Ashley Emerson

L’action se déroule dans un village basque à la fin du xviiie siècle.

Composer Nico Muhly unveils his second new opera for the Met with this gripping reimagining of Winston Graham’s novel, set in the 1950s, about a beautiful, mysterious young woman who assumes multiple identities. Director Michael Mayer and his creative team have devised a fast-moving, cinematic world for this exhilarating story of denial and deceit, which also inspired a film by Alfred Hitchcock. Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard sings the enigmatic Marnie, and baritone Christopher Maltman is the man who pursues her—with disastrous results. Robert Spano conducts.

La partition d’une beauté douloureuse de Puccini exprime avec charme le sort de Magda (l’« hirondelle » du titre) qui trouve de manière inattendue le véritable amour avec le beau jeune Ruggero. Mais leur vie idyllique et heureuse prend fin prématurément car elle est hantée par la peur que son passé mouvementé ne ruine son avenir. Angela Gheorghiu et Roberto Alagna incarnent les amants maudits de Puccini. Les décors art déco élégants et sophistiqués d’Ezio Frigerio ajoutent une touche éblouissante à la production de Nicholas Joël, créée en 2008.

William Kentridge’s multi-layered production of Berg’s masterpiece stars charismatic soprano Marlis Petersen in the title role—the enigmatic and alluring woman who is equal parts femme fatale, innocent girl, and abused victim. The men around her, whose lives she forever alters, are Johan Reuter as newspaper publisher Dr. Schön; Daniel Brenna as his composer son, Alwa; Paul Groves as the Painter; and Franz Grundheber as Schigolch. Susan Graham sings Countess Geschwitz, and Lothar Koenigs conducts Berg’s landmark score.

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.

After the unprecedented public execution of King Charles I in 1649, his son and heir set out on a relentless campaign to restore the monarchy and pursue all those connected to his father's death. The epic story of bloody revenge during a pivotal period of English history. This is a story about espionage, revenge, power, loyalty, and the moment that changed the landscape of British politics and society forever.