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The Metropolitan Opera's groundbreaking series: The Met: Live in HD returns to the Hop this year with nine live broadcasts. With four new productions, this beloved program delivers the grandeur and excitement of world-class opera in startling high definition and digital surround sound. Employing ten robotic cameras and state-of-the-art technology, The Met: Live in HD captures the onstage action from striking angles and heightens attention to the narrative elements of both performance and production. Behind-the-scenes features, live interviews with cast and crew, insightful short documentaries and bird's-eye views offer an unprecedented look at the staging of an opera. The Hop presents both the live Met opera and its encore performance the next day. Ticket prices are the same for both shows, and either day can be chosen when buying the Met Pass. PucciniTOSCANew Production “Tosca combines Puccini's glorious musical inspiration with the melodramatic vitality of one of the great Hitchcock films,” says Met Music Director James Levine, who conducts this new production. The opera tells the story of three people—a famous opera singer, a free-thinking painter and a sadistic chief of police—caught in a net of love and politics. Soprano Karita Mattila, recently seen in last season's Salome, sings the title role for the first time outside her native Finland. Luc Bondy, acclaimed for his imaginative theater and opera productions, directs. The cast also includes Marcelo Álvarez as Cavaradossi and George Gagnidze as Scarpia. He replaces Juha Uusitalo who has withdrawn due to illness. Conductor: James Levine; Director: Luc Bondy; Cast: Karita Mattila, Marcelo Alvarez, George Gagnidz and Paul Plishka VerdiAIDASaturday & Sunday, Set in ancient Egypt, Aida is both a heartbreaking love story and an epic drama full of spectacular crowd scenes. A cast of powerful voices and a grand production bring the story to life on the Met stage. Violeta Urmana stars in the title role of the enslaved Ethiopian princess, with Dolora Zajick as her rival. Johan Botha plays Radamès, commander of the Egyptian army, and Daniele Gatti conducts. Among the score's highlights is the celebrated Triumphal March. Conductor: Daniele Gatti; Production: Sonja Frisell; Cast: Violeta Urmana, Dolora Zajick, Johan Botha, Carlo Guelfi, Roberto Scandiuzzi, Stefan Kocán PucciniTURANDOTSaturday & Sunday, Director Franco Zeffirelli's breathtaking production of Puccini's last opera is a favorite of the Met repertoire. Maria Guleghina plays the ruthless Chinese princess of the title, whose hatred of men is so strong that she has all suitors who can't solve her riddles beheaded. Marcello Giordani sings Calàf, the unknown prince who eventually wins her love and whose solos include the famous Nessun dorma. Conductor: Andris Nelsons; Production: Franco Zeffirelli; Cast: Maria Guleghina, Marina Poplavskaya, Marcello Giordani, Samuel Ramey OffenbachLES CONTES D'HOFFMANNew Production Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher (South Pacific) directs this new production, returning after the triumph of his '06/07 staging of The Barber of Seville. Offenbach's fictionalized take on the life and loves of German Romantic writer E.T.A. Hoffmann is a fascinating psychological journey. Met Music Director James Levine conducts a stellar star cast, including Anna Netrebko as the tragic Antonia, Elina Garanca as the ambiguous Nicklausse and Alan Held as the four demonic villains. Conductor: James Levine; Production: Bartlett Sher; Cast: Kathleen Kim, Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Gubanova, Elina Garanca, Joseph Calleja, Alan Held StraussDER ROSENKAVALIERSaturday & Sunday, Strauss's comic masterpiece of love and intrigue in 18th-century Vienna stars Renée Fleming as the aristocratic Marschallin and Susan Graham in the trouser role of her young lover. Music Director James Levine conducts a cast that also includes Kristinn Sigmundsson and Thomas Allen. Conductor: James Levine; Production: Nathaniel Merrill; Cast: Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Christine Schäfer, Eric Cutler, Thomas Allen, Kristinn Sigmundsson BizetCARMENSaturday & Sunday, One of the most popular operas of all time, Carmen "is about sex, violence, and racism—and its corollary: freedom," says Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre about his new production of Bizet's drama. "It is one of the inalienably great works of art. It's sexy, in every sense. And I think it should be shocking." Elīna Garanča a sings the seductive gypsy of the title for the first time at the Met, opposite Roberto Alagna as the obsessed Don José. Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Production: Richard Eyre; Cast: Barbara Frittoli, Elīna Garanča, Roberto Alagna, Mariusz Kwiecien VerdiSIMON BOCCANEGRANew Production Four decades into a legendary Met career, tenor Plácido Domingo makes history singing the title role in Verdi's gripping political thriller written for a baritone. Adrianne Pieczonka, Marcello Giordani and James Morris are his co-stars in this moving and tragic story of a father and his lost daughter. Conductor: James Levine; Production: Giancarlo del Monaco; Cast: Adrianne Pieczonka, Marcello Giordani, Plácido Domingo, James Morris ThomasHAMLETNew Production The works of Shakespeare have inspired more operatic adaptations than any other writer's. Simon Keenlyside and Natalie Dessay bring their extraordinary acting and singing skills to two of the Bard's most unforgettable characters in this new production of Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet. For the role of Ophelia, the French composer created an extended mad scene that is among the greatest in opera. Conductor: Louis Langrée; Production: Patrice Caurier/Moshe Leiser; Cast: Natalie Dessay, Jennifer Larmore, Toby Spence, Simon Keenlyside, James Morris RossiniARMIDANew Production This mythical story of a sorceress who enthralls men in her island prison has inspired operatic settings by a multitude of composers, including Gluck, Haydn and Dvorák. Renée Fleming stars in the title role of Rossini's version, opposite no fewer than six tenors. Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerman returns to direct this new production of a work she describes as “a buried treasure, a box of jewels.” The fanciful and magical tale, Zimmerman says, “has an epic, enchanted quality and a tremendous visual element.” Conductor: Riccardo Frizza; Production: Mary Zimmerman; Cast: Renée Fleming, Lawrence Brownlee, Bruce Ford, José Manuel Zapata, Barry Banks, Kobie van Rensburg Programs and casting subject to change. Running times are approximate.
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The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD.LIVE @ the HOP.Tickets: $25 • Dartmouth students $10 • Hop Members (Advocate level and above) receive priority ticketing through August 14.
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Last updated Sep 17 2009 10:02PM | feedback
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