Fall opera schedule

Metropolitan Opera Schedule 2012 – 13

 

Starting time is 12:55 p.m. unless indicated otherwise

 October 13, ‘12          Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore (new production)

Anna Netrebko and Matthew Polenzani star in Bartlett Sher’s new production of one of the greatest comic gems in opera, as the fickle Adina and her besotted Nemorino.  Mariusz Kwiecien is the blustery sergeant Belcore and Ambrogio Maestri is Dulcamara, the loveable quack and dispenser of the elixir.  Maurizio Benini conducts.

Run time:  3:05

 October 27, ‘12          Verdi’s Otello

Verdi’s Shakespearean masterpiece returns to the Met with Johan Botha in the title role opposite the acclaimed Desdemona of star soprano Renee Fleming.  Semyon Bychkov conducts.

Run time: 3:30

 Nov. 10, ‘12   Ades’s The Tempest (Met Premiere)

Composer Thomas Ades conducts the Metropolitan Opera premiere of his own work, with baritone Simon Keenlyside starring as Prospero. Director Robert Lepage recreates the interior of 18^th-century La Scala in this inventive staging.

Run Time: 3:35

 December 1, ‘12        Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito

The virtuosic Elina Garanca sings Sesto in Mozart’s drama set in ancient Rome.  Guiseppe Filianoti is the noble Tito and Barbara Frittoli is Vitellia, in this handsome revival of one of the composer’s final masterpieces.  Harry Bicket conducts.

Run time: 3:15

 Dec. 8, ‘12                    Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera (new production)

Director David Alden’s dreamlike setting provides a compelling backdrop for this dramatic story of jealousy and vengeance.  Marcelo Alvarez stars as the conflicted king;  Karita Mattila is Amelia, the object of his secret passion; and Dmitri Hvorostovsky is her suspicious husband.  Kathleen Kim is the page Oscar, and Stephanie Blythe sings the role of the fortune-teller Ulrica.  Fabio Luisi conducts.

Run time:  4:00

 Dec. 15, ‘12                   Verdi’s Aida

The Met’s unforgettable production of Verdi’s ancient Egyptian drama stars Liudmyla Monastyrska as the enslaved Ethiopian princess caught in a love triangle with the heroic Radames, played by Roberto Alagna, and the proud Egyptian princess Amneris, sung by Olga Borodina.  Fabio Luisi conducts.

Run Time: 4:00

 Jan.  5, ’13 at 12:00 (new time)                     Berlioz’s Les Troyens

The Met offers a rare opportunity to witness Berlioz’s vast epic, last performed at the Met in 2003.  Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, and Dwayne Croft lead the starry cast, portraying characters from the Trojan War.  Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi marshals the large-scale musical forces.

Run Time: 5:45

 Jan. 19, ‘13                    Donizatti’s Maria Stuarda (Met Premiere)

Mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato, one of the world’s most exciting singers, takes on the virtuosic bel canto role of the doomed Mary, Queen of Scots. Director David McVicar turns to the second opera of Donizetti’s Tudor trilogy, which explores regal characters at fateful moments of their lives.  Elza van den Heever sings Elizabeth I, and Maurizio Benini conducts.

Run time: 3:20

 

Feb. 16, ‘13                   Verdi’s Rigoletto  (new Production)

Director Michael Mayer has placed his new production of Verdi’s towering tragedy in Las Vegas in 1960.  In this production, inspired by the antics of the Rat Pack, Piotr Beczala is the womanizing Duke of Mantua, Zeljko Lucic is his tragic sidekick, Rigoletto, and Diana Damrau is Rigolettt’s daughter, Gilda.

Run Time: 3:35

 March 2, ’13 at 12:00 (new time)                Wagner’s Parsifal  (new production)

Jonas Kaufmann stars in the title role of the innocent who finds wisdom in Francois Girard’s new vision for Wagner’s final masterpiece.  His fellow Wagnerian luminaries include Katarina Dalayman as the mysterious Kundry, Peter Mattei as the ailing Amfortas, Evgeny Nikitin as the wicked Klingsor, and Rene Pape as the noble knight Gurnemanz. Daniele Gatti conducts.

Run Time: 5:45

 March 16, ’13 at 12:00 (new time)             Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini

Zandonai’s compelling opera, inspired by an episode from Dante’s Inferno, returns in the Met’s ravishingly beautiful production, last seen in 1986.  Dramatic soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek and tenor Marcello Giordani are the doomed lovers.  Marco Armiliato conducts.

Run Time: 4:00

 April 27, ’13 at 12:00 (new time)                Händel’s Giulio Cesare  (new production)

The opera that conquered London in Händel’s time comes to the Met in David McVicar’s lively production.  The world’s leading countertenor, David Daniels, sings the title role opposite Natalie Dessay as an irresistibly exotic Cleopatra.  Baroque specialist Harry Bicket conducts.

Run Time 4:35