If there is one musical you will be watching more than once, it’s the superb staged production of the iconic Carousel, featuring The New York Philharmonic on stage with a top cast starring Kelli O’Hara and Nathan Gunn and New York City Ballet dancers Robert Fairchild and Tiler Peck. The story tells of roguish carnival barker Billy Bigelow and millworker Julie Jordan, both loners, who meet and fall in love. Hailed by Time Magazine as “the best musical of the 20th Century”, Carousel is the second musical by the team of Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics), following the spectacular success of Oklahoma! The 1945 work was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline. It features some of Rodgers and Hammerstein's most iconic pieces, including “If I Loved You”, “Mister Snow”, “June is Bustin Out All Over” and the iconic “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. It streams until 7 September.
Anthony Minghella’s exquisite and beautiful, atmospheric production of Madama Butterfly (7/8) enhances Puccini’s drama of unfortunate, doomed love - an instant classic at the Met since its 2006 premiere - provides an evocative setting for this tragedy about a noble but naive geisha awaiting the return of her American Navy lieutenant. Key to the staging is symbolic visuals that tap into traditional Japanese culture while honouring the searching, timeless beauty of Puccini’s mid-career masterpiece. Soprano Kristine Opolais brings all of her passionate commitment to her portrayal of Cio-Cio-San, the teenage geisha who gives up everything for Lt. Pinkerton, with Roberto Alagna as the American naval officer who does not understand the depth of Cio-Cio-San’s love.
Wagner’s epic masterwork Parsifal (8/8) tells of a naïve young hero’s quest to restore the Holy Grail demands unparalleled stamina from singers, conductor and audience alike. Yet the payoff is an operatic experience as profound as anything in the canon, with overwhelming music and compelling psychological portraits. This classic telecast from 1992 features a quartet of the greatest Wagnerians of that era: Waltraud Meier as the enigmatic Kundry, Siegfried Jerusalem in the title role, Bernd Weikl as the suffering fallen knight Amfortas, and Kurt Moll as the philosophical Gurnemanz.
Handel’s breakout opera masterpiece, Agrippina (9/8) offers a wryly satirical look at the political manoeuvrings and personal entanglements of the Roman emperor Claudius, his cadre of advisers and hangers-on, and his cunning wife, Agrippina. This Baroque black comedy had its long-awaited Met premiere in a new production by Sir David McVicar that updated the action to the present age. Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato delivers a knockout performance of the title role, a woman who will stop at nothing to get her depraved son, Nero (sung by mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey), on the throne.
Imbuing the familiar Don Juan myth with a captivating combination of comedy, seductiveness, danger and damnation, Mozart created an enduring masterpiece that has been a cornerstone of the repertory since its 1787 premiere. Don Giovanni (10/8) offers a rare opportunity for two baritones to star alongside one another as the title Lothario and his faithful yet conflicted servant, Leporello, as well as three memorable female roles - multifaceted women who both suffer Don’s abuses and plot their revenge. Simon Keenlyside smoulders dangerously in the title role of Mozart’s version of the legend of Don Juan, creating a vivid portrait of a man who is a law unto himself, and all the more dangerous for his eternally seductive allure. Adam Plachetka is his occasionally unruly servant Leporello.
One of today’s most compelling singing actresses, Karita Mattila takes on the irresistible role of Manon Lescaut (11/8), the headstrong young woman torn between a life of luxury and the call of her true love: the Chevalier des Grieux, played by Marcello Giordani. The young Puccini lavished some of his most sensual music on this early hit, conducted here by the Met’s beloved James Levine.
Sir Richard Eyre’s high-energy production of Bizet’s ever-popular Carmen (12/8) stars French-Italian tenor Roberto Alagna as Don José, the wayward officer whose desperate love for the title Gypsy proves their undoing. The alluring mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine stars as Carmen, with soprano Aleksandra Kurzak as the demure Micaëla and bass Alexander Vinogradov as the swaggering bullfighter Escamillo. Maestro Louis Langrée was on the podium to conduct the opera’s classic score, which features one instantly recognisable melody after another.
Luciano Pavarotti is the elegant, reckless Duke of Mantua whose betrayal of the innocent Gilda (Christiane Eda-Pierre) leads to a tragic ending in Verdi’s Rigoletto (13/8). Louis Quilico plays Rigoletto, the court jester and Gilda’s father, who has dedicated his life to keeping his daughter away from the Duke - only to have her sacrifice her own life for the villainous nobleman. James Levine’s conducting brings out the scorching drama in Verdi’s unforgettable score.
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