Royal Opera Ballet
The Sleeping Beauty holds a special place in The Royal Ballet’s unique repertory. The masterful 19th-century choreography of Marius Petipa is combined with sections created for The Royal Ballet by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon. Together they create an enchanting sequence of ballet gems, the most famous of which is the stunning Rose Adage, when Aurora meets her four royal suitors. The many other highlights include the lilting Garland Waltz, the Vision Pas de deux as Florimund sees Aurora for the first time, and the celebratory divertissements and final pas de deux that bring the ballet to its glorious close. Throughout, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky’s masterful score takes ballet music to a height of passion, sophistication and intensity that arguably has never been surpassed. Starring Fumi Kaneko as Princess Aurora, Federico Bonelli asPrince Florimund and Gina Storm-Jensen asthe Lilac Fairy. Available until 7 August 2020
David McVicar’s dramatic production of Il Trovatore (31 July), first seen in 2009, highlights the raw emotions that drive Verdi’s turbulent tale of love and revenge. The clichéd quip, attributed to Enrico Caruso, is that it’s easy to put on a great performance of Verdi’s hot-blooded potboiler—all you need is the four best singers in the world. In this Live in HD transmission, the Met sought to do just that, assembling a powerhouse quartet to tackle the daunting principal roles: Sondra Radvanovsky, Dolora Zajick, Marcelo Álvarez, and the late Dmitri Hvorostovsky. The four stars tear into Verdi’s thrilling score, packed from beginning to end with memorable arias, searing and swooning duets, and rousing ensemble and choral numbers. Leonora (Sondra Radvanovsky) and the outlawed Manrico (Marcelo Álvarez) are passionately in love. But Manrico’s political enemy, Count di Luna (Dmitri Hvorostovsky), wants Leonore for himself. Meanwhile, Manrico’s mother, the gypsy Azucena (Dolora Zajick), has been keeping a horrible family secret. It’s a combustible combination that eventually leads to a tragic outcome. Watch here
Rusalka (1 August) is a cornerstone of Czech opera. Dvořák’s dark and melodious take on the old Slavic yarn about a water nymph who falls in love with a human entered the repertoire in 1901. In recent decades, it has become a staple for lyric sopranos, who relish the title role’s spellbinding Song to the Moon in the first act—although the greatest challenge might be the nymph’s silent second act, after the love-struck Rusalka trades her voice to a scenery-chewing witch for the chance to become human. Since her 2013 debut as Magda in La Rondine, Kristine Opolais has become familiar to Met audiences in the works of Giacomo Puccini. In 2016, the soprano’s performances as the title heroine of Dvořák’s Rusalka allowed her to show off another of her signature roles. In a new production by Mary Zimmerman, this classic tale of a water sprite yearning to become a human to find love starts as a whimsical fairytale but quickly develops into a heartbreaking tragedy. On the podium, Sir Mark Elder leads a stirring account of Dvořák’s score, drawing a rich palette of musical colors from the Met Orchestra. Tenor Brandon Jovanovich gives a virile performance as the infatuated Prince, alongside bass Eric Owens as Rusalka’s father, the Water Gnome, and Jamie Barton as the devilish sorceress Ježibaba.
Verdi’s early masterpiece Ernani (2 August) is based on a Victor Hugo play with a complicated plot concerning a young woman and the three men vying for her affections—her elderly uncle, a king destined to become Holy Roman Emperor, and a bandit who is actually an overthrown nobleman. Though there is plenty of action arising from the various passions and grudges scattered among these characters, the opera is best appreciated as a feast of beautiful and dramatic Italianate singing. With virtuosic roles for a quartet of principals, the opera delivers one feat of heroic vocalism after another. Pier Luigi Samaritani’s romantic production beautifully captures the sweep and passion of Verdi’s music. With James Levine’s marvelous conducting, this cast makes a spectacular case for Verdi’s opera. The great Luciano Pavarotti is at his stunning best in the title role as the wronged nobleman turned bandit. A beautiful and heartbreaking Leona Mitchell is Elvira, the woman he loves. But she is also pursued by two other men: King Don Carlo (Sherrill Milnes in one of his greatest roles) and her aged guardian, Don Ruy Gomez de Silva (a superb Ruggero Raimondi). From 17 December 1983.
The second installment of Wagner’s four-part Ring cycle, Die Walküre (3 August) is the most popular and most self-contained episode in the epic tetralogy. It combines the mythical machinations of gods and demigods with the deeply human love story of the brave hero Siegmund and the dignified Sieglinde, whose passion is undiminished even when they discover that they are long-lost brother and sister, separated at birth. It also features one of opera’s most touching father-daughter relationships—that between Wotan, king of the gods, and his warrior-maiden daughter Brünnhilde, leader of the Valkyries. Wagner’s score requires singers as superhuman as the characters they portray and features some of the most glorious orchestral music ever written, making for an unforgettable operatic experience. In this Live in HD transmission of the second and most popular installment in the composer’s sweeping tetralogy, Chtistine Goerke is joined by bass-baritone Greer Grimsley as Brünnhilde’s godly father, Wotan, and mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as his unbending wife, Fricka. As the incestuous lovers Siegmund and Sieglinde, soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek and tenor Stuart Skelton—alongside bass Günther Groissböck as Sieglinde’s bloodthirsty husband, Hunding—round out the principal cast. And on the podium, Maestro Philippe Jordan conducts Robert Lepage’s innovative staging, which uses state-of-the-art stage technology to tell Wagner’s mythic tale. From March 30, 2019.
Adults and children will be enchanted by the whimsical humor and breathtaking puppetry of Julie Taymor’s hit production of Mozart’s Magic Flute (4 August), presented in a shortened English-language version. Under the baton of Maestro James Levine, a winning ensemble cast – including Nathan Gunn, Ying Huang, Matthew Polenzani, Erika Miklosa, and René Pape – brings fresh life to Mozart’s timeless fairy tale.
New tenor star Vittorio Grigolo takes on the title role in Offenbach’s fantastical opera Les Contes d’Hoffmann (5 August) , giving a tour-de-force performance as the tortured poet unlucky in love. He is joined by a trio of leading ladies: Erin Morley sings the mechanical doll Olympia, Hibla Gerzmava is the fragile Antonia, and Christine Rice sings Giulietta, the Venetian courtesan. Bartlett Sher’s colorful production, seen here in its second Live in HD presentation, also stars Thomas Hampson as the sinister Four Villains and Kate Lindsey as Niklausse, Hoffmann’s friend and muse. Yves Abel conducts.
This evocative production of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra (6 August) by Giancarlo Del Monaco sumptuously captures the look and feel of 14th century Genoa and is a perfect compliment to Verdi’s setting of this story of searing conflict between public duty and private grief. Plácido Domingo is Gabriele Adorno, sworn enemy of the doge of Genoa, Simon Boccanegra (Vladimir Chernov). Gabriele is in love with the beautiful Amelia (Kiri Te Kanawa at her most affecting) who turns out to be none other than the long-lost daughter the doge. James Levine’s authoritative conducting of the Met orchestra and chorus reveals the dark power of Verdi’s score.
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