Keith Miller

La douleur d’un amour non partagé est dépeinte de manière inoubliable par deux des plus grandes stars d’aujourd’hui. Renée Fleming est radieuse musicalement et dramatiquement dans le rôle de la timide Tatiana, qui tombe amoureuse du mondain Onéguine, interprété avec un charisme dévastateur par Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Leur chant et leur alchimie envoûtantes explosent dans l’une des scènes finales les plus déchirantes de l’opéra. Avec Valery Gergiev sur le podium dirigeant la partition passionnée de Tchaïkovski, cette performance restera dans les âges.

L’éblouissante production d’Anthony Minghella de l’opéra de Puccini a ouvert la saison 2006-2007 du Met et a été vue par des milliers de personnes à travers le monde dans le cadre de la série Live in HD de la compagnie. Patricia Racette est Cio-Cio-San, la jeune geisha confiante et innocente du titre, qui tombe amoureuse du lieutenant de la marine américaine B. F. Pinkerton (Marcello Giordani), pour ensuite être abandonnée par lui. Maria Zifchak est sa fidèle servante Suzuki et Dwayne Croft est Sharpless, le sympathique consul américain qui fait tout ce qu'il peut mais est incapable d'éviter une tragédie.

David McVicar's atmospheric and brooding production captures the drama of this riveting piece of British history, retold as only Donizetti could. International superstar Anna Netrebko is Queen Anne Boleyn, trapped in an unhappy marriage to King Henry VIII (Ildar Abdrazakov) whose roving eye has settled on another woman—Jane Seymour (Ekaterina Gubanova), Anna's friend, but now her unwitting rival. Add in Anna's early love, Percy (Stephen Costello), just returned to the court from exile, and the result is a haunting, explosive account of Queen Anna's tragic final days, before she goes to her execution in one of the most moving and dazzling final scenes in all of opera.

It is a rare opera indeed that calls for one soprano diva and no fewer than six tenors. Mary Zimmerman’s fanciful production of Rossini’s drama, designed by Richard Hudson and with choreography by Graciela Daniele, provides the perfect setting for superstar Renée Fleming’s captivating performance of the title role. A beautiful but evil sorceress in the times of the Crusades, Armida sets out to regain the love of the Frankish knight Rinaldo (Lawrence Brownlee) by putting her magical spells on him. She at first succeeds to draw him into her web of sorcery, but ultimately divine intervention—and his fellow soldiers—free Rinaldo from his enchantment—much to the vengeful fury of Armida and her demons.

L’élégante production de David Alden en 2012 déplace le drame palpitant de Verdi dans un décor intemporel inspiré du film noir. Marcelo Álvarez est Gustavo III, le roi suédois amoureux d'Amelia (Sondra Radvanovsky), l'épouse de son meilleur ami et conseiller, le comte Anckarström (Dmitri Hvorostovsky). Lorsqu'Anckarström se joint à un complot visant à assassiner le roi, une tragédie s'ensuit. Stephanie Blythe est la voyante Madame Ulrica Arvidsson et Kathleen Kim chante la page Oscar. Le chef principal du Met, Fabio Luisi, est sur le podium.

Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili gives a dynamic performance as Bizet’s iconic gypsy, the woman who lives by her own rules. Aleksandrs Antonenko is Don José, the soldier who falls under her spell, and Ildar Abdrazakov plays Escamillo, the swaggering bullfighter who takes Carmen away from Don José—an action that seals Carmen’s tragic fate. Anita Hartig is Micaëla, and Pablo Heras-Casado conducts Richard Eyre’s hit production, set in 1930s Spain.

Puccini’s musical thriller of lust, murder, and politics is one of the most dramatically riveting operas in the repertoire. Luc Bondy’s production, with sets by Richard Peduzzi and costumes by Academy Award-winning designer Milena Canonero, opened the Met’s 2009–10 season. Karita Mattila stars as the beautiful and dangerously impulsive singer Floria Tosca. Marcelo Álvarez is her lover, the painter Cavaradossi, a political enemy of the powerful chief of police, Scarpia (George Gagnidze), who wants Tosca for himself.

Richard Eyre’s stunning new production of Bizet’s opera was the talk of the town when it was unveiled on New Year’s Eve 2009. Elīna Garanča leads the cast as the iconic gypsy of the title—a woman desired by every man but determined to remain true to herself. Roberto Alagna is Don José, the soldier who falls under her spell and sacrifices everything for her love, only to be cast aside when the toreador Escamillo (Teddy Tahu Rhodes) piques Carmen’s interest. With dances created by star choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and conducted by rising maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, this Carmen brings every aspect of Bizet’s tale to thrilling life, from its lighthearted beginning to its inevitably tragic climax.

Il n’est pas étonnant que le public du Met soit devenu fou devant la torride Salomé de Karita Mattila. Incontestablement l’une des plus grandes Salomé de notre époque, Mattila incarne parfaitement l’héroïne d’Oscar Wilde pétulante, obstinéeeet lubrique. Grâce à la musique révolutionnaire de Strauss qui magnifie l’atmosphère dégénérée et crée une tension érotique, cet opéra est aussi choquant aujourd’hui qu’il l’était lors de sa création en 1905.

La cruelle Princesse Turandot offre sa main au prince qui saura résoudre trois énigmes, les concourants défaits étant livrés au bourreau et mis à mort. Malgré le nombre immense de princes ayant perdu la vie dans ce concours, le Prince Calaf, fou amoureux de la Princesse, décide de tenter sa chance.

Verdi’s admiration for Shakespeare led to such masterpieces as Othello and Falstaff, and if the earlier Macbeth isn’t on their exalted level it’s still a powerfully dramatic opera that hews closely to the original’s story line. The MET’s production retains the dark aura of the opera while updating it to a vaguely post-modern context. So the witches are bag ladies in various stages of decrepitude, with children in tow. The Banquet Scene features lowered chandeliers, a plethora of chairs, and a slew of extras dressed in tuxedos and party gowns. Macbeth sports a leather coat, the soldiers are in drab brown uniforms and seem to have fingers on their triggers even when they’re supposed to be in non-threatening situations. Director Adrian Noble also has Lady Macbeth do an inordinate amount of writhing around and singing from a lying-down position, adding to the feeling that a less interventionist directorial hand might have generated more impact.