The Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcast's 2006-07 season launches on December 9 with a change in format that will feature an array of new intermission features, including live backstage interviews with the performers.
The programming initiatives are designed to enhance the listening experience for the millions of radio listeners in the United States, Canada, and Europe, by conveying a greater sense of the behind-the-scenes excitement at the world's most famous opera house. Now in its 76th season, the longest-running classical music series in American broadcast history will continue to feature the finest performances in the world, beginning with Mozart's Idomeneo, conducted by Music Director James Levine, to be broadcast live at 1:00 p.m. EST over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.
The 22-opera broadcast season features 20 live matinee operas (including the world premiere production of Tan Dun's The First Emperor and the Met broadcast premiere of Richard Strausss' Die Ägyptische Helena). The broadcasts are hosted by Margaret Juntwait, who returns for her third season, and runs through May 5. The season will also include two special taped broadcasts (this season's Madama Butterfly and Maria Callas's 1956 performance of Lucia di Lammermoor). Heard in more than 40 countries around the world, the Met broadcasts are sponsored by Toll Brothers, America's luxury home builder™, with generous long-term support from The Annenberg Foundation and the Vincent A. Stabile Foundation.
"The radio broadcasts this year complement a host of new initiatives recently launched by the Met that are designed to help build a larger international audience,"Â said Peter Gelb, the Met's new General Manager. "The programming we're now producing will be presented in a way that will continue to entertain our dedicated listeners, while heightening the interest of newcomers and attracting new fans for opera."Â
Intermission content will reflect the excitement of the "new" Met, such as live dressing room interviews with singers and other artists; tenor Kobie van Rensburg (Idomeneo) and soprano Dorothea Röschmann (Ilia), who star in Idomeneo, will be interviewed live during the first intermission of the radio season's opening broadcast on December 9. A new "Backstage Pass" series will feature audio portraits illuminating the intense, behind-the-scenes action at one of the world's largest opera companies. The beloved Opera Quiz, to air during performances with more than one intermission, will feature a livelier format, with a new "Presto" round of rapid-fire questions, as well as enhanced listener participation.
Beverly Sills and Renée Fleming will make special broadcast appearances, with Ms. Sills serving as Quiz Host for the kick-off Idomeneo broadcast on December 9 and both divas serving as Special Interviewers for live interviews over the course of the season.
Mary Jo Heath, a former radio host and music critic, and William Berger, a noted opera writer and radio host, will produce the broadcast content. The Executive Producers will be Elena Park, formerly Executive Producer for Music & Culture at WNYC Radio, and Mia Bongiovanni, formerly Vice President of Artists & Repertoire at Sony Classical. Jay Saks continues in his role as the Met's Audio Producer.
A Special Family Holiday Presentation and Two Network Premieres: For the holiday season, the Met will present a family-friendly version of Mozart's The Magic Flute in an abridged, English-language version of Julie Taymor's production, with a new translation by the distinguished American poet and librettist J.D. McClatchy. The Magic Flute will be broadcast on December 30, 2006, with James Levine conducting an engaging cast of singers including Ying Huang, Matthew Polenzani, Nathan Gunn, Erika Miklósa, and René Pape.
The broadcast of the world premiere production of Tan Dun's The First Emperor will take place on January 13. The opera, a Met commission, will be conducted by composer Tan Dun, who also co-wrote the libretto with novelist Ha Jin; acclaimed filmmaker Zhang Yimou directs. Legendary tenor Plácido Domingo sings the title role of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who unites China and builds the Great Wall. Paul Groves is Gao Jianli, the court composer who defies him and seduces Yueyang, the Emperor's daughter, sung by Elizabeth Futral. Michelle DeYoung portrays the Shaman, Susanne Mentzer portrays Yueyang's mother, Haijing Fu portrays the Chief Minister, and Hao Jiang Tian portrays General Wang.
Richard Strauss's Die Ägyptische Helena has its Met broadcast premiere on March 31 with Deborah Voigt singing the demanding title role of Helen of Troy. Two exciting German artists make their Met broadcast debuts: tenor Torsten Kerl as Helen's husband, Menelaus, and soprano Diana Damrau as the sorceress Aithra. Jill Grove plays the improbably named Omniscient Mussel, with Wolfgang Brendel as Altair. Fabio Luisi conducts, and the production is directed and designed by David Fielding.
Three New Productions: A new production by Bartlett Sher of Rossini's beloved comedy Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) will be broadcast on March 24, with leading Rossini tenor Juan Diego Flórez as Almaviva, joined by Joyce DiDonato as Rosina and Peter Mattei as Figaro, with John Del Carlo as Bartolo and John Relyea as Don Basilio. Maurizio Benini conducts.
Maestro James Levine conducts the final two broadcasts of the season - both new productions. Jack O'Brien directs Puccini's Il Trittico (consisting of the three one-act operas Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi), which will be broadcast on April 28. The casts include Maria Guleghina as Giorgetta, Salvatore Licitra as Luigi, and Juan Pons as Michele in Il Tabarro; Barbara Frittoli as Suor Angelica and Stephanie Blythe as the Princess in Suor Angelica; and Olga Mykytenko as Lauretta, Massimo Giordano as Rinuccio, and Alessandro Corbelli in the title role of Gianni Schicchi.
The radio season closes on May 5 with Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice in its first Met broadcast in 36 years, with David Daniels and Lisa Milne in the title roles, and Heidi Grant Murphy as Amor. Choreographer Mark Morris stages the new production.
Two Special Presentations: Two special broadcasts in January will celebrate the Met's recently expanded media distribution opportunities and its rich archive of historic live recordings. On January 27 the Met will broadcast the September 25, 2006 opening-night gala performance of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, conducted by James Levine in an acclaimed new production directed by Anthony Minghella and featuring Chilean soprano Cristina Gallardo-Domâs in the title role and Marcello Giordani as Pinkerton.
On January 20, the Met will broadcast Maria Callas's 1956 performance in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor (her only Met broadcast), in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the great soprano's Met debut season. The Maria Callas broadcast also helps to kick-off an upcoming exhibition at the Met titled Maria Callas and Swarovski: Jewels on Stage at the Metropolitan Opera. The exhibition, which runs in the Met's Founders Hall from January 19 to March 3, features more than 60 pieces of stage jewelry made of Swarovski crystals for Callas and will be displayed alongside archival photos and other Callas memorabilia.
The Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcasts: For more than seven decades, the Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcasts have brought opera into millions of homes and enriched the lives of many, playing a vital and unparalleled role in the development and appreciation of opera in this country.
Since 1940, the broadcasts have been heard in Canada, and in 1990 they expanded to include regular transmission to Europe. Today worldwide coverage has grown to include not only more than 30 European countries, but also South America, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and China. Through these international broadcasts, the Metropolitan Opera serves as a cultural ambassador to the world.
The Metropolitan Opera continues its "Save the Met Broadcasts Campaign,"Â a major international fundraising effort launched in March 2004 to secure the broadcasts' long-term future. The goal is to create a sustainable Broadcast Fund with donations of all sizes from individual listeners as well as corporations and foundations who value this unique programming. Contributions may be made by phone at 1-800-METOPERA, through the internet at www.metopera.org, or by mail at "Save the Met Broadcasts Campaign,"Â Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, New York, NY 10023.
Listeners can visit www.operainfo.org for a wealth of information about the Met broadcasts. The site is rich with synopses and casting information, as well as background information about operas, performers, and conductors. Resources also include curriculum materials for teachers. For details about all Met performances this season, as well as ticket information, visit the Met's website at www.metopera.org.
In North America the 2006-07 season of broadcasts will be distributed in digital stereo via satellite over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.
This independent network is made up of more than 300 domestic commercial and public radio stations, as well as the stereo service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's English and French networks. In Europe, the broadcast distribution is coordinated by the Geneva based European Broadcasting Union.
By www.metoperafamily.org
Posted December 20th, 2006 by ruzik_tuzik
