EMI Classics Issue Six Operas from the Metropolitan Opera's Acclaimed Live in HD Series

EMI CLASSICS TO ISSUE SIX OPERAS FROM THE METROPOLITAN OPERA'S ACCLAIMED

LIVE IN HD SERIES JUST IN TIME FOR THE NEW 'THEATRE BROADCAST' SEASON

Canadian release date: September 16, 2008

Engelbert Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel

Giuseppe Verdi: Macbeth

Tan Dun: The First Emperor (World Premiere)

Giacomo Puccini: La Bohème

Benjamin Britten: Peter Grimes

Giacomo Puccini: Manon Lescaut

EMI Classics will issue six operas on DVD produced by the Metropolitan Opera for its highly acclaimed series The Met: Live in HD. This September, five productions from the Met's 2007-08 season will be released, as well as the 2006 world premiere production of Tan Dun's The First Emperor. The releases further extend the reach of The Met: Live in HD, the groundbreaking series of live operas transmitted to movie theatres, arts centres and universities all over the world; next season, the series will expand to reach 800 venues and 28 countries. The 2008/2009 Met Live HD series broadcasts in Canada commence on September 22nd (for more information on this go to: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/press/detail.aspx?id=3810).

The operas include new productions of Hansel and Gretel, Macbeth, and Peter Grimes; the world premiere production of The First Emperor; La Bohème and Manon Lescaut.

The Met's critically acclaimed high-definition productions are directed by top creative talent from the film and television fields, who capture the intensity of live opera using cutting-edge technology, including vertical and dolly-tracked robotic cameras. During the intermissions, the cameras go backstage for interviews with performers and others involved in the production. The shows are hosted by such stars as Renée Fleming, Natalie Dessay, and the late Beverly Sills.

The audio is mixed with Dolby surround-sound encoding supervised by DTS. Each accompanying DVD booklet has notes and a synopsis in English. Each title also includes an electronic booklet in PDF form, which can be accessed from any computer equipped with a DVD-ROM drive and Adobe Acrobat 6.0. This booklet contains notes and cast biographies in English, French, and German.

Engelbert Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel
New Production
Sung in English with optional subtitles in French, German, Italian, and Spanish

The combination of the timeless Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Humperdinck's enchanting score, Richard Jones's intriguing new production, and a new English-language translation by David Pountney make this Hansel and Gretel appealing to audiences of all ages.

Hansel and Gretel are charmingly performed by Alice Coote and Christine Schäfer. The children's parents are played by Rosalind Plowright and Alan Held. The Witch, written for mezzo-soprano, is sometimes sung by a tenor, in this production Philip Langridge in what was described by The New York Times as "a casting coup".

"In the pit, the brilliant young Russian conductor Vladimir Jurowski …. conveys the lyricism of this 1893 opera while never letting us forget that Humperdinck was a Wagner protégé who filled this score with rich chromatic harmony and thick, dark orchestral colorings. … [Mr. Jurowski] conducts a resonant and radiant performance." (The New York Times)

Describing the high-definition production shown in cinemas, The New York Times said, "All three acts are set in strange kitchens: the drab 1950s kitchen of Hansel and Gretel's impoverished family; an Expressionistic kitchen-dining room with leafy wallpaper to symbolize the forest where the siblings become lost; and an industrial-size, stainless-steel kitchen where the Witch bakes her child victims into gingerbread. … The sophisticated camera work … was especially impressive … Subtleties of acting that barely register in the house came through movingly on screen."

In 1923, Hansel and Gretel became the first complete opera to be broadcast on radio from Covent Garden; eight years later it was the first to be broadcast from the Met.

Backstage at the Met Bonus Material: Renée Fleming interviews the Met's Technical Director Joe Clark; Christine Schäfer and Alice Coote are interviewed live during intermission; and the feature The World of John Macfarlane, shows how set and costume designer John Macfarlane brought Hansel and Gretel to life.

Giuseppe Verdi: Macbeth
New Production
Sung in Italian with optional subtitles in English, French, German, and Spanish

Željko Lučić, Maria Guleghina, John Relyea, and Dimitri Pittas star in a new production of Verdi's haunting early operatic masterpiece. Longtime Met Music Director James Levine conducts.

This is the Met's first production in 20 years of the first of Verdi's three operas based on Shakespeare's plays. It is "a stylistically eclectic, grimly effective and, at times, intriguingly playful production" (The New York Times) by the English director Adrian Noble, in his Met debut. Noble, former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and set and costume designer Mark Thompson "mixed modern and melodramatic elements into this nearly black-and-white, modern-dress staging." (The New York Times)

At the time of its composition, Verdi's Macbeth was unique. Not only was it considered both musically and dramatically bold, but it was the first opera that could truly be described as Shakespearean. It was the first that altered operatic conventions to serve the play rather than converting the play into traditional operatic formulas. The Met performs Verdi's revised 1865 Paris version, minus the ballet he was obligated to write for that production.

After 33 highly successful years in charge of the company's musical forces, a relationship unique in the musical world today, the Met's Music Director James Levine conducts Verdi's haunting score with the intensity that this chilling work demands: "[Levine] conducts "Macbeth" as a … supreme musical drama. … Without diminishing the architectonic shape of the work, he is keenly sensitive to the vocal needs of the cast, ready in an instant to adjust the pacing, to coax the singer and orchestra musicians into beautifully coordinated execution of a lyrical phrase. The orchestra sounded terrific. In ruminative passages the string tone was … velvety and nuanced … [but] when red-blooded Verdian orchestral sound was called for, Mr. Levine summoned plenty of it. " (The New York Times)

Backstage at the Met Bonus Material: Met General Manager Peter Gelb interviews Music Director James Levine; Zeljko Lučić, Maria Guleghina (Macbeth and Lady Macbeth) and director Adrian Noble are also interviewed; and a video blog shot during the rehearsal process is also included.

Tan Dun: The First Emperor
Met Commission/New Production
Sung in English with optional subtitles in French, German, Italian, and Spanish

"A majestic imperial Chinese saga...[Domingo] sang with stamina and burnished power." New York Times

Legendary tenor Plácido Domingo stars in this visually stunning opera by Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) to a libretto by the composer and Ha Jin, based on Historical Records by Sima Qian (c.145–85 BCE) and on Wei Lu's screenplay, The Emperor's Shadow. The opera was commissioned by the Met in the mid-1990s and the spectacular production, which premiered in December 2006, was one of the most highly anticipated cultural events of the season.

The opera tells of Emperor Qin's quest for a national anthem for his new country and his ill-fated decision to force his childhood friend, a talented composer, to write it. Tragedy results following the composer's love affair with the emperor's crippled daughter. As Emperor Qin, Plácido Domingo leads an all-star ensemble in this epic story, which is ideally suited to the opera stage.

The First Emperor combines the expressive power of traditional ancient Chinese singing with the long musical lines of Italian opera. This juxtaposition of musical cultures illustrates Tan Dun's musical style, which merges East and West and ancient and modern sensibilities.

One of just six composers to conduct their own works at the Met, Tan Dun led all the performances of the first run of the opera.

The production was directed by the revered Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Hero, Raise the Red Lantern, and director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics), who worked closely with Tan Dun while he composed the music.

The costumes were designed by Emi Wada, who won an Oscar for her work in the 1986 movie Ran. Over the course of a year and a half, Wada designed more than 600 striking and colourful costumes.

Backstage at the Met Bonus Material: Beverly Sills interviews Plácido Domingo, and a documentary film, Tan Dun's The First Emperor: In Rehearsal at the Met gives a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process.

Giacomo Puccini: Manon Lescaut
Sung in Italian with optional subtitles in English, French, German and Spanish

The performance captured on this DVD marks the first on the Met stage in 18 years of the Met's classic production of Puccini's Manon Lescaut. Finnish soprano Karita Mattila performs the title role, conducted by James Levine. Chevalier des Grieux is played by Marcello Giordani, Manon's brother by Dwayne Croft and Geronte by Dale Travis.

Manon Lescaut, the French tale of a beautiful young woman destroyed by her conflicting desires for love and luxury, was Puccini's first successful opera and the work that thrust him into the international spotlight as Italy's foremost opera composer.

Mattila's performance is a career highlight, with The New York Times calling her interpretation "riveting". The soprano waited for her voice to gain maturity and richness before singing her first Manon Lescaut in 1999, when she was nearly 40. She now returns to the work, attracting James Levine to conduct it for the first time since 1981.

After 33 highly successful years in charge of the company's musical forces, a relationship unique in the musical world today, the Met's Music Director James Levine leads a fresh and intelligent performance. "Conceptually Mr. Levine seemed on the same page with his star soprano. He drew Italianate ardor and pliant lyricism from the Met orchestra yet conveyed the rhythmic intricacy, harmonic boldness and symphonic sweep of the music as well." (The New York Times)

"Ever willowy and ever inventive, Karita Mattila enacted the heroine's progress from gawky innocent to greedy charmer to tragic victim brilliantly. … Marcello Giordani partnered her as golden-age Des Grieux, handsome and urgent in demeanour, suave in passages of introspection, glorious in outbursts of passion. … The strong secondary cast included Dwayne Croft, a gratifyingly crafty Lescaut, Dale Travis, a stern Geronte who resisted buffo temptation, and Sean Panikkar, a sweet and sprightly Edmondo. … [Levine] let the melodies soar." (Financial Times)

Backstage at the Met Bonus Material: Renée Fleming interviews Karita Mattila, Marcello Giordani, animal trainers and handlers Nancy and Paul Novograd, and the Met's Technical Director Joe Clark.

Benjamin Britten: Peter Grimes
New Production
ICPN: 5099921741494 (1 DVD)
Sung in English with optional subtitles in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish

"The more vicious the society, the more vicious the individual." - Benjamin Britten, commenting on Peter Grimes after its premiere in 1945

Anthony Dean Griffey and Patricia Racette are gripping in this new Met production of Benjamin Britten's most celebrated opera, Peter Grimes. The multi-award-winning director is John Doyle, whose production of Sweeney Todd won the 2006 Tony Award® for Best Direction of a Musical. The Financial Times described Doyle's direction of Peter Grimes as "an impeccable fusion of music and drama."

Peter Grimes, Britten's haunting seaside tale and his second opera, is widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of postwar opera, and its premiere 63 years ago marked a turning point in the history of British opera. This "true operatic masterpiece of the 20th century" (The New York Times) is the first opera by an English composer to enter and remain in the international repertory. Peter Grimes is based on a poem entitled The Borough, by turn-of-the-19th-century writer George Crabbe set in an isolated English fishing village in the 1830s.

Much of the emotional drive of the opera comes from the four Sea Interludes – calm, storm, at dawn and by moonlight. Among the most brilliantly evocative music that Britten ever wrote, they help to establish the constant, overpowering presence of the sea as the opera's dominant force.

Anthony Dean Griffey is "the leading Peter Grimes today" (Washington Post), and [his] "fascinating performance should not be missed" (Associated Press). Patricia Racette, as Ellen Orford, the schoolmistress who tries and fails to rescue Grimes from his anger and self-pity, is "sublime" (The Guardian). "The voice was vibrant, liquid, and exciting" (New York Sun). "A powerful cast, led by tenor Anthony Dean Griffey," writes the San Francisco Chronicle, "found the pathos and terror in Britten's score."

Donald Runnicles, Music Director of the San Francisco Opera, "drew an inspired performance from the Met Orchestra, full of passion and commitment yet free of bombast. Without slackening the dramatic tension, he found ways of drawing out both the music's austere lyricism and its violent extremes." (Boston Globe)

Backstage at the Met Bonus Material: Natalie Dessay interviews Anthony Dean Griffey and Patricia Racette (Peter Grimes and Ellen Orford), conductor Donald Runnicles, chorus master Donald Palumbo, and members of the creative team, including director John Doyle, costume designer Ann Hould-Ward, and set designer Scott Pask. There is also a live BBC segment from Benjamin Britten's hometown of Aldeburgh.

Giacomo Puccini: La Bohème
Sung in Italian with optional subtitles in English, French, German, and Spanish

Angela Gheorghiu and Ramón Vargas lead a magnificent cast in Franco Zeffirelli's sumptuous and iconic production of Puccini's timeless masterpiece La Bohème. "[It] just might be the best investment the Met ever made… Its magic shows no sign of diminishing." (Opera News Online)

Set in Paris around 1830, La Bohème depicts a love that blossoms between two young artists in a time that appears both bleak and turbulent that makes this story so very special.

Mimì and Rodolfo, sung by Gheorghiu and Vargas, respectively, are charming as the young couple who fall in love. Ludovic Tézier and Ainhoa Arteta sing Marcello and Musetta.

Gheorghiu, one of the leading Puccini sopranos of our time, sings the role of Mimì at the Met for the first time in twelve years. "[Gheorghiu] was superb as Mimì… distinctive and alluring. She sang with extraordinary precision, subtlety, control, nuance, and, above all, musicality" (New York Sun). "Ramón Vargas, as Rodolfo, produced a warm, buttery sound" (The New York Times). Conductor Nicola Luisotti is, "a man who knows what he is doing in this repertoire: the way he can control the orchestra to move with the singers' expressive tempo fluctuations is breathtaking, a quality which helps to show Puccini at his best" (musicalcriticism.com).

Franco Zeffirelli's stunning production is as beloved and magnificent today as the day it was first staged at the Metropolitan Opera more than 27 years ago. The April 5, 2008, broadcast of this production marked the 347th performance of Zeffirelli's La Bohème at the Met, making it the most performed production in the company's history.

Backstage at the Met Bonus Material: Renée Fleming interviews Angela Gheorghiu, Ramón Vargas and Met Technical Director Joe Clark, and a bonus feature, Zeffirelli at the Met, includes archival interviews and performance clips.

Madame Butterfly de Giacomo Puccini

Une production Opera Australia à la salle Wilfrid-Pelletier de la Place des Arts les 24, 28 mai, 2, 5, 7 juin 2008 à 20 h + 31 mai 2008 à 14 h

Billetterie : PdA (514) 842-2112 | 1 866 842-2112
InfOpéra : operademontreal.com

Montréal, lundi 21 avril 2008 – Après l’éblouissant Lakmé, l’Opéra de Montréal présente, pour clore sa 28e saison, une seconde production lumineuse d’Opera Australia : Madame Butterfly (Madama Butterfly), tragédie japonaise en trois actes du grand Giacomo Puccini, le maître de l’émotion musicale. Dans le rôle-titre, la soprano japonaise à la voix d’or Hiromi Omura qui fait ses débuts nord-américains à la compagnie, après avoir chanté le rôle au Deutsche Oper de Berlin. À ses côtés, le ténor américain Richard Troxell, en lieutenant Pinkerton, rôle qu’il interprétait dans le film éponyme de Frédéric Mitterand. Pour compléter la distribution, le baryton canadien James Westman - que l’on a pu entendre dans le rôle de Frédéric (Lakmé) - sera Sharpless, le consul américain à Nagasaki, Annamaria Popescu, mezzo-soprano canadienne au timbre soyeux, revient à la compagnie en Suzuki, la servante de Cio-Cio-San, rôle dont elle est la détentrice à La Scala de Milan, et le ténor américain Jon Kolbet sera Goro, et Le Bonze, la basse américaine Young-Bok Kim.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin dirigera cette œuvre pour la première fois et sera à la tête de son ensemble, l’Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, et du Chœur de l’Opéra de Montréal tous les soirs de représentations, excepté le 31 mai qui sera sous la baguette de Giuseppe Pietraroia. La mise en scène est de l’Australien Moffatt Oxenbould, aux côtés d’une équipe de concepteurs d’Opera Australia : Peter England (décors) ; Russell Cohen (costumes) ; Robert Bryan (éclairages).

L’éternel retour… ou les ailes brisées du papillon au pays du soleil levant.

Au début du XXe siècle, un jeune lieutenant américain de passage à Nagasaki, Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, épouse une geisha, Cio-Cio-San surnommée Madame Butterfly. Simple fantaisie exotique sans lendemain pour lui, le mariage est pris très au sérieux par la jeune Japonaise qui s’est convertie au « Dieu des Américains » par amour pour lui, déshonorant la religion de ses ancêtres. Son oncle la maudit. Après la cérémonie, Pinkerton repart sur les mers. Convaincue de son retour à la « saison où les rouge-gorges font leur nid », elle l’attend, imperturbable, éconduisant de nombreux prétendants. Trois ans se sont écoulés, le lieutenant n’a donné aucune nouvelle et le chagrin de la jeune femme est immense. Sa situation financière s’est dégradée. Seule sa fidèle servante Suzuki est restée auprès d’elle.

Sharpless, le consul américain, essaie de la convaincre de renoncer à cet amour, mais Butterfly demeure convaincue que Pinkerton reviendra lorsqu’il connaîtra l’existence de leur fils. Ému, Sharpless s’en va, sans avoir osé dire à Butterfly que le lieutenant s’est remarié avec une Américaine. Dans le port, le bateau de son mari apparaîtra à l’horizon. Délirante de joie, Cio-Cio-San ordonne à Suzuki de l’aider à décorer la maison de fleurs et s’habille comme au premier jour pour l’accueillir. Elle l’attend en vain jusqu’au lever du jour et s’endort, épuisée. Sharpless, Pinkerton et sa nouvelle épouse arrivent alors. Il demande à Suzuki de lui confier l’enfant pour assurer son avenir. Butterfly se réveille, aperçoit l’étrangère et comprend enfin la vérité. Désespérée, elle consent à confier son enfant à son père à condition qu’il vienne le chercher lui-même. Butterfly fait ses adieux à son fils et décide de quitter ce monde dignement, selon l’antique tradition japonaise.

Giacomo Puccini (Lucques, 1858 – Bruxelles, 1924) - Peintre de l’âme humaine

C’est une représentation d’Aïda de Verdi qui décida de la vocation de Puccini comme compositeur d’opéras. Luigi Illica et Giuseppe Giacosa cosigneront les livrets de ses grands succès populaires : La bohème (1896), Tosca (1900) et Madame Butterfly (1904). Ses œuvres ont été présentées sur les plus grandes scènes d’opéra et feront de Puccini le compositeur le plus populaire de ce début du siècle. Ses opéras témoignent d’un instinct théâtral, d’inventions mélodiques somptueuses et d’innovations musicales. Son goût prononcé pour la mélancolie s’exprime au travers d’une harmonie chatoyante.

Madame Butterfly (Madama Butterfly)
Tragédie japonaise en trois actes de Giacomo Puccini, en italien, avec surtitres français et anglais
Livret : Giuseppe Giacosa et Luigi Illica d’après la pièce de David Belasco, sur une nouvelle de John Luther Long.
Création : Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 17 février 1904
Dernière production à l’Opéra de Montréal : septembre 2002
PréOpéra (Présentation de l’œuvre par Pierre Vachon) : 18 h 30 / 12 h 30 (matinée) – Piano Nobile


Distribution

Cio-Cio-San
HIROMI OMURA, soprano (Japon)
Lauréate de nombreux prix, ses emplois sont : Héro (Béatrice et Bénédict, Opéra-Comique), Violetta (La traviata), la Comtesse (Les noces de Figaro) à Toyama au Japon, Butterfly à Amiens, Micaëla (Carmen) à l’Opéra national de Tokyo. En juillet 2005, elle y triomphe dans Butterfly de même qu’à l’Opéra de Metz. En 2006, elle chante Liù (Turandot) au New Year Opera Gala Concert (émission en direct de NHK) à Tokyo, Nedda (Pagliacci) au Nouveau théâtre national de Tokyo, et remporte un brillant succès avec le rôle d’Elizabetta di Valois (Don Carlo). Parmi ses projets : Silvia dans Zanetto (Mascagni) à l’Opéra national de Lorraine, puis des débuts au Deutsche Oper de Berlin en janvier 2008 dans le rôle de Madame Butterfly. Fait ses débuts à la compagnie.

B. F. Pinkerton
RICHARD TROXELL, ténor (États-Unis)
Ses emplois : Pinkerton (Madame Butterfly) au Los Angeles Opera et au Washington Opera, Hoffmann (Les contes d’Hoffmann) au Houston Grand Opera, le Ténor italien (Le chevalier à la rose) au Vancouver Opera, Zampa (Zampa) à l’Opéra-Comique et Christian (Cyrano de Bergerac) à l’Opéra de Monte Carlo. Il se produit aussi au New York City Opera, New Zealand Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis et au Spoleto Festival USA. Il incarne Pinkerton dans la version filmée de Madame Butterfly de Frédéric Mitterand. Dernière présence à la compagnie : Le Gala, 1ère édition (1996).

Sharpless
JAMES WESTMAN, baryton (Canada)
James Westman a chanté les grands rôles de Verdi, Puccini, Massenet, Donizetti, Janacek, Bizet, Britten et Mozart sur plusieurs grandes scènes d’Europe et d’Amérique du Nord dont celles des Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, New York City Opera, Dallas Opera, Canadian Opera Company et Wexford Festival. Récemment : Marcello (La bohème) au New York City Opera, Germont (La traviata) au English National Opera, Ford (Falstaff) au Houston Grand Opera et Talbot (Maria Stuarda) au Dallas Opera. Prochainement, il sera Sharpless au Lyric Opera de Chicago. Dernière présence à la compagnie : Lakmé (2007).

Suzuki
ANNAMARIA POPESCU, mezzo-soprano (Canada)
Technique raffinée, timbre soyeux et chaleureux, elle chante dans une douzaine de productions à La Scala, en plus de se produire en Europe, en Asie et en Amérique du Nord. Ses rôles : Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Olga (Eugène Onéguine), Meg Page (Falstaff), Suzuki (Madame Butterfly) et Anna (Les Troyens). Elle chante sous la direction de chefs prestigieux tels Riccardo Muti, Sir Colin Davis, Bruno Bartoletti, Charles Dutoit, Andrew Davis, Michael Tilson Thomas, Christoph Eschenbach et plusieurs autres. Récemment, elle chantait Suzuki à La Scala. Dernière présence à la compagnie : La Gioconda (1999).

Goro
JON KOLBET, ténor (États-Unis)
Ses rôles : Monostatos (La flûte enchantée), Mosquito/Maître d’école (Le petite renarde rusée) et Basilio (Les noces de Figaro) au Houston Grand Opera, Goro (Madame Butterfly) au San Francisco Opera, Don Curzio (Les noces de Figaro) au Los Angeles Opera, un Juif (Salome) au New York City Opera, Red Whiskers (Billy Budd) au Washington Opera, Dr. Caius (Falstaff) au Florentine Opera Company, Little Bat (Susannah) au Kentucky Opera, les Quatre serviteurs (Les contes d’Hoffmann) au Fort Worth Opera, Tybalt (Roméo et Juliette) à Opera Carolina et le rôle-titre dans The Impresario au Connecticut Grand Opera. Fait ses débuts à la compagnie.

Le Bonze
YOUNG-BOK KIM, basse (États-Unis)
Young-Bok Kim a récemment ébloui le public et les critiques dans Colline (La bohème) et Le Bonze (Madame Butterfly) au New York City Opera, Silva (Ernani) à Opera Boston, Massimiliano (I Masnadieri), Nilakantha (Lakmé) et Sarastro (La flûte enchantée) au Sarasota Opera; Ramfis (Aida) avec le Arkansas Symphony Orchestra; Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor) avec le Nashville Opera et Aspen Opera Theater Center; Timur (Turandot) au Nevada Opera; un Vieillard hébreu (Samson et Dalila) avec l’El Paso Opera; Basilio (Le barbier de Séville) pour ses débuts au Dallas Opera; et le Bonze (Madame Butterfly) au Greensboro Opera. Il chante également au New York City Opera dans La traviata et Madame Butterfly. Fait ses débuts à la compagnie.

Chef d’orchestre
YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN (Canada)
Directeur musical de l’Orchestre Métropolitain, il dirige fréquemment à l’Opéra de Montréal. Nouvellement nommé directeur musical de l’Orchestre philharmonique de Rotterdam en 2008, il dirige la plupart des orchestres canadiens et a fait ses débuts européens avec l’Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. Depuis, les invitations à diriger se sont multipliées. Prochainement, il dirigera Roméo et Juliette au Festival de Salzbourg. Dernière présence à la compagnie : Turandot (2004).

Chef d’orchestre (31 mai)
GIUSEPPE PIETRAROIA (Canada)
Chef en résidence du McGill University Orchestra en 2000-2001, il a été chef assistant pour Faust présentée en 1996 à Opera Lyra, Ottawa, et plusieurs productions de Pacific Opera Victoria telles Un bal masqué, Tosca et Werther; il y a aussi dirigé Le barbier de Séville, La traviata, La bohème et Lucia di Lammermoor. En 2001, il dirigeait la création de Eyes on the Mountain, produit par le Victoria Conservatory of Music’s Opera Studio. Il a été chef invité à Orchestra London et lors du Festival de Lachine à Montréal. Il est présentement Chef en résidence du Pacific Opera Victoria et du Victoria Symphony. Fait ses débuts à la compagnie.

Metteur en scène
MOFFATT OXENBOULD (Australie)
Il contribue de manière importante au développement de l’opéra en Australie depuis une trentaine d’années. De 1984 à 1999, il est directeur artistique d’Opera Australia. Il a mis en scène plusieurs œuvres dont Turandot, Il trittico, Le viol de Lucrèce, Pagliacci, Semiramide, La clémence de Titus, Madame Butterfly et Simon Boccanegra. En 2005, il mettait en scène Idoménée au Houston Grand Opera et remontait sa production de La bohème au State Opera of South Australia. Fait ses débuts à la compagnie.

Billetterie : PdA (514) 842-2112 | 1 866 842-2112
InfOpéra : operademontreal.com


Le visuel de l’affiche de cette production, des photos des solistes (en haute résolution), ainsi que le communiqué sont disponibles
sur le site de l’Opéra de Montréal. L’hyperlien donnant accès directement à la section MÉDIAS est le suivant : http://operademontreal.com/pages/medias/ Cliquez sur : saison 07-08 puis sur Madame Butterfly | |
code utilisateur : media [sans accent] | | mot de passe : 47opera08 [sans accent]

Prochain rendez-vous : 29e saison 0809
La Fanciulla del West (La fille du Far West) de Puccini
Nouvelle production | 20, 24, 27, 29 septembre, 2 octobre 2008 à 20 h
Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier de la Place des Arts (PDA)
Mise en scène, Thaddeus Strassberger
Direction, Keri-Lynn Wilson – Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal