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Fall 2019 16 PAN PIPES The Metropolitan Opera presents another season of its award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to more than 2,200 theaters in more than 70 countries worldwide, beginning in October. TURANDOT, Giacomo Puccini Live Performance on October 12, 2019 Thrilling dramatic soprano Christine Goerke brings her fierce portrayal of the title princess to cinemas on October 12, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium for Franco Zeffirelli's dazzling production of Puccini's final masterpiece. Tenor Roberto Aronica is the mysterious prince Calàf, alongside soprano Eleonora Buratto as Liù and bass-baritone James Morris as Timur. The large Turandot orchestra calls for a wide variety of instruments, including alto saxophones, celesta, bass xylophone, harps, and an organ. There are several genuine Chinese themes that are integrated into the score in a suave and brilliantly original manner, including the big imperial anthem in Act II. The opera also contains moments of sheer melodic beauty in Puccini's most lyrical vein, most notably in the tenor's unforgettable song of triumph, "Nessun dorma," which opens Act III. MANON, Jules Massenet Live Performance on October 26, 2019 Exhilarating soprano Lisette Oropesa returns to cinemas as the irresistible title character, the tragic beauty who yearns for the finer things in life. Tenor Michael Fabiano is the besotted Chevalier des Grieux, whose desperate love for Manon proves their undoing. Maurizio Benini conducts Massenet's sensual score. The opera is set in and around Paris, with familiar landmarks such as the church of St. Sulpice forming important reference points in the story. The opera was originally set in the early 18th century, but the Met's current production places the story in the late 19th century, the so-called 'Belle Époque' and the time when the opera was written. MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Giacomo Puccini Live Performance on November 9, 2019 Soprano Hui He takes on the heartbreaking title role of the doomed geisha, with tenor Andrea Carè as the American naval officer who abandons her. The great Plácido Domingo makes his role debut as Sharpless, and Pier Giorgio Morandi is on the podium for Anthony Minghella's sweeping production, a perennial audience favorite. The Met premiered this work on February 11, 1907. The story triggers ideas about cultural and sexual imperialism for people far removed from the opera house, and film, Broadway, and popular culture in general have riffed endlessly on it. The lyric beauty of Puccini's score, especially the music for the thoroughly believable lead role, has made Butterfly timeless. AKHNATEN, Philip Glass Live Performance on November 23, 2019 Director Phelim McDermott tackles another one of Philip Glass's modern masterpieces, with star countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo as the revolutionary title ruler who transformed ancient Egypt. To match the opera's hypnotic, ritualistic music, McDermott offers an arresting vision that includes a virtuosic company of acrobats and jugglers. Karen Kamensek conducts. WOZZECK, Alban Berg Live Performance on January 11, 2020 After wowing audiences with his astounding production of Lulu in 2015, South African artist William Kentridge now focuses his extraordinary visual imagination on Berg's other operatic masterpiece, which comes to cinemas for the first time on January 11. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin is on the podium for this important event, with baritone Peter Mattei as the disturbed title character. Soprano Elza van den Heever is Wozzeck's unfaithful mate, alongside a commanding cast that also includes tenor Christopher Ventris, bass-baritone Christian Van Horn, and tenor Gerhard Siegel. Atonality and whole- tone composition coexist in Berg's score with moments of ON THE STAGE The Met's 2019-2020 Cinema Season Fall 2019 16 PAN PIPES Christine Goerke in the title role of Puccini's Turandot PHOTO MART Y SOHL

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