Ravens Cry Theatre

Oct 13  (Sat), 2012   10 am

Conductor: Maurizio Benini
Production: Bartlett Sher
Set Designer: Michael Yeargan
Cast: Anna Netrebko (Adina), Matthew Polenzani (Nemorino), Mariusz Kwiecien (Belcore), Ambrogio Maestri (Doctor Dulcamara)

The Live in HD season begins October 13 with a new production of Donizetti’s comic gem L’Elisir d’Amore, directed by Bartlett Sher and conducted by Maurizio Benini. Anna Netrebko makes her Met role debut as the beautiful landowner Adina, with Matthew Polenzani as Nemorino, the simple peasant who falls in love with her. Mariusz Kwiecien sings Adina’s arrogant fiancé, Sergeant Belcore, and Ambrogio Maestri will sing the role of the magic potion-peddling Doctor Dulcamara. “L’Elisir d’Amore is kind of two operas at the same time,” Sher says. “It’s an opera that’s a great entertainment, and it’s an opera that has something else happening underneath. It’s informed by when in Italian history it was written—you can see the early stirrings of a cry for independence.”

Cast subject to change without notification
Runtime: 3 hours 2 minutes.
Tickets: $24 (General) and $20 (Senior 65 yrs +).  Call 604-885-4597 (after Sept 1, 2012) to have yours held for pickup.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor The Neubauer Family Foundation Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline and Paul G. Desmarais Sr. Global corporate sponsorship of The Met Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg The HD Broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s Luxury Home Builder

Oct 27 (Sat), 2012   10 am

Conductor: Semyon Bychkov
Production: Elijah Moshinsky
Cast: Renée Fleming (Desdemona), Johan Botha (Otello), Michael Fabiano (Cassio), Falk Struckmann (Iago)

Verdi’s towering masterpiece, based on Shakespeare’s tragedy, makes its first Live in HD appearance. Semyon Bychkov conducts an extraordinary cast led by Johan Botha in the title role of the jealous Moor of Venice, opposite Renée Fleming in one of her greatest roles, Otello’s innocent wife Desdemona. Falk Struckmann sings Iago, Otello’s disloyal ensign, and Michael Fabiano is the captain Cassio.

Cast subject to change without notification
Runtime: 3 hours 27 minutes.
Tickets: $24 (General) and $20 (Senior 65 yrs +).  Call 604-885-4597 (after Sept 1, 2012) to have yours held for pickup.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor The Neubauer Family Foundation Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline and Paul G. Desmarais Sr. Global corporate sponsorship of The Met Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg The HD Broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s Luxury Home Builder

Met Premiere
Nov 10 (Sat), 2012

Conductor: Thomas Adès
Libretto: Meredith Oakes
Production: Robert Lepage
Set Designer: Jasmine Catudal
Cast: Audrey Luna (Ariel), Isabel Leonard (Miranda), Iestyn Davies (Trinculo), Alek Shrader (Ferdinand), Alan Oke (Caliban), William Burden (King of Naples), Toby Spence (Antonio), Simon Keenlyside (Prospero)

British composer Thomas Adès makes his company debut conducting the Met premiere of his opera The Tempest, which has been widely praised as a modern masterpiece. Robert Lepage’s innovative production recreates the interior of the La Scala opera house as the magical island venue for the otherworldly arts of Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan. Simon Keenlyside sings Prospero, as he did to critical acclaim in the opera’s world premiere at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. “The Tempest is an extraordinary, exquisite composition.” Lepage says. “The opera captures the magic of Shakespeare’s last play. It is a box full of magic tricks, which makes it a gift for me and for the designers.” The opera also stars Isabel Leonard as Prospero’s daughter, Miranda; Toby Spence as his brother, Antonio; Audrey Luna as the spirit Ariel; Iestyn Davies as the jester, Trinculo; Alek Shrader in his Met debut as the noble Ferdinand; Alan Oke as the monstrous Caliban; and William Burden as the King of Naples. The libretto, by Meredith Oakes, is adapted from the original text of Shakespeare’s play.
Cast subject to change without notification
Runtime: 3 hours 30 minutes, approximately.
Tickets: $24 (General) and $20 (Senior 65 yrs +).
Call 604-885-4597 (after Sept 1, 2012) to have yours held for pickup.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor The Neubauer Family Foundation Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline and Paul G. Desmarais Sr. Global corporate sponsorship of The Met Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg The HD Broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s Luxury Home Builder

Dec  1 (Sat), 2012

Conductor: Harry Bicket
Production: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
Set & Costume Designer: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
Cast: Lucy Crowe (Servilia), Barbara Frittoli (Vitellia), El?na Garan?a (Sesto), Kate Lindsey (Annio), Giuseppe Filianoti (Tito)

Mozart’s final Italian opera, La Clemenza di Tito, features a charismatic cast conducted by Baroque specialist Harry Bicket and led by Giuseppe Filianoti as the title character, a Roman emperor. Barbara Frittoli is the vengeful Vitellia, daughter of a deposed ruler, whose plan to assassinate Tito is complicated by her romance with the young nobleman Sesto, sung by El?na Garan?a. Kate Lindsey and Lucy Crowe co-star as the young lovers Annio and Servilia. Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s stylized production is one of the legendary director’s most acclaimed stagings.

Cast subject to change without notification
Runtime: 3 hours 13 minutes, approximately.
Tickets: $24 (General) and $20 (Senior 65 yrs +). Call 604-885-4597 (after Sept 1, 2012) to have yours held for pickup.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor The Neubauer Family Foundation Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline and Paul G. Desmarais Sr. Global corporate sponsorship of The Met Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg The HD Broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s Luxury Home Builder

Dec 8 (Sat), 2012 at 10 am.

Conductor: Fabio Luisi
Production: David Alden
Set Designer: Paul Steinberg
Cast: Karita Mattila (Amelia), Kathleen Kim (Oscar), Stephanie Blythe (Ulrica), Marcelo Álvarez (Gustavo III), Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Anckarström)

 Verdi’s vivid drama of jealousy and vengeance will be seen in a new production by acclaimed opera director David Alden, returning to the Met for the first time in more than 20 years. Fabio Luisi conducts his first Met performances of the opera, which stars Karita Mattila in her Met role debut as Amelia, Marcelo Álvarez as Gustavo III, Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Anckarström, Stephanie Blythe as the fortuneteller Ulrica, and Kathleen Kim as the page Oscar. Alden, whose production is set in a dreamlike, early 20^th-century Swedish environment, says that “Un Ballo in Maschera is one of Verdi’s greatest and most brilliant scores, with a variety of different colors. It alternates between the light and the intensely melodramatic. Verdi pulls it all together with unbelievable theatrical energy. Ballo is theatrical dynamite.”

Cast subject to change without notification
Runtime: 3 hours 54 minutes, approximately.
Tickets: $24 (General) and $20 (Senior 65 yrs +). Call 604-885-4597 (after Sept 1, 2012) to have yours held for pickup.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor The Neubauer Family Foundation Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline and Paul G. Desmarais Sr. Global corporate sponsorship of The Met Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg The HD Broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s Luxury Home Builder

Dec 15 (Sat), 2012 at 10 am

Conductor: Fabio Luisi
Production: Sonja Frisell
Set Designer: Gianni Quaranta
Cast: Liudmyla Monastyrska (Aida), Olga Borodina (Amneris), Roberto Alagna (Radamès), George Gagnidze (Amonasro), Štefan Kocán (Ramfis), Miklós Sebestyén (The King)

Verdi’s iconic opera set in ancient Egypt stars powerhouse Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska, who makes her Met debut in the title role of an enslaved Ethiopian princess. Olga Borodina, one of the world’s best-known interpreters of the role, sings Aida’s royal rival, Amneris, and Roberto Alagna is the hero Radamès, who must choose between his love for Aida and his duty to his country. Fabio Luisi conducts his first Met performances of the opera, which also stars George Gagnidze as the Ethiopian king, Amonasro. Sonja Frisell’s spectacular staging uses the full theatrical capabilities of the Met stage to immerse the audience in the grandeur of ancient Egypt.

Cast subject to change without notification
Runtime: 3 hours 54 minutes, approximately.
Tickets: $24 (General) and $20 (Senior 65 yrs +). Call 604-885-4597 (after Sept 1, 2012) to have yours held for pickup.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor The Neubauer Family Foundation Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline and Paul G. Desmarais Sr. Global corporate sponsorship of The Met Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg The HD Broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s Luxury Home Builder

Jan 5 (Sat), 2013 at 9 am

Conductor: Fabio Luisi
Production: Francesca Zambello
Set Designer: Maria Bjørnson
Cast: Deborah Voigt (Cassandra), Susan Graham (Dido), Marcello Giordani (Aeneas), Dwayne Croft (Coroebus), Kwangchul Youn (Narbal)

Francesca Zambello’s acclaimed 2003 production of Berlioz’s Trojan War epic returns to the Met for its first revival. Fabio Luisi conducts a cast led by Marcello Giordani in the central role of Aeneas, the hero who flees the ruins of Troy for a new set of challenges in the North African kingdom of Carthage. Deborah Voigt reprises the role of the cursed Trojan prophetess Cassandra, which she sang in the new production premiere, and Susan Graham makes her Met role debut as Dido, the noble but heartbroken Queen of Carthage.

Cast subject to change without notification
Runtime: 5 hours 41 minutes, approximately.
Tickets: $24 (General) and $20 (Senior 65 yrs +). Call 604-885-4597 (after Sept 1, 2012) to have yours held for pickup.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor The Neubauer Family Foundation Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline and Paul G. Desmarais Sr. Global corporate sponsorship of The Met Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg The HD Broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s Luxury Home Builder

Jan 19 (Sat), 2013 at 10 am

Met Premiere

Conductor: Maurizio Benini
Production: David McVicar
Set & Costume Designer: John MacFarlane
Cast: Joyce DiDonato (Maria Stuarda), Elza van den Heever (Elisabetta), Francesco Meli (Leicester), Joshua Hopkins (Cecil), Matthew Rose (Talbot)

David McVicar, who directed last season’s Met premiere of Anna Bolena, directs the company premiere of the second opera in Donizetti’s famous trilogy of operas about Tudor history. “Donizetti’s three Tudor operas are very different in tone, mood, and musical content,” McVicar says. “With Maria Stuarda being a different kind of opera than last season’s Anna Bolena, which we presented with a great deal of historical accuracy, we’ve gone for a visual style which is freer. Rather than reflecting history, it reflects the romantic nature of this retelling of the story and the sweeping romantic nature of Donizetti’s music.” Joyce DiDonato sings the title role of the defiant Mary, Queen of Scots. South African soprano Elza van den Heever makes her Met debut as Mary’s formidable rival, Queen Elizabeth I. Maurizio Benini conducts a cast that also includes Francesco Meli as the Earl of Leicester, Joshua Hopkins as Cecil, and Matthew Rose as Talbot.

Cast subject to change without notification
Runtime: 3 hours 15 minutes, approximately.
Tickets: $24 (General) and $20 (Senior 65 yrs +). Call 604-885-4597 (after Sept 1, 2012) to have yours held for pickup.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor The Neubauer Family Foundation Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline and Paul G. Desmarais Sr. Global corporate sponsorship of The Met Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg The HD Broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s Luxury Home Builder

Feb 16 (Sat), 2013 at 10 am

Conductor: Michele Mariotti
Production: Michael Mayer
Set Designer: Christine Jones
Cast: Diana Damrau (Gilda), Oksana Volkova (Maddalena), Piotr Beczala (Duke of Mantua), Željko Lu?i? (Rigoletto),Štefan Kocán (Sparafucile)

Rising Italian conductor Michele Mariotti leads the new production premiere of Rigoletto, seen in a new staging by the Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer in his Met debut. Mayer’s approach transports the story from 16^th-century Italy to Las Vegas in 1960, with a cast led by Željko Lu?i? in the title role, Diana Damrau as his daughter, Gilda, Piotr Beczala as the Duke of Mantua, Štefan Kocán as the assassin Sparafucile, and Oksana Volkova in her Met debut as Sparafucile’s seductive sister, Maddalena. “I’ve tried to imagine a recent world that captures the decadence of the Duke’s palace, where the participants are in pursuit of power, money, and beauty,” Mayer says. “Las Vegas in the ‘60s is such a world, where a kind of prankster energy could go bad—it’s the epitome of the kinds of events that happen in Rigoletto.”

Cast subject to change without notification
Runtime: 3 hours 31 minutes, approximately.
Tickets: $24 (General) and $20 (Senior 65 yrs +). Call 604-885-4597 (after Sept 1, 2012) to have yours held for pickup.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor The Neubauer Family Foundation Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline and Paul G. Desmarais Sr. Global corporate sponsorship of The Met Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg The HD Broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s Luxury Home Builder

March 2 (Sat), 2013 at 9 am

Conductor: Daniele Gatti
Production: François Girard
Set Designer: Michael Levine
Dramaturg: Serge Lamothe
Cast: Katarina Dalayman (Kundry), Jonas Kaufmann (Parsifal), Peter Mattei (Amfortas), Evgeny Nikitin (Klingsor), René Pape (Gurnemanz)

Jonas Kaufmann makes his Met role debut as the title character in Parsifal, conducted by Daniele Gatti and directed by noted film and opera director François Girard in his Met debut. “Parsifal is not just an opera—it’s a mission. At the end of his life, Wagner was trying to reconcile all the aspects of his spirituality. It’s a sacred piece in the history of music,” Girard says. The cast also features Katarina Dalayman as Kundry, the mystical woman who tempts Parsifal; Peter Mattei in his role debut as Amfortas, king of the Knights of the Holy Grail; René Pape in one of his greatest roles, the wise old knight Gurnemanz; and Evgeny Nikitin as the magician Klingsor.

Cast subject to change without notification
Runtime: 5 hours 40 minutes, approximately.
Tickets: $24 (General) and $20 (Senior 65 yrs +). Call 604-885-4597 (after Sept 1, 2012) to have yours held for pickup.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor The Neubauer Family Foundation Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline and Paul G. Desmarais Sr. Global corporate sponsorship of The Met Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg The HD Broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s Luxury Home Builder