The Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning Live in HD performances begins its fifth season at the USCB’s Center for the Arts featuring a wide selection of opera dramas and comedies written by some of the world’s greatest composers and performed by today’s finest singers.
The list includes:
Verdi’s “Macbeth,”
Saturday, October 11, 12:55 p.m.
Star soprano Anna Netrebko delivers her searing portrayal of Lady Macbeth, the mad and murderous mate of Zeljko Lucic’s doomed Macbeth, for the first time at the Met. Adrian Noble’s chilling production of Verdi’s masterful adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy also stars Joseph Calleja as the noble Macduff and Rene Pape as Banquo. Fabio Luisi conducts.
Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro,” Saturday October 18, 12:55 p.m.
Met Music Director James Levine conducts a spirited new production of Mozart’s masterpiece, directed by Richard Eyre, who sets the action of this classic domestic comedy in an 18th century manor house in Seville during the 1930s. Dashing bass-baritone Ildar Abdrazakov leads the cast in the title role of the clever servant, opposite Marlis Petersen as his bride, Susanna; Peter Mattei as the philandering Count they work for; Amanda Majeski as the long-suffering Countess, and Isabel Leonard as the libidinous pageboy Cherubino.
Bizet’s “Carmen,”
Saturday, November 1, 12:55 p.m.
Richard Eyre’s mesmerizing production of Bizet’s steamy melodrama returns with mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili singing her signature role of the ill-fated gypsy temptress. Aleksandrs Antonenko plays her desperate lover, the soldier Don Jose, and Ildar Abdrazakov is the swaggering bullfighter, Escamillo, who comes between them. Pablo Heras-Casado conducts the irresistible score, which features one beloved and instantly recognizable melody after another.
Rossini’s “Barber of Seville”
Saturday, November 22, 12:55 p.m.
The Met’s effervescent production of Rossini’s classic comedy – featuring some of the most instantly recognizable melodies in all of opera – stars Isabel Leonard as the feisty Rosina, Lawrence Brownlee as her conspiring flame, and Christopher Maltman as the endlessly resourceful and charming barber, Figaro. Michele Mariotti conducts the vivid and tuneful score.
Wagner’s Die Meistersinger, Saturday, December 13, 12 p.m.
James Levine returns to one of his signature Wagner works, conducting this epic comedy — back at the Met for the first time in eight years — about a group of Renaissance “master singers” whose contest unites a city. Johan Reuter, Johan Botha, and Annette Dasch lead the superb international cast in this charming and magisterial celebration of the power of music and art.
Beginning in January, 2015, the second half of the Met’s HD performances will feature Lehar’s “The Merry Widow” on January 17; Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffman” on January 31; a double bill of Tchaikovsky’s “Iolanta” and Bartok’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” on Wednesday, February 25; Rossini’s “La Donna del Lago” on March 14; and concluding with another double bill of Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” and Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci.” (Source: The Met Opera)
Ticket information: All seats are general admission: Adults $20; OLLI members $18; Students $10. Online orders available at www.uscbcenterforthearts.com or call the box office at 843-521-4145.
