METROPOLITAN OPERA LIVE FROM NEW YORK
SEASON 2019-2020
PRESENTATION OF THE 2019-2020 SEASON
From Giacomo Puccini to Jules Massenet, George Gershwin to Philip Glass, find the great composers who have marked the history of classical music. Served by increasingly grandiose staging, this season will be rich in emotions and colorful thanks to the essential artists of the opera scene who promise to offer incredible performances. Among them are Bryn Terfel, Joyce DiDonato, Peter Mattei, Anna Netrebko and Michael Volle. Enjoy the best of the Metropolitan Opera in New
York live in the cinema and live an unforgettable season.
CALENDAR SAISON 2019-2020 SEASON Cast, times, run times subject to change
2019 OCTOBER SAT 12-oct TURANDOT Puccini 18h25 SAT 26-oct MANON Massenet 18h25
NOVEMBER SAT 9-nov MADAMA BUTTERFLY Puccini 18h25 SAT 23-nov AKHNATEN Glass 18h25
2020 JANUARY SAT 11-jan WOZZECK Berg 18h25 FEBRUARY SAT 1er-feb PORGY AND BESS Gershwin 18h25 SAT 29-feb AGRIPPINA Haendel 18h25
MARCH SAT 14-march LE VAISSEAU FANTÔME Wagner 17h25 APRIL SAT 25-apr TOSCA Puccini 18h25 MAY SAT 9-may MARIA STUARDA Donizetti 18h5
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DETAILS OF THE 2019-2020 SAISON Cast, times, run times subject to change.
1.
TURANDOT
Date SAT 12 OCT 2019 Time 6.25 pm Estimated run time 3h22
Composer Giacomo PUCCINI Production Franco ZEFFIRELLI Conductor Yannick NÉZET-SÉGUIN
Cast Christine Goerke (Turandot), Eleonora Buratto (Liù), Roberto Aronica (Calàf), James Morris (Timur)
The story
The Chinese princess Turandot has sworn that she will marry the one who will solve the three puzzles she poses as a condition for getting her hand. In case of failure, it is death that awaits the suitors who dare to take up the challenge. A mysterious prince presents himself with the right answers. If Turandot does not discover the name of the reckless stranger before dawn, she will have to keep his promise and marry her in spite of herself.
Why go see this opera?
Soprano Christine Goerke plays the role of the ruthless Chinese princess while Roberto Aronica will sing Prince Calàf's famous Nessun dorma in Franco Zeffirelli's colorful staging that magnifies the oriental exoticism of Puccini's work.
Opera in Italian subtitled in French.
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2.
MANON
Date SAT 26 OCT 2019 Time 6.25 pm Estimated run time 4h12
Composer Jules MASSENET Production Laurent PELLY Conductor Maurizio BENINI
Cast Lisette Oropesa (Manon), Michael Fabiano (Chevalier des Grieux), Carlo Bosi (Guillot de Morfontaine), Artur Ruciński (Lescaut)
The story
Manon is destined for the convent, but she decides to flee to Paris with the Chevalier des Grieux who loved her at first sight. However, Monsieur de Brétigny, a friend of Manon's cousin, does not intend to put aside his pretensions to possess the girl, that the promises of a life full of richness succeed in convincing for a time to abandon his beloved .
Why go see this opera?
In this production signed by the French director Laurent Pelly, stars of the rising American scene give freshness to the drama of Massenet: Lisette Oropesa will Epicurean Manon and Michael Fabiano his devoted Des Grieux.
Opera in french subtitled in French.
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3.
MADAMA BUTTERFLY
Date SAT 9 NOV 2019 Time 6.25 pm Estimated run time 3h32
Composer Giacomo PUCCINI Production Anthony MINGHELLA Conductor Pier Giorgio MORANDI
Cast Hui He (Cio-Cio-San), Elisabeth DeShong (Suzuki), Andrea Carè (Pinkerton), Plácido Domingo (Sharpless)
The story
While on a trip to Nagasaki, Lieutenant Pinkerton lightly knits a marriage contract with a young geisha named Cio-Cio-San, or Madame Butterfly. When he returns to America, the young wife waits patiently for the return of her beloved, whose son she has had. Pinkerton, however, did not intend to fulfill his commitments and when he returns to Japan, it is with another woman on his arm. Mrs. Butterfly, she does not intend to undo the ties that bind her to her American husband.
Why go see this opera?
The cinematographic staging of Anthony Minghella charms with its delicacy and amplifies the solitary drama of the heroine. Plácido Domingo adds a pan to his fan by playing for the first time the role of the wise consul Sharpless.
Opera in Italian subtitled in French.
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4.
AKHNATEN New production
Date SAT 23 NOV 2019 Time 6.25 pm Estimated run time 3h56
Composer Philip GLASS Production Phelim MCDERMOTT Conductor Karen KAMENSEK
Cast Dísella Lárusdóttir (Queen Tye), J'nai Bridges (Nerfertiti), Anthony Roth Constanzo (Akhnaten), Aaron Blake (Grand Prêtre d’Amon)
The story
Akhenaton is the son of the powerful pharaoh Amenophis III. When he reaches the throne, he realizes that the clergy are corrupt and take advantage of the offerings reserved for the gods. This leads him to question not only the foundations of the religious tradition, but also the organization of Egyptian society as a whole, thus provoking the uprising of the religious elites and the people against him.
Why go see this opera?
The life and mystical beliefs of the pharaoh Akhenaton inspired Philip Glass an intense and captivating opera still unpublished on the New York scene, with acrobatic choreographies perfectly aligned with the score. Another first, that of the talented conductor Karen Kamensek who officiates for the first time at the Met.
Multi-language opera subtitled in French.
5
5.
WOZZECK New production
Date SAT 11 JAN 2020 Time 6.25 pm Estimated run time 1h57
Composer Alban BERG Production William KENTRIDGE Conductor Yannick NÉZET-SÉGUIN
Cast Peter Mattei (Wozzeck), Elsa van den Heever (Marie), Christopher Ventris (le Tambour- Major), Christian Van Horn (le Docteur)
The story
Wozzeck is an anxious soldier haunted by visions of death and apocalypse and subjected to the experiences of an ill-intentioned doctor who despises him. Marie, who had a child of Wozzeck without going through the sacred union of marriage, moves away from him because of its gloomy hallucinations and is easily seduced by the Drum Major, much to the chagrin of the poor soldier manhandled.
Why go see this opera?
Created at the end of the First World War, this Expressionist jewel, which is one of the most important operas of the 20th century, paints with intensity the dismay of a victim of a corrupt society. Baritone Peter Mattei performs for the first time the role of Wozzeck in a staging by William Kentridge and composed among others cartoons and film screenings.
Opera in german subtitled in French.
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6.
PORGY AND BESS
New production
Date SAT 1st FEB 2020 Time 6.25 pm Estimates run time 3h40
Composer George & Ira GERSHWIN Production James ROBINSON Conductor David ROBERTSON
Cast Eric Owens (Porgy), Angel Blue (Bess), Frederick Ballentine (Sportin' Life), Alfred Walker (Crown)
The story
Life goes on at Catfish Row, near the old Charleston Harbor in South Carolina. Men play dice while a woman sings a lullaby to her child. But when the thug Crown loses the game and kills his opponent, he fled the city, leaving behind his wife Bess who finds himself left to herself. Only Porgy, the crippled beggar of the neighborhood, helps the beautiful.
Why go see this opera?
Mixing jazz with traditional orchestral music, this opera draws its sources from American folklore. A work of captivating originality, in which we recognize in particular the timeless air of Summertime.
Opea in english subtitled in French.
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7.
AGRIPPINA New production
Date SAT 29 FEB 2020 Time 6.25 pm Estimated run time 4h10
Composer Georg Friedrich HAENDEL Production Sir David MCVICAR Conductor Harry BICKET
Cast Brenda Rae (Poppée), Joyce DiDonato (Agrippine), Matthew Rose (Claude), Iestyn Davies (Othon)
The story
When Agrippina learns that her husband, the Emperor Claudius, died at sea, she is determined to place her son Nero on the throne. She is about to achieve her ends when Claude reappears miraculously. He was saved from drowning by Otho, who informs Agrippina that the Emperor has chosen him to succeed him, but that he prefers the love of Poppea to the throne. Agrippine promises to help Othon while Poppée is also courted by Nero and Claude ...
Why go see this opéra ?
Unpublished at the Met, Haendel's Agrippina illustrates the baroque repertoire that is poorly represented in the house. The staging, signed Sir David McVicar, transposes the story into an imaginary present where the Roman Empire would never have collapsed, with the American diva Joyce DiDonato interpreting the ambitious wife and mother.
Opera in italian subtitled in French.
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8.
LE VAISSEAU FANTÔME
Noew production
Date SAT 14 MARCH 2020 Time 17h25 Estimated run time 2h44
Composer Richard WAGNER Production François GIRARD Conductor Valery GERGIEV
Cast Bryn Terfel (Le Hollandais), Anja Kampe (Senta), Franz-Josef Selig (Daland), Sergey Skorokhodov (Erik)
The story
Blaspheming the passage of a difficult course, a Dutch sailor sentenced his ship to roam the waters, his crew can not land as every seven years. Arrived on a Norwegian coast, the unfortunate sailor finally intends to find the redemption that only the absolute love of a woman can grant him. When he meets the beautiful Senta, he is allowed to hope what he dared not see.
Pourquoi aller voir cet opéra ?
Québec's François Girard transforms the New York scene into a giant painting that accentuates the fantastic dimension of this nugget of Wagnerian youth, where unconditional love can be so powerful as to grant salvation to the damned navigator played by Bryn Terfel.
Opera in german subtitled in French.
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9.
TOSCA
Date SAT 25 APR 2020 Time 6.25 pm Estimate run time 3h17
Composer Giacomo PUCCINI Production Sir David MCVICAR Conductor Bertrand DE BILLY
Cast Anna Netrebko (Tosca), Michael Volle (Scarpia), Brian Jagde (Cavaradossi), Patrick Carfizzi (Sacristan)
The story
The political prisoner Angelotti has fled from his place of detention and will find help from his friend painter Cavaradossi. Baron Scarpia, chief of the police, suspecting the complicity of the painter, manipulates his lover Floria Tosca by taking advantage of his jealousy. He uses an odious blackmail which obliges the young woman to make a sacrifice to which she can not consent.
Why go see this opera ?
Art and love, politics and conspiracies: this essential repertoire knows how to keep everyone in the world on the alert for more than a century. Superstar Anna Netrebko takes on the role of the jealous singer Tosca in majestic settings that faithfully reconstruct the grandeur of the scene of the action masterpiece of master Puccini.
Opera in italian subtitled in French.
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10.
MARIA STUARDA
Date SAT 9 MAY 2020 Time 6.25 pm Estimated run time 3H06
Composer Gaetano DONIZETTI Production Sir David MCVICAR Conductor Maurizio BENINI
Cast Diana Damrau (Marie Stuart), Jamie Barton (Elisabeth), Stephen Costello (Leicester)
The story
Elizabeth, Queen of England, is in love with Leicester, appointed by her ambassador to the King of France. While her union with the sovereign across the Channel is preparing, Elizabeth tells Leicester that she reserves the right to cancel the marriage, hoping to soften it. In the face of her indifference, Elizabeth fears that Leicester fell under the spell of her cousin Mary, Queen of Scotland, whom she sentenced to death.
Why go see this opera ?
The central part of the Tudor trilogy, Donizetti delivers in Maria Stuarda her interpretation of the rivalry between the queens of Scotland and England through a score of remarkable beauty. On stage, Diana Damrau plays the unfortunate Marie, facing Jamie Barton who takes on the role of Elisabeth.
Opera in italian subtitled in French.
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