as Met Opera's May 28, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast are that Philip Glass's ancient Egypt-themed opera airs as the 22nd of 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season; that the 2021-2022 season's staging of Akhnaten represents the opera's first revival; and that Anthony Roth Costell, Dísella Lárusdóttir, Aaron Blake, Richard Bernstein, Zachary James and Will Liverman all reprised their roles from the opera's premiere season, 2019-2020.

Acknowledgment

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

Dedication

Karen Kamensek makes her first reprisal as Akhnaten's conductor in the 2021-2022 season's first revival of Philip Glass's ancient Egypt-themed opera: MET Orchestra Musicians @METOrchestra, via Facebook Dec. 7, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/METOrchestra/posts/2583701628376881/

For further information:

“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

"Debuts: Atalla Ayan, Aaron Blake." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356675 La Traviata {1006} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/29/2017.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356675

"Debuts: Denyce Graves, Barbara Frittoli, Richard Bernstein." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 322060 Carmen {828} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/7/1995.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=322060

"Debuts: Deborah Warner, Fiona Shaw, Tom Pye, Chloe Obolensky, Ian William Galloway, Finn Ross." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355023 New Production Eugene Onegin {136} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/23/2013.Metropolitan Opera Radio Sirius XM channel 74 Broadcast live Streamed at metopera.org Plazacast/Times Squarecast. Opening Night {129} Peter Gelb, General Manager.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355023

“Debuts: Dísella Làrusdóttir, Caitlin Lynch, Dustin Lucas.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354888 > Francesca da Rimini {38} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/4/2013.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354888

"Debuts: Karen Kamensek, Zachary James, J'Nai Bridges, Lindsey Ohse, Chrystal E. Williams, Annie Rosen, Suzanne Hendrix, Oscar Rempe-Hiam, Bruno Poet, Sean Gandini." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357309 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Akhnaten {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/08/2019.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357309

"Debuts: Marianna Pizzolato, René Barbera, Rihab Chaieb." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356485 L'Italiana in Algeri {72} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/04/2016.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356485

"Debuts: Phelim McDermott, Julian Crouch, Kevin Pollard, Paule Constable, Leo Warner, Mark Grimmer, 59 Productions, Dante Anzolini, Ellie Dehn, Skills Ensemble." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352481 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Satyagraha {1} Broadcast ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 04/11/2008.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352481

“Debuts; Robert Spano, Marie Te Hapuku, Stacey Tappan, Peabody Southwell, Gabriel Gurevich, Adrienne Phillips, Lynne Page, Will Liverman.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357028 Marnie {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/19/2018.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357038

Marriner, Derdriu. "Akhnaten Opens 2019-2020 Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcasts Dec. 7." Earth and Space News. Monday, Dec. 2, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/12/akhnaten-opens-2019-2020-met-opera.html

MET Orchestra Musicians @METOrchestra. "As each of us came into the pit today to warm up for what will be the final performance of Akhnaten, on every single music stand was a thank you note, personally written by the conductor, Karen Kamensek. Thank you for your appreciation and for this unforgettable collaboration, Maestra! Listen in, beginning at the top of the hour, as the Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast season begins for the 2019-2020 season." Facebook. Dec. 7, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/METOrchestra/posts/2583701628376881/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Technical rehearsals for Phelim McDermott’s arresting new production of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten began this week. Take a first look at the innovative director’s breathtaking vision of ancient Egypt. Photo by Jonathan Tichler / Met Opera." Facebook. Aug. 8, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10162303446240533

"Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Akhnaten." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357309 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Akhnaten {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/08/2019.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357309

Midgette, Anne. "A New Leader and New Sounds at the Met: Philip Glass’s Striking ‘Akhnaten.'" The Washington Post > Arts & Entertainment > Music > Review. Nov. 17, 2019.
Available @ https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/sing-like-an-egyptian-glasss-akhnaten-strikes-poses-in-new-met-production/2019/11/17/0be2f7da-08c8-11ea-924a-28d87132c7ec_story.html

Philip Glass @philipglass. “'Akhnaten' showed, he never really needed that establishment to begin with.'.... ⁦@classicalbeat. -- Met Opera's 'Akhnaten' shows classic side of Philip Glass -- The ⁦@washingtonpost." Twitter. Nov. 17, 2019.
Available @ https://twitter.com/philipglass/status/1196253729969840131⁩

Monday, May 16, 2022

Lucia di Lammermoor Is Met's May 21, 2022, Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: Lucia di Lammermoor is Met's May 21, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as 21st of the 2021-2022 season's 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts.

The 2021-2022 Met Opera season's new production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor reunites Nadine Sierra and Javier Camarena, who portrayed the doomed Scottish lovers, reset in the United States in the 1950s, in six performances in July 2021 at the Liceu in Barcelona, Catalunya, northeastern Spain; photo credit Antoni Bofill/Gran Teatre del Liceu: diariARA @diariARA, via Twitter July 15, 2021

Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor is the Met's May 21, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, scheduled as the 21st of the 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in the 2021-2022 season.

Lucia di Lammermoor by Italian opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848) receives nine performances in the 2021-2022 season. The first through seventh performances were held Saturday, April 23, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time; Tuesday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, April 29, at 7:30 p.m.; Monday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, May 6, at 8:00 p.m.; Tuesday, May 10, at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, May 14, at 1:00 p.m. The eighth through ninth, closing performances are scheduled for Tuesday, May 17, at 7:00 p.m., and Saturday, May 21, at 1:00 p.m.

The 2021-2022 season debuts a new production of Lucia di Lammermoor by Simon Stone. The new production's debut Saturday, April 23, 2022, marked the Swiss-born, Australian theater and film director's Met Opera debut.

Riccardo Frizza conducts the new production. The Italian conductor, an expert in the Italian operatic repertoire, had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009, in the opera company's 816th performance of Rigoletto by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Nadine Sierra sings the title role of Lucia, whose forced marriage by her brother, Enrico, to Lord Arturo drives her to madness and murder. The American soprano had made her Met Opera debut Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, as Gilda in the opera company’s 874th performance of Verdi's Rigoletto.

Javier Camarena sings Edgardo, who has made a vow of devotion to Lucia despite the enmity between their families. The Mexican operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011, as Count Almaviva in the opera company’s 587th performance of Il Barbiere di Siviglia by 19th-century Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868).

Artur Ruciński sings Enrico, Lucia's brother, who requires his sister's marriage to Lord Arturo for financial security. The Polish baritone had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Feb. 19, 2016, as Sharpless in the opera company’s 857th performance of Madama Butterfly by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Matthew Rose sings chaplain Raimondo, Lucia's tutor, who tries to intervene for Lucia's well-being but has the grim duty of announcing her madness, her murder of her just-wedded husband and her death. The English operatic bass made his Metropolitan Opera debut Friday, Nov. 18, 2011, as Colline in the opera company’s 1,240th performance of Puccini’s La Bohème.

The production team for Simon Stone's new staging of the 2021-2022 season's Lucia di Lammermoor comprises Lizzie Clachan as set designer; Alice Babidge, costume designer; James Farncombe, lighting designer; and Luke Halls, projection designer. British theatre designer Lizzie Clachan, Australian costume designer Alice Babidge and British lighting designer James Farncombe all made their Met Opera debuts in the new production's debut, Saturday, April 23, 2022. British projection designer Luke Halls had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Sep. 21, 2015, in American theater director Bartlett Sher's new production of Verdi's Otello. Sher's new Otello production debuted in the opera company's 326th performance of the opera.

The 2021-2022 season's first performance of Lucia di Lammermoor numbered as Met Opera's 612th performance of the opera. The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Lucia di Lammermoor had taken place Wednesday, Oct. 24, 1883. Donizetti's Scottish-styled Romeo and Juliette tragic opera was staged as the second of 20 operas offered during the Metropolitan Opera's inaugural season, 1883-1884. Lucia di Lammermoor received 10 performances in the 1883-1883 season.

Simon Stone's new production replaces the staging that Mary Zimmerman debuted Monday, Sep. 24, 2007, in the opera company's 558th performance of Lucia di Lammermoor. The debut of her Lucia di Lammermoor production had marked the Met Opera debut as well for the American theater and opera director and playwright. Mary Zimmerman's production experienced four revivals (2008-2009, 2010-2011, 2014-2015, 2017-2018).

The takeaways for Lucia di Lammermoor as the Met's May 21, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast are that Donizetti's love-maddened opera airs as the 21st of the 2021-2022 season's 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts; that the opera debuts as a new production, directed by Australian theater and film director Simon Stone; that the May 21 Saturday matinee opera broadcast closes the opera's run of nine performances in the 2021-2022 season; and that Nadine Sierra, Javier Camarena, Artur Ruciński and Matthew Rose add Lucia di Lammermoor to their Met Opera portfolios with their portrayals in the new production.

Swiss-born Australian theater and film director Simon Stone makes his Met Opera debut in the 2021-2022 season with his new production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor; Simon Stone's receipt of the prestigious Nestroy Theatre Award in 2015 for his adaptation of 19th-century Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman, Ronacher, Vienna, Austria; photo taken Nov. 2, 2015, by Manfred Werner (Tsu): Manfred Werner -- Tsu, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

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

Dedication

“Debut: Javier Camarena.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354056 Il Barbiere di Siviglia {587} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/01/2011.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354056

“Debut: Matthew Rose.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354168 La Bohème {1240} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/18/2011.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354168

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.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352065

"Debuts: Es Devlin, Luke Halls, Chad Shelton." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356006 New Production Otello {326} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/21/2015.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356006

“Debuts: Karel Mark Chichon, Artur Rucinski.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356328 Madama Butterfly {857} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/19/2016.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356328

“Debuts: Nadine Sierra, Dimitry Ivashchenko.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356159 Rigoletto {874} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/02/2015.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356159

"Debuts: Riccardo Frizza, Grazia Doronzio, Viktoria Vizin." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352828 Rigoletto {816} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/24/2009.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352828

diariARA @diariARA. "Nadine Sierra i Javier Camarena encapçalen el repartiment de l'òpera de Donizetti ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ al Liceu." Twitter. July 15, 2021.
Available @ https://twitter.com/diariARA/status/1415566154085634050

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. "Met Opera Premiered Lucia di Lammermoor Oct. 24, 1883, in First Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 28, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/10/met-opera-premiered-lucia-di-lammermoor.html

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Lucia di Lammermoor.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 1010 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Lucia di Lammermoor {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/24/1883.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=1010

"New Production: Lucia di Lammermoor." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352065 New Production Lucia di Lammermoor {558} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/24/2007. Sirius Broadcast live Streamed at metopera.org Simulcast on screens at Lincoln Center Plaza and Times Square. Opening Night {123} Peter Gelb, General Manager.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352065

Schelling, Kamala. "Illustrated Synopsis: Madama Butterfly." Illustrations by Diana Schoenbrun. Met Opera > Discover > Education > Illustrated Synopses.
Available @ https://www.metopera.org/globalassets/discover/education/illustrated-synopses/media/madama-butterfly/madama-butterfly-illustrated-synopsis.pdf