Metropolitan Opera 2013-2014

The new season of the Metropolitan Opera was announced today.  Here is some very spotty information about it.  There are 10 HD broadcasts and 6 new productions.


1. Eugene Onegin HD: October 5, 2013 --New Production by Deborah Warner; conductor Valery Gergiev; Mariusz Kwiecien as Onegin, Anna Netrebko as Tatiana, and. Piotr Beczala as Lenski. There is also a second cast with Peter Mattei, Marina Poplavskaya, and Rolando Villazón.  The opera is a repeat, but the production is not.  I rather liked the stage covered with leaves but look forward to seeing Anna in this role.

2. Così fan tutte HD: April 26, 2014 -- Susanna Philips, Isabel Leonard, Matthew Polenzani, Danielle de Niesse.

3. The Nose HD: October 26, 2013 -- starring Paulo Szot with  conductor Valery Gergiev.

4. Norma -- mostly Radvanovsky, Aldrich, Antonenko, Morris, but 2 performances are slated for
Meade, Barton, Antonenko, Orlov

5. A Midsummer Night's Dream -- Conlon; Kim, Wall, DeShong, Davies, Kaiser, Simpson, Rose

6. Two Boys, a new opera by American composer Nico Muhly  -- New Production by Bartlett Sher; Conductor: David Robertson; Alice Coote, Paul Appleby.

7. Tosca  HD: November 9, 2013 --  Patricia Racette and Roberto Alagna.

8. Die Frau ohne Schatten

9. Rigoletto -- Heras-Casado; Kurzak, Volkova, Polenzani, Hvorostovsky, Kocán.  Isn't this interesting.  Dmitri will sing Rigoletto.  My goodness.

10. Der Rosenkavalier -- Elīna Garanča will sing her first Octavian.  Martina Serafin will sing the Marschallin.

11. Falstaff  HD: December 14, 2013-- New production by Robert Carsen; Conductor: James Levine; Ambrogio Maestri and Nicola Alaimo are double cast as Falstaff, Angela Meade sings Alice Ford, Stephanie Blythe is  Mistress Quickly, Lisette Oropesa as Nannetta, Jennifer Johnson Cano as Meg Page, Paolo Fanale as Fenton, and Franco Vassallo as Ford.  San Francisco is doing this, too, and will have Bryn.

12. The Magic Flute

13. Die Fledermaus -- New Production by Jeremy Sams; conductor Adam Fischer; Susanna Phillips sings Rosalinde, with Christopher Maltman as her husband, Eisenstein; Christine Schäfer and Jane Archibald as her clever maid, Adele; Michael Fabiano and Alexander Lewis as Alfred, her clandestine lover; Paulo Szot as the scheming notary Dr. Falke; and Anthony Roth Costanzo as the consummate party host, Prince Orlofsky.  I was about to get enthusiastic until I realized it was in English and had a man as Orlofsky.  Boo.  Probably I will have to go to Germany to see a proper Fledermaus.

14. L'Elisir d'Amore -- Anna Netrebko reprises, this time with Ramón Vargas as Nemorino, and Erwin Schrott as Dulcamara.

15. La Bohème  HD: April 5, 2014 -- Vittorio Grigolo

16. Madama Butterfly

17. Rusalka  HD: February 8, 2014 -- Renée Fleming, Piotr Beczala and Dolora Zajick.  Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.

18. Prince Igor HD: March 1, 2014 -- New Production by Dmitri Tcherniakov; conductor Gianandrea Noseda; Ildar Abdrazakov sings the title role, Oksana Dyka as Yaroslavna, Anita Rachvelishvili as the fiery Polovtsian princess Konchakovna; Sergey Semishkur as Vladimir Igorevich, Mikhail Petrenko as Prince Galitsky,  and Štefan Kocán as Khan Konchak.

19. Werther HD: March 15, 2014 -- New Production by Richard Eyre; Conductor: Alain Altinoglu; Jonas Kaufmann and Elīna Garanča as the brooding poet Werther and his unattainable love, Charlotte. Lisette Oropesa sings Sophie, David Bižić as Charlotte's fiancé, Albert; and Jonathan Summers is Charlotte's father.  This opera is evidently rare at the Met.  I will certainly not mind seeing Jonas in the role again and will finally get to see Elīna's Charlotte.


20. The Enchanted Island -- Susan Graham is Sycorax, with David Daniels, Danielle de Niese, and the great Plácido Domingo reprising their roles as Prospero, Ariel, and Neptune.

21. Wozzeck -- Unexpected casting with Deborah Voigt and Thomas Hampson.  

22. La Sonnambula -- Diana Damrau stars as Amina opposite bel canto specialist Javier Camarena as Elvino, Marco Armiliato conducts.

23. Andrea Chénier -- Racette, Álvarez, Lucic

24. Arabella --

25. I Puritani -- Olga Peretyatko as Elvira, Lawrence Brownlee, Mariusz Kwiecien, and Michele Pertusi.

26. La Cenerentola  HD May 10, 2014 -- Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Flórez and Luca Pisaroni.  It also includes the definitive modern Don Magnifico:  Alessandro Corbelli.

One of the lovely things about the HD broadcasts to date has been the low numbers of repeats.  We have seen 2 Aidas and 2 Lucias.  Everything else has been a one off.

Next season is different.  We see Eugene Onegin again with a new production.  We see La Cenerentola again in the Bartoli production.  We see the ugly Tosca again.  We see La Bohème again, in the Zeffirelli production again which was already old the first time we saw it.  Everything else is new.  2013-14 is a very big season for Patricia Racette, both in San Francisco and New York.

I could see Norma with Sondra Radvanovsky.  Or Arabella.  Or even Frau ohne Schatten.  The third queen doesn't come this year.  Or Elina in her first Octavian.