Opera in HD: Verdi’s Aida at the Met Opera

April 24, 2020May 1, 2020 arts-NY

Opera in HD: Verdi’s Aida at the Met Opera

Monumental Met Opera production of a timeless masterpiece by Verdi with the incomparable Leontyne Price in the title role and historic star-studded cast recorded in 1985

Stream from home on May 1, 2020

A scene from Verdi's Aida at MetOpera; Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera — A scene from Verdi’s Aida at MetOpera; Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera

Verdi’s Aida, the ultimate Grand Opera, is a highlight of every opera season. The grandeur of the music calls for an equally magnificent cast.

The live recording of Aida in January of 1985 was Price’s farewell to the opera world which, brought historic significance to the event. The role of Amneris was performed by Fiorenza Cossotto with James McCracken as Radames and James Levine conducting.

The stage design recreates the pompous style of the Old Kingdom architecture in all its sumptuousness. The production director matched the decor with hundreds of performers including four horses, two brass choirs, ballet dancers, and supernumeraries trooping the stage. It all aims to convey the might and power of Egypt’s Pharaoh. And it surely fulfills the intent. That state omnipotence is skillfully contrasted against the lonely and touching scenes of soul-searching, love, and despair. This is the theater in all its might with its tricks finely brought together for the joy of the opera fans.

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Opera in NYC: Falstaff at the Metropolitan Opera

March 4, 2019April 10, 2020 contact@arts-ny.com 1 Comment

Opera in NYC: Falstaff at the Metropolitan Opera

Verdi’s final opera Falstaff fills the house with magnificent ensemble singing. Bring the Metropolitan Opera’s magnificent experience to your home via streaming

The review and the cast is based on the 2019 performances

Ailyn Pérez as Alice and Ambrogio Maestri in the title role of Verdi's "Falstaff." — Ailyn Pérez as Alice and Ambrogio Maestri in the title role of Verdi’s “Falstaff.” Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera

Robert Carsen’s vibrant and colorful 2013 production of Verdi’s Falstaff brings together a powerful ensemble of opera stars with Ambrogio Maestri, baritone, in the title role, Ailyn Perez, soprano as Alice Ford, and Golda Schultz, soprano as Alice’s daughter Nannetta. Carsen’s clever shift from Shakespearean time to the mid-20th century expresses complex themes of renewal, gender equality, fidelity, and trust while telling an enlightening and joyful story full of lighthearted jokes, fateful misunderstandings, and a happy ending.

Falstaff, the last of Verdi’s operas, was based on Shakespeare’s comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor. The majestic music by the Italian master combined with a witty storyline in the libretto written by Arrigo Boito, an opera composer in his own right, makes for a triumphant career finale for Verdi. In this season’s MetOpera production, Maestri’s confidence and gusto in the portrayal of a fateful Falstaff fit perfectly with the rest of the powerful cast. Brightly colored stage design and vivid costumes add hilarity and buoyancy to the plot. The free-flowing ensemble singing creates a production that is a lively fete for the actors and a delight for opera lovers.

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Opera in NYC: Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera

February 27, 2020March 13, 2020 arts-NY 1 Comment

Opera in NYC: Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera

Performances have been cancelled through March 31, 2020

Love, idealism, and ruse in a thrilling drama by Giacomo Puccini

Returning to the MetOpera in the Spring 2020 with Anna Netrebko and Jennifer Rowley alternating in the title role; performances start from March 26, 2020

Scene from act I of Pucinni's Tosca at MetOpera — Act I of David McVicar’s new production of Puccini’s “Tosca”;photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

A superb production of Puccini’s Tosca by Sir David McVicar at the Met Opera, which has premiered in the 2017-2018 season, offers a grand theatrical experience for the opera fans. The performances are restarting from March 26, 2020. This season the production features an extraordinary cast of singers with a forceful presence on stage. Two opera divas, Anna Netrebko and Jennifer Rowley are sharing the title role with Najmiddin Mavlyanov and Brian Jagde singing Cavaradossi, and George Gagnidze and Michael Volle alternating as Scarpias. Maestro Bertrand de Billy is conducting.

The set and costume design for this production is done by John Macfarlane, who as a painter is adding to the depth of the characters through the rich design of the decorations and the period costumes. McVicar’s production which a review by AP describes as “similar to Zeffirelli’s” is replacing a spare modern staging of Tosca by Luc Bondy which was not warmly received by the Met opera buffs. Get tickets at 20% off ; from $30.

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Opera in NYC: Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro at The MetOpera

January 24, 2020July 7, 2021 arts-NY 1 Comment

Opera in NYC: Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro at The MetOpera

The Metropolitan Opera presents Le Nozze Di Figaro by Mozart in the modernized setting with two exceptional international casts; performances continue in February 2020

Susanna Phillips as the Countess, Nadine Sierra as Susanna, and Luca Pisaroni as Figaro in Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro." — Susanna Phillips as the Countess, Nadine Sierra as Susanna, and Luca Pisaroni as Figaro in Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro.” Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera

A cornerstone of any opera house’s repertoire, Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro is presented by the MetOpera in Sir Richard Eyre’s dynamic production with two exceptional casts. In the Fall 2019 sopranos Nadine Sierra and Susanna Phillips; mezzo-soprano Gaëlle Arquez; baritone Mariusz Kwiecien; and bass-baritones Luca Pisaroni and Adam Plachetka sing. Sopranos Anita Hartig and Hanna-Elisabeth Müller; mezzo-soprano Marianne Crevasse; and bass-baritone Mariusz Kwiecien take the charge in February 2020.

Premiered at the Met in the 2014-2015 season, the current production transposes the action from the late 18th century Spain to an elegant villa of the 1930s. Cleverly employing the rotating stage for the fast change of the decor and uninterrupted action when moving from scene to scene, the creators and the cast present a highly entertaining and instructive storyline about the virtues of love, decency, loyalty, and the vice of jealousy. The orchestral fluidity under the baton of Antonella Manacorda, sets the pace.

The libretto for the opera was written by Mozart’s favored collaborator Lorenzo Da Ponte. Da Ponte adapted a popular play La Folle Journée, ou Le Mariage de Figaro by Beaumarchais for his libretto which he completed even before Mozart started writing music for the opera. Ingeniously sequencing the comic scenes with hidings and cross-dressings, Beaumarchais’s play denounces the feudal rules and highlights the wits and smarts of the lower classes. According to Beaumarchais’s contemporaries, the play foreshadowed the French Revolution.

At the MetOpera, Le Nozze’s magical music and catchy arias are delivered by the incredible cast with confidence and mastery. Luca Pisaroni as Figaro sings with grace and warmth and is perfectly attuned to the velvety palette of Nadine Serra’s voice as Susanna. The beauty of the duets and the ensemble arias are well-matched by the orchestral work while the comic scenes and the moments of tension are skillfully calibrated and are presented with vitality and affection.

Enjoy the vibrant production of the timeless masterpiece by Mozart and Da Ponte.

The opera’s run time is 3 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission; sung in Italian with the subtitles.

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Category: Opera