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Parsifal with Jonas Kaufmann is the only thing I find interesting about the entire season! Maria Stuarda might be interesting too. But Parsifal is the only thing I would actually take a trip for, but I see it is going to be one of the HD transmissions, so I might just watch it that way and save my money for ballet trips.

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I've looked at the schedule and wish I had a commuter plane: there's so much I'd like to see. Happily I have Met Opera Radio on Sirius, and then there are the broadcasts, but I wish I could see the following live:

  • Borodina's Amneris ("Aida")
  • Everyone in "Un Ballo", one of my favorite operas: Mattila (Amelia), Kim (Oscar), Zajick or Blythe (Ulrika), Álvarez (Riccardo), Hvorostovsky (Renato). I heard Blythe's Ulrika in London in 2005, and it was worth the price of the ticket. Hvorostovsky was a wonderful Renato, and it was the first time I heard Nina Stemme (Amelia), who was such a splendid Brunnhilde in San Francisco over the past couple of years.
  • Isabelle Leonard as Rosina and Alek Shrader as Almaviva in "Barber". People who saw "The Audition" will remember Shrader as the tenor who had never sung "A mes amis" publicly before the finals.
  • Yonghoon Lee's Don Jose -- I've heard nothing but raves for him from those who've heard him live in the house, or I wouldn't have "Carmen" on my list.
  • "La Clemenza di Tito", a too-rarely performed Mozart masterpiece.
  • "Dialogue of the Carmelites", also too-rarely performed. I saw it last in Vancouver.
  • Popovskaya and Beczala in "Faust" -- I wouldn't travel just to see "Faust", but I would stay an extra day if I was already there.
  • Eva-Maria Westbroek in "Francesca da Rimini" (I've already traveled to see her: worth every trip.)
  • Giulio Cesare": strong casting in a McVicar production. I heard Dumaux in Dallas in the horrid Fair Park auditorium (pre-Winspear Opera House), and his phrasing was lovely. He was a young countertenor, and I bet his voice is even stronger now.
  • Elsa van den Heever and Joyce DiDonato should be great in "Maria Stuarda". van den Heever already had success in San Francisco and Europe before she won the 2008 Wagner competition. (She is also said to be an amazing cook, and she planned to cook professionally if she couldn't make it as a singer.)
  • "Otello" is harder: In the fall, Bychkov conducts, and Fleming (Desdemona), Botha (Otello), Fabiano (Cassio), and Struckmann (Iago) sing. In the spring, Domingo conducts, with Stoyanova (Desdemona), Cura (Otello), Dolgov (Cassio), and Hampson (Iago). If it were only possibly to re-arrange that all into more ideal casting and conducting... Thank goodness for Sirius and four live performances a week.
  • The "Parsifal" is exceptional across the board: Dalayman, Mattei, Nikitin, and Pape in addition to Kauffman. I don't know if they'll do an HD of this one, though.
  • Thomas Ades' "The Tempest". Due to a fog-in and a very late flight from Dublin, I missed this in London. I hope it's an HD. It's Keenleyside's only performance at the Met next season, and William Burden is a splendid tenor.
  • Susan Graham and Dwayne Croft in "Les Troyens". (I also have a soft spot for Voigt.)
  • Iréne Theorin in the later "Turandot" performances. She sang Brunnhilde in the "Copenhagen Ring".

I wish Netrebko, Polenzani, and Kwiecien were singing something other than "Elisir d'Amore"

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I've looked at the schedule and wish I had a commuter plane: there's so much I'd like to see. Happily I have Met Opera Radio on Sirius, and then there are the broadcasts, but I wish I could see the following live:


  • The "Parsifal" is exceptional across the board: Dalayman, Mattei, Nikitin, and Pape in addition to Kauffman. I don't know if they'll do an HD of this one, though.

I wish Netrebko, Polenzani, and Kwiecien were singing something other than "Elisir d'Amore"

The Met site does list Parsifal as an HD. That surprises me too. The cast looks terrific on paper, although not so sure about Dalayman though. Kundry is a crazy role that seems to fit mezzos better except for high notes. Not sure anyone can sing the role right now. But Kaufmann should be wonderful.

Too bad Netrebko is not singing Maria Stuarda and then later I would like her to sing Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux, so she would complete the 3 queens. I have heard that Netrebko will be singing Norma at Covent Garden soon. That is good news. Her Anna Bolena was much better than I thought it would be, so I now think she might actually sing Norma well.

Don't know why the Met is supposedly planning to put on Norma with Radvanovsky soon in a future season. I think Netrebko and/or Angela Meade would be a MUCH better choice for that role.

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I just found the link to next year's HD's -- I missed that on the site:

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/liveinhd/liveinhd1213.aspx?icamp=HD1213int&iloc=leftnav

I had heard lots of good things about Dalayman in Gotterdammerung, when she took over for Voigt, but you're right: Kundry is a tough role. Linda Watson did a wonderful job in Seattle in 2003. (It's hard to believe that was nearly a decade ago. The highlights were Richard Paul Fink's Klingsor and the young Stephen Milling's Gurnemanz.)

I'm not surprised that if there was an "Otello" HD it would be the one with Fleming, but I'm sad to miss Hampson's Iago on film, and that means more scatterbrained hosting by Fleming.

Probably more surprising than "Parsifal", mostly because of its length, is that there's an HD of "Francesca di Rimini", which very few people know -- I'm pretty sure I saw it a long time ago at City Opera, but it's a rarity -- and from which there aren't well-known arias. (Maybe this is the closest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC60w1xrVaA.)

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I just found the link to next year's HD's -- I missed that on the site:

http://www.metoperaf...nt&iloc=leftnav

I had heard lots of good things about Dalayman in Gotterdammerung, when she took over for Voigt, but you're right: Kundry is a tough role. Linda Watson did a wonderful job in Seattle in 2003. (It's hard to believe that was nearly a decade ago. The highlights were Richard Paul Fink's Klingsor and the young Stephen Milling's Gurnemanz.)

I'm not surprised that if there was an "Otello" HD it would be the one with Fleming, but I'm sad to miss Hampson's Iago on film, and that means more scatterbrained hosting by Fleming.

Probably more surprising than "Parsifal", mostly because of its length, is that there's an HD of "Francesca di Rimini", which very few people know -- I'm pretty sure I saw it a long time ago at City Opera, but it's a rarity -- and from which there aren't well-known arias. (Maybe this is the closest: http://www.youtube.c...?v=OC60w1xrVaA.)

I suppose there is a niche market for rarities and they will probably release that as a dvd eventually and be able to sell it since Eva Maria Westbroek is someone people like to hear/see, so it could sell. I will definitely see that on HD, but not flying to NY to see Francesca di Rimini! LOL

Sarasota Opera does a lot of rare works as well as all of Verdi's early works, and I have seen tons of rarities. I used to love seeing them, but now I tend to see and hear them and feel that they are rare for good reason. Most of them do not come close to moving us like the great works in the standard repertoire. With that said one of the best nights I ever experienced at the opera was Les Arts Florissants at Brooklyn Academy of Music doing "Hippolyte et Aricie"......so it is not cut and dry, and I am not against rarities. Some are truly neglected gems, but a whole lot of them are dogs. I am not familiar with Francesca di Rimini, so I will try to keep an open mind!

I swore I would never get like the old timers on the opera sites complaining about everything in the opera world, but despite swearing I would never get that way I find myself like that. There was a time when I wanted to see everything and anything. I waited anxiously for the Opera News issue that listed the new seasons across the nation and world (before the internet enabled you to look for yourself), but shockingly the thrill is gone. It is so sudden too. I don't know what has happened.

On a positive note I do love Rene Pape, and his Gurnemanz is very good on the Mariinsky recording of Parsifal. Kaufmann and Pape plus the work itself makes me consider flying up. But as much as I like the work, it is a non-action opera, so if Kaufmann or Pape or both decided to cancel I would want to chew my leg off if the singers end up being lousy! LOL It is pretty shocking Parsifal is the only thing that really interests me. Most of the season doesn't enthuse me at all.

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Dragged myself to Verdi's Ernani (Met HD) at the movies. Mainly went to hear Angela Meade, since she's one of the few young singers that has impressed me in recent times. She's good, but not in the Joan Sutherland league despite what Joyce DiDonato announced (that Meade is being compared to a young Joan Sutherland). Anyway, Peter Gelb announced all the HD transmissions for next season and said that the new production of Rigoletto will take place in a Las Vegas casino.

That is part of the reason I have very little enthusiasm about the opera world now. How will a Las Vegas casino setting add anything to this story that is already timeless? I find it ridiculous! These nonsense productions usually mean that all the costumes will look like they were purchased at Macy's and the sets will be modern and sparse and probably not impressive. Bascially cheap for them and we audience members are the big losers. But I guess they have to throw in things to distract the audience from the general lack of technically sound singers on the world's stages today! They do all this claiming it makes opera relevant to today. Opera has been relevant in my life for 20 years without nonsense stagings. Now that nonsense is all the rage and singers who can't sing but look like movie stars are all the rage......well, I guess that is why I have slowly started my exit from my first love.....opera. It is really shocking for me to have so little enthusiasm for the art form anymore.

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Does the Met have a company or use pick up dancers?

The Met's web site lists a "ballet," with a long list of dancers and choreographers.

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/about/whoweare/detail.aspx?id=5

I was at a program in Denver last August when Emery LeCrone, a very busy young choreographer, was interviewed about the work she is creating for Colorado Ballet (to be premiered this weekend). She joked that, as busy as she is choreographing, she was glad to have a "day job" dancing for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. I don't see that in her on-line bio, but she's on that Met site among "extra dancers."

http://emerylecrone.com/site/bio-extended/

I also found a site announcing auditions for dancers for Rigoletto next sring:

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/auditions/ballet.aspx

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