Tuesday, April 22, 2008

(Official) HD List in Met Press Release

It's even more exciting than we thought! Considering the fact that my local movie theater (which is within easy walking distance) has adopted the Met in HD, I am happy to announce that there will not be just 10 HD transmissions like Renee said during La Boheme, but there will be ELEVEN.
I'll save the best for last and give you these 10 first (straight from the Met website)...

Saturday, October 11, 2008 SALOME (1:00 p.m. EDT / 12:00 p.m. CDT / 11:00 a.m. MDT / 10:00 a.m. PDT/ 17:00 p.m. UTC / 18:00 p.m. BST / 19:00 CEST) – Soprano Karita Mattila reprises her acclaimed interpretation of the title character of Strauss’s Salome, with baritone Juha Uusitalo as Jochanaan. Mikko Franck conducts.

Saturday, November 8, 2008 DOCTOR ATOMIC (1:00 p.m. EST / 12:00 p.m. CST / 11:00 a.m. MST / 10:00 a.m. PST/ 18:00 p.m. UTC / 19:00 p.m. CET) – Penny Woolcock directs the Metropolitan Opera premiere of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic, starring Gerald Finley as Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and Sasha Cooke as his wife, Kitty, with Eric Owens and Richard Paul Fink. Alan Gilbert conducts. NEW PRODUCTION

Saturday, November 22, 2008 LA DAMNATION DE FAUST (1:00 p.m. EST / 12:00 p.m. CST / 11:00 a.m. MST / 10:00 a.m. PST/ 18:00 p.m. UTC; 19:00 p.m. CET) – Robert Lepage directs Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust, starring Marcello Giordani in the title role, with Susan Graham as Marguerite and John Relyea as Méphistophélès. James Levine conducts. (A new production reconceived in collaboration with Ex Machina for the Met, based on a co-production of the Saito Kinen Festival and Opéra National de Paris.) NEW PRODUCTION

Saturday, December 20, 2008 THAÏS (12:00 p.m. EST / 11:00 a.m. CST / 10:00 a.m. MST / 9:00 a.m. PST/ 17:00 p.m. UTC; 18:00 p.m. CET) – Renée Fleming stars in the title role of Massenet’s Thaïs, with Thomas Hampson as the monk Athanaël in John Cox’s production, which originated at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Jesús López-Cobos conducts. NEW PRODUCTION

Saturday, January 10, 2009 LA RONDINE (1:00 p.m. EST / 12:00 p.m. CST / 11:00 a.m. MST / 10:00 a.m. PST/ 18:00 p.m. UTC; 19:00 p.m. CET) – Nicolas Joël directs Puccini’s La Rondine, starring Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna in a production originally mounted by the Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Marco Armiliato conducts. (Co-production with the Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.) NEW PRODUCTION

Saturday, January 24, 2009 ORFEO ED EURIDICE (1:00 p.m. EST / 12:00 p.m. CST / 11:00 a.m. MST / 10:00 a.m. PST/ 18:00 p.m. UTC; 19:00 p.m. CET) – Stephanie Blythe and Danielle de Niese star in Mark Morris’s production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. James Levine conducts.

Saturday, February 7, 2009 LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (1:00 p.m. EST / 12:00 p.m. CST / 11:00 a.m. MST / 10:00 a.m. PST/ 18:00 p.m. UTC; 19:00 p.m. CET) – Dynamic opera duo Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón star in Mary Zimmerman’s acclaimed production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. Marco Armiliato conducts.

Saturday, March 7, 2009 MADAMA BUTTERFLY (1:00 p.m. EST / 12:00 p.m. CST / 11:00 a.m. MST / 10:00 a.m. PST/ 18:00 p.m. UTC; 19:00 p.m. CET) – Cristina Gallardo-Domâs sings the title role of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly in Anthony Minghella’s stunning production. Marcello Giordani stars as Pinkerton. Patrick Summers conducts.

Saturday, March 21, 2009 LA SONNAMBULA (1:00 p.m. EDT / 12:00 p.m. CDT / 11:00 a.m. MDT / 10:00 a.m. PDT/ 17:00 p.m. UTC; 18:00 p.m. CET) – Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez star in Mary Zimmerman’s new production of Bellini’s La Sonnambula, conducted by Evelino Pidò. NEW PRODUCTION

Saturday, May 9, 2009 LA CENERENTOLA (1:00 p.m. EDT / 12:00 p.m. CDT / 11:00 a.m. MDT / 10:00 a.m. PDT/ 17:00 p.m. UTC; 18:00 BST; 19:00 p.m. CEST) – Elīna Garanča stars in Rossini’s bel canto Cinderella story, La Cenerentola. Lawrence Brownlee stars as her Prince Charming, Don Ramiro. Maurizio Benini conducts.


AND MOST EXCITING OF ALL... IN NORTH AMERICA ONLY (sorry)...

Monday, September 22, 2008 OPENING NIGHT GALA (6:30 p.m. EDT / 5:30 p.m. CDT / tape delayed to 8:00 p.m. MDT / 7:00 p.m. PDT) – Opening Night Gala starring Renée Fleming in fully staged performances of scenes from three different operas: Verdi’s La Traviata (Act II), Massenet’s Manon (Act III), and the final scene from Richard Strauss’s Capriccio. Tenor Ramón Vargas and baritones Thomas Hampson and Dwayne Croft co-star. Met Music Director James Levine and Marco Armiliato conduct.

Woooooooooaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh... So just in case I can't get tickets to the actual opening night, I can either sit in the plaza/Times Square in the cold and watch it or I can sit in a nice warm movie theater. There is always the possibility that La Fleming will take a bow on the Grand Tier balcony a la Dessay this season, but we might have to take that chance.


Did I mention lately that Peter Gelb is my hero?

Happy Listening!!! =)

1 comment:

LinGin said...

You can guarantee that Ms. Fleming will take a bow on the Met balcony after the opening night performance. As will the entire cast. I've been to the first two opening nights of the Gelb regime. After the on stage bows the cast is taken through the Belmont Room to the balcony so the crowd in the Plaza can cheer.

Of course, the coming season is a gala and not a complete opera but I'm sure all the principal singers will be at the balcony. They have to make at least a token appearance at the dinner for the patrons and donors afterward.