Diane Kesling

L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli. Rossini composed L'italiana in Algeri when he was 21 in either 18 or 27 days, depending on which source one believes (Rossini, not surprisingly, pegged it at 18). It premiered at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice on 22 May 1813. The music is characteristic of Rossini's style, remarkable for its fusion of sustained, manic energy with elegant, pristine melodies. The plot, in brief: Isabella’s lover Lindoro has been kidnapped, and in her search for him she is shipwrecked and taken captive by Mustafa, Bey of Algiers. To her amazement and delight, she finds Lindoro among the Bey’s prisoners. Isabella hatches a plot that involves flirtation and stealth, and together she and Lindoro escape. Marilyn Horne, Pablo Montarsolo, Douglas Ahistedt, and Allan Monk star in this legendary Metropolitan Opera production conducted by James Levine.

De la scène magnifique au fond du Rhin qui ouvre l'opéra, jusqu'au magique pont arc-en-ciel qui apparaît à la fin, menant à un Valhalla scintillant, la production d'Otto Schenk capture le monde scénique du Ring de Wagner aussi brillamment que James Levine et le Met l'orchestre capture le monde musical. Le casting est incomparable : un étonnant James Morris en jeune dieu Wotan, la grande Christa Ludwig en sa femme Fricka, l'incandescent Siegfried Jerusalem en Loge, le rusé dieu du feu, et Ekkehard Wlaschiha en Alberich complexe.

La production magnifique et évocatrice d'Otto Schenk/Günther Schneider-Siemssen se poursuit avec ce deuxième opéra du cycle Ring de Wagner. Hildegard Behrens apporte une profonde empathie à Brünnhilde, la fille préférée du dieu Wotan (James Morris) qui pourtant le défie. La représentation de Wotan par Morris est à juste titre légendaire, tout comme Christa Ludwig, dans le rôle de Fricka. Jessye Norman et Gary Lakes sont Sieglinde et Siegmund, et Kurt Moll est le menaçant Hunding. James Levine et l'orchestre du Met offrent des couleurs et un drame étonnants.

This all-star cast is framed by Peter Hall’s gritty, realistic production and conducted by James Levine, who brings out all the surging emotion and gripping drama in Bizet’s score. At the center of the story is Agnes Baltsa, whose smoky mezzo is tailor-made for the gypsy Carmen, an independent woman who glories in obeying only her own rules, but who is haunted by fate. Superstar tenor José Carreras is Don José, the solider from a small town who catches Carmen’s eye and is destroyed by his growing obsession with her. Samuel Ramey is the charismatic matador Escamillo, who lures Carmen away from Don José with tragic result. Leona Mitchell is Micaëla, the simple girl from Don José’s hometown who cannot save him. March 21, 1987 Matinee Broadcast.

Le point culminant prodigieux du cycle Ring en quatre parties de Wagner est brillamment réalisé par la production Otto Schenk/Günther Schneider-Siemssen et la direction monumentale de James Levine. L'orchestre du Met, le chœur et une distribution de stars font de ce Götterdämmerung un événement à la hauteur de l'occasion. Brünnhilde d'Hildegard Behrens doit être vécue pour être crue, tout comme Hagen, dominatrice et richement chantée, de Matti Salminen. Au centre du drame se trouve Siegfried Jerusalem dans le rôle de Siegfried, qui ne se rend pas compte qu'il a été entraîné dans un complot de trahison jusqu'à ce qu'il soit trop tard. Christa Ludwig est magnétique dans le rôle de Waltraute et Ekkehard Wlaschiha est un Alberich convaincant.

The Metropolitan Opera's performance of "Hansel and Gretel" features music by Engelbert Humperdinck and is conducted by Thomas Fulton. The Met's storybook production cheerfully evokes a magic world of woodland sprites and candy dreams and yet brings as well the entire apparatus of Wagnerian music and drama to bear on a German fairy tale. This production is sung in English, and features the Metropolitan Opera, Chorus, and Ballet.

Leonora plans to elope with Don Alvaro, but he accidentally shoots and kills her father, who curses them as he dies. The lovers go on the run, but get separated. Bent on revenge, Leonora's brother Don Carlo, hunts them down. Verdi painted an immense canvas with this dark but tuneful opera, vividly brought to life in John Dexter’s production, with sets by the great Eugene Berman. The legendary Leontyne Price is seen in one of her greatest roles, Leonora. Price’s soaring voice encompasses every nuance of Leonora’s emotion as she moves from joy through resignation to ultimate heartbreak. James Levine’s brilliant leading of the Met orchestra and chorus is a lesson in Verdi style. Giuseppe Giacomini is Alvaro, the man Leonora loves, and Leo Nucci is Don Carlo, the dark instrument of their Fate.