FINAL SCREENING - 2007-2007 HIGHLIGHTS SEASON

The First Emperor - Tan Dun
Saturday, September 6, 2008 and Sunday, September 7, 2008.
Check cinemas for start times
The world premiere production of Chinese composer, and Oscar winner (for the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon music score), Tan Dun's epic opera, The First Emperor. It features legendary tenor Plácido Domingo as Emperor Qin, who founded an empire that would survive for 2,000 years. Tan Dun's music is a fascinating mix of East and West and the monumental production is by revered Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern and House of Flying Daggers and the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics) with costumes by designer Emi Wada (Kurosawa's Ran).

Running Time: 3 hours 15 minutes.
Featuring: Elizabeth Futral, Michelle DeYoung, Susanne Mentzer,
Plácido Domingo, Paul Groves, Hao Jiang Tian, Wu Hsing-Kuo. Conducted by composer Tan Dun.

BY POPULAR DEMAND!

Many cinemas who have screened the 2006-2006 Highlights season are doing By Popular Demand screenings on the weekend of September 27 and 28.
Check your local cinema for times and programmes.

2008-2009 MET SEASON in HD
CAPTURED LIVE IN HIGH DEFINITION AND SCREENING CONCURRENTLY WITH THE NEW YORK SEASON

Salome – Richard Strauss
Sat Oct 25 at 11.30am, Sun 26 Nov at 1.00pm, Thurs* 30 at 11.30am
Karita Mattila caused a sensation when she sang Salome at the Met for the first time in 2004. She reprises her stunning interpretation of the part, including her unforgettable Dance of the Seven Veils.

Conductor: Mikko Franck; Production: Jürgen Flimm;
Karita Mattila, Ildikó Komlósi, Juha Uusitalo, Kim Begley, Joseph Kaiser
(1hr 37mins. One Interval.)

Doctor Atomic – John Adams
Sat Nov 22 at 11.30am, Sun 23 Nov at1.00pm, Thurs* 27 Nov at 11.30am
John Adams' contemporary masterpiece explores a momentous episode of modern history: the creation of the atomic bomb. Director Penny Woolcock makes her Met debut with this gripping story that changed the course of history. Baritone Gerald Finley plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the title character.

Conductor: Alan Gilbert; Production: Penny Woolcock;
Sasha Cooke, Meredith Arwady, Gerald Finley, Eric Owens, Richard Paul Fink
(3hrs 21mins. One Interval.)

La Damnation de Faust – Hector Berlioz - Brand new production
Sat Dec 6 at 11.30am, Sun 7 Dec at1.00pm, Thurs* 11 Dec at 11.30am
Robert Lepage, one of theatre's most imaginative directors, applies his artistry to Berlioz's contemplation of good and evil. Using projections, Lepage has created a vision for La Damnation de Faust that seamlessly marries art and technology. Marcello Giordani stars in the title role opposite Susan Graham as Marguerite and John Relyea as Méphistophélès. James Levine conducts this rarely staged masterwork.

Conductor: James Levine; Production: Robert Lepage;
Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, John Relyea
(2hrs 45mins. One Interval.)

2009

Thaïs – Jules Massenet - Brand new production
Sat Jan 10 at 11.30am, Sun 11 Jan at 1.00pm, Thurs* 15 Jan at 11.30am
Renée Fleming stars as the Egyptian courtesan in search of spiritual sustenance. Thomas Hampson is the monk who falls from grace. Massenet's sensual opera is presented in a new production by John Cox.

Conductor: Jesús López-Cobos; Production: John Cox;
Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, Michael Schade
(3hrs 21mins. Two Intervals.)

La Rondine – Giacomo Puccini - Brand new production
Sat Jan 31 at 11.30am, Sun Feb 1 at 1.00pm, Thurs* 5 Feb at 11.30am
Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna provide the star power to deliver this ravishing romance from the world's most popular opera composer. Gheorghiu plays the kept woman who gambles on true love, and Alagna is the man who makes her question the cost of her glittering existence. Nicolas Joël directs the new production of this gorgeously melodic look at love.

Conductor: Marco Armiliato; Production: Nicolas Joël;
Angela Gheorghiu, Lisette Oropesa, Roberto Alagna, Marius Brenciu, Samuel Ramey
(2hrs 15mins. One Interval.)

Orfeo ed Euridice – Christoph Willibald Gluck
Sat Feb 14 at 11.30am, Sun 15 Feb at 1.00pm, Thurs* 19 Feb at 11.30am
Mark Morris's acclaimed production returns. This complete vision for Gluck, with choreography by Morris and costumes by Isaac Mizrahi, features the artistry of Stephanie Blythe in the male title role. The alluring Danielle de Niese is Orfeo's adored wife, Euridice, who inspires the hero to face the underworld for her sake. Music Director James Levine conducts.

Conductor: James Levine; Production: Mark Morris;
Stephanie Blythe, Danielle de Niese
(1hr 31mins. One Interval.)

Lucia di Lammermoor – Gaetano Donizetti
Sat Mar 7 at 11.30am, Sun 9 Mar at 1.00pm, Thurs* 12 Mar at 11.30am
Anna Netrebko sings the title role of Donizetti's fragile heroine for the first time at the Met, with tenor Rolando Villazón in the part of her lover, Edgardo. Baritone Mariusz Kwiecien is her tyrannical brother. Mary Zimmerman's hit production is staged as a Victorian ghost story.

Conductor: Marco Armiliato; Production: Mary Zimmerman;
Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón, Mariusz Kwiecien, Ildar Abdrazakov
(3hrs 20mins. Two Intervals.)

Madama Butterfly – Giacomo Puccini
Sat Mar 21 at 11.30am, Sun 22 Mar at 1.00pm, Thurs* 26 Mar at 11.30am
Cristina Gallardo-Domâs returns to the title role of Anthony Minghella's stunning production, a new classic of the Met repertory, opposite Marcello Giordani.

Conductor: Patrick Summers; Production: Anthony Minghella;
Cristina Gallardo-Domâs, Marcello Giordani
(3hrs 21mins. Two Intervals.)

La Sonnambula – Vincenzo Bellini - Brand new production
Sat Apr 4 at 11.30am, Sun 5 Apr at 1.00pm, Thurs* 9 April at 11.30am
Mary Zimmerman, who directed Natalie Dessay in last season's hit production of Lucia di Lammermoor, underlines La Sonnambula's dual elements of sleep and wakefulness in an intriguing staging set in the present. Bellini's hauntingly lyrical score soars as performed by Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez, back from their sensational run together in La Fille du Régiment.

Conductor: Evelino Pidò; Production: Mary Zimmerman;
Natalie Dessay, Juan Diego Flórez, Michele Pertusi
(2hrs 40mins. One Interval.)

La Cenerentola - Gioachino Rossini
Sat May 23 at 11.30am, Sun 24 May at 1.00pm, Thurs* 28 May at 11.30am
Hot on the heels of her triumphant Met debut as Rosina in last season's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Elena Garanea portrays another Rossini charmer in this bel canto Cinderella story. Lawrence Brownlee is her Prince Charming. Veteran baritone Alessandro Corbelli demonstrates his impeccable comic timing to match the gravitas of Met favorite John Relyea.

Conductor: Maurizio Benini; Production: Cesare Lievi;
Elena Garanea, Lawrence Brownlee, Simone Alberghini, Alessandro Corbelli, John Relyea
(3hrs. One Interval.)


Programmes and casting subject to change. Running times are approximate.
Note: All operas are subtitled in English.

(* not all locations screen Thursday performances)

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