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PAN PIPES Fall 2019 17 ON THE STAGE PAN PIPES Fall 2019 17 romanticism and melody. PORGY AND BESS, The Gershwins Live Performance on February 1, 2020 One of America's favorite operas takes the big screen on February 1. James Robinson's stylish production transports audiences to Catfish Row on the Charleston waterfront, vibrant with the music, dancing, emotion, and heartbreak of its inhabitants. "If you're going to stage Gershwin's opera, this is how," raved the Guardian when the new production premiered in London in 2018. David Robertson conducts a dynamic cast, featuring the sympathetic duo of Eric Owens and Angel Blue in the title roles and an all-star ensemble that includes Golda Schultz, Latonia Moore, Denyce Graves, Frederick Ballentine, and Alfred Walker. AGRIPPINA, George Frideric Handel Live Performance on February 29, 2020 Handel's tale of intrigue and impropriety in ancient Rome arrives in cinemas on February 29, with star mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato as the controlling, power-hungry Agrippina and Harry Bicket conducting. Sir David McVicar's production ingeniously reframes the action of this black comedy about the abuse of power to "the present," where it should loudly resonate. The all-star cast features mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey as Agrippina's son and future emperor Nerone, soprano Brenda Rae as the seductive Poppea, countertenor Iestyn Davies as the ambitious officer Ottone, and bass Matthew Rose as the weary emperor Claudius. DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER, Richard Wagner Live Performance on March 14, 2020 The great bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel brings his acclaimed portrayal of the doomed title sea captain to cinemas for the first time. Valery Gergiev conducts a new production by François Girard, whose visionary 2013 take on Parsifal set the recent Met standard for Wagner stagings. With sweeping sets by John Macfarlane, Girard's new production turns the Met stage into a rich, layered tableau reminiscent of a vast oil painting. The gifted German soprano Anja Kampe, in her Met debut run, is the devoted Senta, whose selfless love is what the Dutchman seeks, with bass Franz-Josef Selig as her father, Daland, and tenor Sergey Skorokhodov as her deserted former lover, Erik. Der Fliegende Holländer is the earliest of Wagner's operatic creations to remain in the repertory, and the score is an extraordinary combination of operatic lyricism, dramatic insight, and magnificent effects. TOSCA, Giacomo Puccini Live Performance on April 11, 2020 Soprano Anna Netrebko, whom the New York Times hailed as "magnificent" when she made her role debut as Tosca in 2018, returns to cinemas on April 11 as Puccini's explosive diva. Tenor Brian Jagde is the idealistic painter Cavaradossi, and baritone Michael Volle completes the opera's fatal love triangle as the sinister Scarpia. Bertrand de Billy conducts Sir David McVicar's stunning production. Puccini's melodrama about a volatile diva, a sadistic police chief, and an idealistic artist has offended and thrilled audiences for more than a century. The score itself is considered a prime example of the style of verismo, usually translated as "realism." The typical musical features include short arias with an uninhibited flood of raw melody, ambient sounds that blur the distinctions between life and art, and the use of parlato — words spoken instead of sung — at moments of tension. MARIA STUARDA, Gaetano Donizetti Live Performance on May 9, 2020 Soprano Diana Damrau, following her triumph as Violetta in last season's new production of Verdi's La Traviata, returns to cinemas as the martyred Mary, Queen of Scots, in Donizetti's bel canto showcase. Star mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton is her imperious rival Queen Elizabeth I, and the silken-voiced tenor Stephen Costello is the noble Earl of Leicester. Maurizio Benini conducts Sir David McVicar's handsome production. The opera takes place in the late 16th century at the court of Queen Elizabeth I in London and at Fotheringhay Castle in central England, Mary's final place of confinement. Maria Stuarda is a prime example of the mid-19th century bel canto style—the drama is firmly embedded in the vocal parts. —metopera.org

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