Opera in NYC: Falstaff at the Metropolitan Opera

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

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: Andrea Bocelli at Met Opera

Opera in NYC: Andrea Bocelli at Met Opera

Andrea Bocelli returns to MetOpera stage with Italian Opera Favorites recital on February 10, 2020 at 7.30 pm

Andrea Bocelli at the piano at Premio Faraglioni 2009
Andrea Bocelli at Premio Faraglioni 2009; photo by Sannita / Image licensed by Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Andrea Bocelli returns to New York for two Sunday evenings of operatic recitals at the Metropolitan Opera House. The program will feature the opera fan’s favorite love duets, arias, and songs. Bocelli will appear with renown international stars and members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra under the baton of Eugene Kohn. These unique musical events promise an unforgettable joy and entertainment.

This year recital by the master of Italian Opera follows a pair of triumphant recitals on the MetOpera stage in 2019. Before 2019, Bocelli was absent from the Met Opera stage for the past seven years, so his return was highly anticipated by the delighted fans. This year recital is another treat for the lucky audience promising a genuine performance of the timeless favorites. Click below for tickets:

Monday, February 10, 2020 at 7.30 pm         BUY TICKETS

 

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Theater in NYC: Bunin / Berberova – In Paris / The Waiter and the Slut

Theater in NYC: Bunin / Berberova – In Paris / The Waiter and the Slut

RETURNING for an ENCORE RUN in DECEMBER, 2019

The Russian Arts Theater & Studio presents an elegant and subtle parable of the life in exile based on Ivan Bunin’s and Nina Berbersova’s stories; at Pushkin Hall from December 18 – 28, 2019

Theater poster for Bunin/Berberova: In Paris / The Waiter and the Slut
Theater poster for Bunin/Berberova: In Paris / The Waiter and the Slut / Image courtesy of The Russian Arts Theater & Studio

This summer, The Russian Arts Theater and Studio presents two gripping love stories by Russian émigré writers: Nobel Prize winner Ivan Bunin and the provocative Nina Berberova.

Driven to exile following the revolution, former Russian aristocrats now find themselves isolated as new immigrants in Paris. Their new lives are spent battling sickness, searching for affordable apartments and waiting in pawn shops. Ivan Bunin’s In Paris tells the brief and bittersweet story about the encounter of an ex-general of the old imperial army and Olga Alexandrovna, a young woman now working as a waitress in a Russian restaurant. Upon a chance meeting, they momentarily find a sense of home in each other’s arms. In Nina Berberova’s raw and searing The Waiter And The Slut, Tania, the daughter of a St. Petersburg big-shot, now finds herself in Paris, where her husband dies in a mental hospital and she is reduced to surviving on meals paid for by male admirers. As she ages, her admirers grow more grotesque, and she soon finds herself trapped in a devastating affair with a waiter—a man she soon grows to hate.

Directed by Aleksey Burago, the company’s artistic director, with the set design by Natalia Danilova, the production skillfully incorporates Edith Piaf’s songs and vintage film rolls and photographs of Paris in the 1930s to set the mood for a seemingly simple yet deeply disturbing tales. The choice of contrasting colors for the stage decor, airy and light for In Paris and gloomy and dark for The Waiter and the Slut, accentuates the pain and desperation. The nuanced read of Berberova’s prose by the director leaves aside the extreme misery of the characters’ situation which could make an opening for another play. Genuine acting by the cast of Roman Freud, Luisa Menzen, Tom Schubert, and Di Zhu keeps the spectators on edge and delivers a terrific theater night for every theater and literature lover!

Directed by Aleksey Burago

Based on the short stories of Ivan Bunin and Nina Berberova; performed in English

Adapted by Fred Pezzulli

Set Design by Natalia Danilova

Featuring: Roman Freud, Luisa Menzen, Tom Schubert & Di Zhu

 

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Dates: December 18 – 28, 2019

Venue: Pushkin Hall, 165 W 86th St, New York, NY 10024

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Music in NYC: Pavel Nersessian, Piano and Katrin Bulke, Soprano in GetClassical Recital

Music in NYC: Pavel Nersessian, Piano and Katrin Bulke, Soprano in GetClassical Recital

GetClassical and the Foundation For The Revival Of Classical Culture in collaboration with St. John’s in the Village open their inaugural season with a program of Mozart, Schubert, Bellini, and Verdi performed by Pavel Nersessian, piano, and Katrin Bulke, soprano; on Sat. Sept. 21 at 7.30 pm

Pavel Nersessian, piano and Katrin Bulke, soprano
Pavel Nersessian, piano and Katrin Bulke, soprano / Image courtesy of the musicians

A very special selection of songs and arias by Mozart, Schubert, Bellini, and Verdi opens a new classical music series organized by GetClassical in School. Pavel Nersessian, a Russian piano master recognized for the lyrical breadth and elegance of style, is teaming up with a German soprano Katrin Bulke for an evening of gorgeous music.

Inspired by the success of Rhapsody in School, a popular program that introduces classical music and musicians to school students in Germany, GetClassical in School aims to share the joy and spark the love of classical music amongst school children in New York City. To do that, the musicians participating in the program are visiting city classrooms bringing with them the gift of classical music to students. The initiative is supported by the Foundation For The Revival of Classical Culture, Naxos of America, Inc., among other organizations.

The season-opening recital takes place at St.John’s in the Village on Saturday, September 21, 2019 at 7.30 pm.

Online prices: $25; At the door prices: $30             BUY TICKETS

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