The Metropolitan Opera in Your Homes—Week 6
Week 6 of the Met’s Nightly Opera Stream kicks off with two early 20th century operas (Elektra premiered in 1909 and Tosca in 1900) and takes us through an amazingly varied selection of performances, including an unprecedented “At-Home Gala” featuring opera stars singing from their homes. The operas begin as usual at 7:30 p.m. on the Met’s homepage and are available to stream for 20 hours. The Gala on April 25th will start at 1:00 p.m. and be available to stream until 6:30 p.m. on April 26th. Please click on the title of each opera below—plus the Gala—for more information and the link to the full synopsis. To discover even more about the operas featured this week, check out the weekly guide along with articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and educational resources.
Monday, April 20
Strauss’s Elektra – Starring Nina Stemme, Adrianne Pieczonka, Waltraud Meier, and Eric Owens, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. From April 30, 2016.
Another of Strauss’ collaborations with Hugo von Hofmannsthal, this opera is a modernistic take on the Greek tragedy by Sophocles.
Tuesday, April 21
Puccini’s Tosca – Starring Sonya Yoncheva, Vittorio Grigolo, and Željko Lu?i?, conducted by Emmanuel Villaume. From January 27, 2018.
One of the most electrifying and intense melodramas in the operatic repertoire. The love-lust-politics triangle of an opera diva, her artist lover, and Rome’s secret police chief, Baron Scarpia, leads to torture, murder, and suicide. This opera is based on the play La Tosca by Victorien Sardou. Discover more in the opera study guide (free with Kindle Unlimited).
Wednesday, April 22
Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann – Starring Anna Netrebko, Kathleen Kim, Ekaterina Gubanova, Joseph Calleja, and Alan Held, conducted by James Levine. From December 19, 2009.
Opera’s own sci-fi or opéra fantastique (fantastical opera) about a hopelessly romantic poet, his loves, and his muse abounds with supernatural elements and memorable music. Based on three short stories by German author E.T.A. Hoffmann that the composer actually saw as a play, Les contes fantastiques d’Hoffmann (The Fantastical Tales of Hoffmann) written by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré.
Thursday, April 23
Lehar’s The Merry Widow – Starring Renée Fleming, Kelli O’Hara, and Nathan Gunn, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. From January 17, 2015.
This lovely comedy is an operetta (the Italian diminutive of opera): a light opera that includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is based on the 1861 play, L’attaché d’ambassade (The Embassy Attaché) by Henri Meilhac.
Friday, April 24
Verdi’s La Traviata – Starring Natalie Dessay, Matthew Polenzani, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, conducted by Fabio Luisi. From April 14, 2012.
This is the second transmission of La Traviata in the Met’s Opera Stream, with a different cast. The tragic love story of the Parisian courtesan is based on the play adaptation of the novel by Alexandre Dumas, the younger: La dame aux camélias (literal translation “The Lady with the Camellias,” known in English as Camille—which you can download for free from Project Gutenberg.
Saturday, April 25
At-Home Gala
A unique event in the Metropolitan Opera’s history. More than 40 leading artists perform in a live stream from their homes around the world.
Sunday, April 26
Rossini’s La Cenerentola – Starring Joyce DiDonato and Juan Diego Flórez, conducted by Fabio Luisi. From May 10, 2014.
The Cinderella story in Rossini’s lively and playful musical vision. The beloved fairy tale with which we are most familiar originated with the story called Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper published by French writer Charles Perrault in 1697. In 1812, the Brothers Grimm offered their own version, and in 1950, Cinderella arrived on the big screen thanks to Disney. For a live action film adaptation of the story, rent the 2015 movie on Amazon.
Top photo: Bigstock
