“Free” and “Party.” It would take me a good week and a half of thrashing through thesauri to come up with two other words that, when combined, would force anyone out of the house and into the warm embrace of a social life. If your Hurricane Irene party didn’t go quite as planned, and you are searching for a way to release all that excess desire to let loose and groove then allow the Metropolitan Opera to provide with a FREE venue and FREE entertainment! This is the third summer that the Metropolitan Opera is hosting its outdoor Live in HD festival at the Lincoln Center campus. For the next week, you can enjoy 7 superb opera performances on the big screen with hundreds, if not thousands, of other party goers, basking in the twilight of late summer with good company and some of the greatest stories ever sung!
Saturday, August 27. 8:00 PM Cancelled! :-(
Don Pasquale (Italian)
Music by Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto by Giovanni Ruffini
Original MET Transmission: November 13, 2010
Don Pasquale (John Del Carlo), a rich old guy, decides to get married to teach his lazy nephew, who is his sole heir, a lesson! Doctor Malatesta (Mariusz Kwiecen) offers his sister, Soffronia. For some reason Ernesto (Matthew Polenzani) decides that his pending disinheritance is enough to break up with his girlfriend Norina (Anna Netrebko) and move to America. BUT! Malatesta has a plan: he will introduce Norina to Pasquale as Sofronia and their marriage will be "officiated" by Pasquale's cousin. As is usually the case whenever a group of people decide to deceive one another, hilarity ensues. The moral of the opera? "Don't get married if you're too old!" No, really. It's the last number in the whole opera...
Recommended Recordings (Available at the New York Public Library of Performing Arts)
1. Tito Schipa (Ernesto), Adelaide Saraceni (Norina), Ernesto Badini (Don Pasquale), Afro Poli (Malatesta) **SJT's Choice!**
2. Mirella Freni (Norina), Leo Nucci (Malatesta), Gosta Windbergh (Ernesto), Sesto Bruscantini (Don Pasquale)
Highlights
Bella siccome un angelo!
Qual guardo il cavalier...So anch'io virtù la magica! - Norina
Sunday, August 28. 8:00PM Cancelled! :-(
Simon Boccanegra (Italian)
Music by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave
Original MET Transmission: February 6, 2010
No composer explored the pregnant dramatic possibilities as frequently or with as much insight as Giuseppe Verdi. Simon Boccanegra is an intimate examination of one man who, in just three acts, is the young lover, the able and altruistic leader, and a loving father. In this February 2010 performance at the Metropolitan Opera, the sixty-something Placido Domingo, whose epic career has spanned five decades and well over 120 roles, brings passion and acute psychological nuance to one of Verdi's most layered, passionate, and touching operas.
Recommended Recordings
1. Tito Gobbi (Simon), Victoria de los Angeles (Amelia), Giuseppe Campora (Gabriele), Boris Christoff (Fiesco)
**SJT's Choice!"
2. Piero Cappuccilli (Simon), Mirella Freni (Amelia), Jose Carreras (Gabriele), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Fiesco)
Highlights
Il lacerato spirito - Fiesco
Come in quest'ora bruna - Amelia
Orfanella il tetto umile - Amelia/Simon
Plebe! Patrizi! Popoli! - Simon
Monday, August 29. 8:00PM
IPHIGÉNIE EN TAURIDE (French)
Music by Christoph Willibald Glück
Libretto by Nicolas François Guillard
Original MET Transmission: February 26, 2011
Exhausted by the extraneous frivolity of Baroque opera, Christoph Willibald Glück looked back to Greek drama in order to rescue opera from convoluted opulence and restore it to simple and meaningful storytelling. Iphigénie en Tauride is his adaptation of the drama of the same name by Euripides. Iphigénie's father, Agamemnon, sacrificed her to the gods to secure success in the Trojan War. She is rescued by the goddess Diana and is taken to the island of Tauris to act as an oracle in Diana's temple, performing ritual sacrifices as a virtual prisoner. When she is ordered to sacrifice two strangers, Iphigénie cannot raise her arm against them as if some supernatural force within her is precluding the action. Unlike most operas, Iphigénie en Tauride does not rely on a pair of lovers to fuel the drama, but it is at once a rescue drama, character portrait, and a testament of the invisible and indestructible ties between family.
Recommended Recordings
1. In Italian, Live Recording: Maria Callas (Ifigenia), Dino Dondi (Oreste), Francesco Albanese (Pilade), Anselmo Colanzi (Toante) ***SJT's Choice!***
2. Mireille Delunsch (Iphigénie), Simon Keenlyside (Oreste), Yann Beuron (Pylade), Laurent Naouri (Thoas)
3. Carol Vanes (Iphigénie), Thomas Allen (Oreste), Gosta Windbergh (Pylade), Giorgio Surian (Thoas)
Highlights
O toi que prolongues mes vies - Iphigénie
Dieux qui me poursuivez - Oreste
Tuesday, August 30. 8:00PM
LA RONDINE (Italian)
Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Giuseppe Adami
If there were to be an operatic version of a Shakespearean "problem play," then Puccini's La Rondine is it! This delicately tragic opera is Puccini's answer to the light Viennese operetta and his only attempt at writing a comedy. Magda, a young and popular courtesan, is introduced to the naïve and doe-eyed Ruggiero by her "sugar daddy" (is there really any other way to put it?) They fall madly in love, cavort in cafe's with their BFFs and dramatic counterparts, Lisette and Prunier, and then vacation in the south of France where Ruggiero suddenly decides "Let's get married!" But Magda can't! Ruggiero doesn't know anything about her history and she knows that the scandal would ruin him. While the story of La Rondine is nothing new - it is actually nearly identical to La Traviata, Manon Lescaut, and Moulin Rouge - Puccini's blend of tragic love story with the ubiquitous and whimsical waltz breaks your heart with a smile.
Recommended Recordings
1. Angela Gheorghiu (Magda), Roberto Alagna (Ruggiero), Christopher Merritt (Prunier), Inva Mula (Lisette)
Highlights
Chi il bel sogno di Doretta - Magda
Ore dolce e divine - Magda
Bevo al tuo fresco sorriso - Magda/Ruggiero/Lisette/Prunier
The Whole Final Scene! - Magda/Ruggiero
Wednesday, August 31.
NIXON IN CHINA (English)
Music by John Adams (No, not the president)
Libretto by Alice Goodman
Original MET Transmission: February 12, 2011
An opera about Richard Nixon's historic visit to China written by a fella who shares a name with one of the Founding Fathers of the United States (John Adams not John Quincy Adams. I'm winking at you, Michelle Bachmann!) The patriotism is almost too much to handle! This quintessential minimalism opera debuted in 1987 with James Maddalena in the title role. This 2011 performance was the Metropolitan Opera debut of this massively important American opera which is not only an artistic triumph but it's popular with the kids too!
Recommended Recordings
1. James Maddalena (Richard Nixon), Carolann Page (Pat Nixon).
Highlights
News! News! News! - Nixon
I am the wife of Mao Zedong - Madame Mao Zedong
Thursday, September 1. 7:45PM
CARMEN (French)
Music by Georges Bizet
Libretto by Henri Melihac and Ludovic Halévy
Original MET Transmission: January 16, 2010
Carmen is your quintessential bad girl. You could go so far as to say that she is the Lady Gaga of Seville except with less adventurous hair and I am pretty sure that Lady Gaga has never seduced her way out of jail but don't quote me on that. Since its controversial 1876 premiere, Carmen has been at the forefront of standard operatic repertory, and it is in many ways the mother of the realistic or verismo operas that dominated the business until World War II. This production by Richard Eyre brings out the raw sensuality and humanity of the opera without ignoring its cultural significance as a symbol of opera at its grandest. The Latvian mezzo Elina Garanca imbues Carmen with a icy, sociopathic sexiness while the fiery French-Siclian Roberto Alagna contributes a lusty, old-school abandon as the weak and impassioned Don José.
Recommended Recordings
1. Grace Bumbry (Carmen), Jon Vickers (Don José), Mirella Freni (Micaëla), Kostas Paskalis (Escamillo)
2. Maria Callas (Carmen), Nicolai Gedda (Don José), Andrea Guiot (Micaëla), Robert Massard (Escamillo)
***SJT's Choice!***
3. Leontyne Price (Carmen), Franco Corelli (Don José), Mirella Freni (Micaëla), Robert Merrill (Escamillo)
Highlights
L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habañera) - Carmen
Parle-moi de ma mère - Don José and Micaëla
Seguèdille - Carmen and Don José
La fleur que tu m'avais jeteé - Don José
Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante - Micaëla
C'est toi? - C'est moi! - Carmen and Don José
Friday, September 2. 8:00PM
LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST (Italian)
Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Guelfo Civinini
Original MET Transmission: January 8, 2011
THIS IS ONE OF MY TOP TEN FAVORITE OPERAS. GO SEE IT.
As a young teenager I discovered two things: The Metropolitan Opera broadcasts and FREE opera scores online. What a combination! During the summer, however, WQXR plays broadcasts from other opera houses around the world, and this is how I was introduced to La Fanciulla del West, Puccini's 1910 opera that had its WORLD premiere at none other than the Metropolitan Opera! Although Fanciulla is not on many people's list of Top 5 Puccini operas, the composer himself considered it to be his masterpiece and I wholeheartedly agree! While Boheme, Tosca, Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot are overflowing with Italian fire, drama, and impetus, Fanciulla is full of subtle feelings, nuance, humility that contribute to an overall message that yes, there is good in ALL of us!
Recommended Recordings
1. Gigliola Frazzoni (Minnie), Franco Corelli (Dick Johnson), Tito Gobbi (Jack Rance)
2. Renata Tebaldi (Minnie), Mario del Monaco (Dick Johnson), Cornell MacNeil (Jack Rance)
3. Live Recording Renata Tebaldi (Minnie), Daniele Baroni (Dick Johnson) Gian Giacomo Guelfi (Jack Rance)
Highlights
Minnie, dalla mia casa - Jack Rance
Laggiù nel Soledad - Minnie
Or son sei mesi - Dick Johnson
Una partita a poker! - Minnie/Rance
Ch'ella mi creda - Dick Johnson
Saturday, September 3. 7:15.
BORIS GODUNOV (Russian)
Music by Modest Mussorgsky (Impress your Russian speaking friends by placing the stress on the first syllable. MU-zorgsky)
Libretto by Modest Mussorgsky based on Aleksandr Pushkin's drama of the same name
Original MET Transmission: October 23, 2010
I ALSO LOVE THIS OPERA. GO SEE IT.
Stephen Wadsworth is a genius. It is extraordinarily difficult to make Boris Godunov a compelling, human drama since it has been cut, manipulated, bloated and disparaged by anyone who could get their hands on it since the premiere of the FIRST version in 1867. It is an opera about many things - the formation of a Russian, the peasantry, political corruption, political ethics, and the private lives of our leaders. Wadsworth's 2010 production at the Metropolitan Opera, starring the incomparable Rene Pape as the eponymous character, successfully juxtaposes the grandiloquence of the opera - the enormous, shimmering golden sets, the overflowing chorus of peasants and boyars with the fascinating private lives of the protagonists and antagonists, retreating into private chambers. The enormity of the stage at the Metropolitan Opera which looks out into the enormity of the house itself does not lend itself well to to intimacy, but the choice not to keep everything big brought out the humanity of the opera, especially that of the title character.
Recommended Recordings
1. Boris Christoff (Boris Godunov), Evelyn Lear (Marina), Dimitri Ouzounov (Grigory)
Highlights
Boris's Monologue and Death
Sunday, September 4. 8:00PM
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Italian)
Music by Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto by Salvadore Cammarano
Original MET Transmission: March 19, 2011
Operas like Lucia di Lammermoor are not easy for modern audiences to understand, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try! Lucia has rarely left the operatic stage since its premiere in 1835 so there must be SOMETHING about it that makes it continuously relevant and exciting! When Lucia's brother, Enrico, forces her to marry Arturo to secure an alliance between the two families, Lucia literally goes insane. She had already promised herself to Edgardo, but when he learns of what he sees as her betrayal, he renounces her. Lucia is led to the marital chamber where she murders Arturo and goes insane herself. In one of the most famous and disturbing scenes in opera, the blood-soaked Lucia imagines her wedding to Edgardo, sees a ghost (of herself?) covered in blood, and then playfully berates her family for what they have done to her, before she collapses in exhaustion.
In order to understand Lucia as a character, its important to realize that she literally had NO way out. What was she, a sixteen year old, supposed to do when her powerful brother, who is her guardian, demands her to marry someone for political reasons? She couldn't complain about it in her Facebook status and then drive to the mall with her friends! Lucia's only escape from society's rules is her insanity. It is the only time that the true psychology of the character is revealed through her own words.
Recommended Recordings
1. Maria Callas (Lucia), Giuseppe di Stefano (Edgardo), Tito Gobbi (Enrico) ***SJT's Choice!***
2. Roberta Peters (Lucia), Jan Peerce (Edgardo), Philip Maero (Enrico)
3. Joan Sutherland (Lucia), Luciano Pavarotti (Edgardo), Sherrill Milnes (Enrico)
Highlights
Regnava nel silenzio...Quando rapito in estasi - Lucia
Sulla tomba! - Lucia and Edgardo
Soffriva nel pianto - Lucia and Enrico
Chi mi frena in tal momento! - Lucia, Edgardo, Enrico, Alisa, Arturo and Raimondo
Il dolce suono...Spargi d'amaro pianto! (THE MAD SCENE!!!) - Lucia
Tombe degli avi miei...Fra poco a me - Edgardo
Monday, September 5. 7:15PM
DON CARLO (Italian)
Music by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by Camille de Locle and Joseph Méry
Original Transmission: December 11, 2010
Incest, torture, jealousy, deception, religious corruption, and eternal friendship. Oh, and a princess with an eye patch! Don Carlo is Verdi's sprawling, problematic masterwork. At its shortest the opera is 4 hours long. Performed in the original, uncut French version it is over 5 hours long. ZOMG, but don't let them intimate you. Despite its largesse, Don Carlo is a work of touching intimacy, a peerless insight into the psychology of a character. As audience members, we try to polarize the character's on stage: who's good and who's bad? With the exception of the Grand Inquisitor, it is impossible to demonize or beatify one character. We see almost every side of their story - their rage, their authority, their vulnerability. Every character wants something specific and it is their desires and their personal reactions to the obstacles that drives the drama.
Recommended Recordings
1. Michael Sylvester (Don Carlo), Aprile Millo (Elisabetta), Dolora Zajick (Eboli), Vladimir Chernov (Rodrigo)
2. Carlo Bergonzi (Don Carlo), Renata Tebaldi (Elisabetta), Grace Bumbry (Eboli), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Rodrigo)
***SJT's Choice!***
3. Luciano Pavarotti (Don Carlo), Daniela Dessì (Elisabetta), Luciana d'Intino (Eboli), Paolo Coni (Rodrigo)
Highlights
L'ho perduto! - Carlo
Io vengo a domandar grazia alla mia Regina - Carlo and Elisabetta
Nel giardin del bello - Eboli
Non pianger mia campagna - Elisabetta
Ella gammai m'amò - Filippo
O don fatale - Eboli
Per me giunto il dì supremo - Rodrigo
Tu che le vanità - Elisabetta
Ma lassù ci vedremo - Carlo and Elisabetta
To Figaro's surprise the area is within simple earshot of their masters gong, which Figaro thinks will offer possibilities for the Depend Almaviva to call for Susanna at any time of day or evening, particularly while Figaro has been arrested by some other responsibility in his responsibilities as the count's valet.Operatic Trojan princess
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