Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES FALL 2014 sAI-NATIONAL.ORg 10 WAgNer's dIE MEIStErSINgEr voN NürNbErg Debuts Dec. 13, 2014 with encores James Levine returns to one of his signature Wagner works conducting this epic comedy — back at the Met for the first time in eight years — about a group of Renaissance "master singers" whose song contest unites a city. Michael Volle, Johan Botha, and Annette Dasch lead the superb international cast in this charming and magisterial celebration of the power of music and art. LeHár's thE MErry wIdow (NEw ProductIoN) Debuts Jan. 17, 2015 with encores SAI Honorary Member Renée Fleming stars as the beguiling femme fatale who captivates all Paris in Lehár's enchanting operetta, seen in a new staging by Broadway virtuoso director and choreographer Susan Stroman (e Producers, Oklahoma!, Contact). Stroman and her design team of Julian Crouch (Satyagraha, e Enchanted Island) and costume designer William Ivey Long (Cinderella, Grey Gardens, Hairspray) have created an art-nouveau setting that climaxes with singing and dancing grisettes at the legendary Maxim's. Nathan Gunn co-stars as Danilo and Kelli O'Hara is Valencienne. Andrew Davis conducts. OFFenBaCH's LES coNtES d'hoFFMANN Debuts Jan.31, 2015 e magnetic tenor Vittorio Grigolo takes on the tortured poet and unwitting adventurer of the title of Offenbach's operatic masterpiece, in the Met's wild, kaleidoscopic production. Hibla Gerzmava, Erin Morley, and Christine Rice sing the three heroines — each an idealized embodiment of some aspect of Hoffmann's desire. omas Hampson portrays the shadowy Four Villains, and Yves Abel conducts the sparkling score. tCHaIkOvsky's IoLANtA/ BartOk's bLuEbEArd'S cAStLE (NEw ProductIoN) Debuts Feb. 14, 2015 with encores On the heels of her triumphant Met performances in Eugene Onegin, soprano Anna Netrebko takes on another Tchaikovsky heroine in the first opera of this intriguing double bill, consisting of an enchanting fairy tale (Iolanta) followed by an erotic psychological thriller (Duke Bluebeard's Castle). Netrebko stars as the beautiful blind girl who experiences love for the first time in Iolanta, while Nadja Michael is the unwitting victim of the diabolical Bluebeard, played by Mikhail Petrenko. Both operas are directed by Mariusz Trelinski, who was inspired by classic noir films of the 1940s. Iolanta also stars Piotr Beczala, and Valery Gergiev conducts both operas. rOssInI's LA doNNA dEL LAgo (MEt PrEMIErE) Debuts march 14, 2015 with encores Bel canto superstars Joyce DiDonato and Juan Diego Flórez join forces for this Rossini showcase of vocal virtuosity, set in the medieval Scottish highlands and based on a beloved novel by Sir Walter Scott. DiDonato is the "lady of the lake" of the title, and Flórez is the king who relentlessly pursues her, their vocal fireworks embellishing the romantic plot in this Met premiere production conducted by Michele Mariotti. masCagnI's cAvALLErIA ruStIcANA /LeOnCavaLLO's PAgLIAccI (NEw ProductIoN) Debuts april 25, 2015 with encores Opera's most enduring tragic double bill returns in an evocative new production from Sir David McVicar, who sets the action across two time periods but in the same Sicilian village. Marcelo Álvarez rises to the challenge of playing the dual tenor roles of Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana and Canio in Pagliacci. Rae Smith (War Horse) has designed the moodily atmospheric 1900 village square setting of Cavalleria, which transforms to a 1948 truck stop for the doomed vaudeville troupe of Pagliacci. Eva-Maria Westbroek (Cav) and Patricia Racette (Pag) sing the unlucky heroines, and Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi is on the podium. staGe and sCreen Dur ing the height of the civil wars and ignor ing exten sive polit i cal pres sure, Marina chal lenged the intol er ance and took the Ser bian Radio and Tele vi sion Sym phony Orches tra to Kosovo's largest hall, the 11,000 seat Boro Ramiz Cen ter in Prishtina, where she played both Mus lim and Chris t ian music to an appre cia tive stand ing room audi ence of Mus lims and Chris tians with out a sin gle inci dent of vio lence. As a result of this coura- geous act, how ever, she was barred from appear ing on tele vi sion by polit i- cal extrem ists. She responded by per form ing over 75 con certs before large crowds in shop ping cen ters, music halls, and hotels with her orig i nal music, seam lessly blend ing eth nic and cul tural rhythms with Mus lim and Chris t- ian melodies. She was advised to leave the coun try for her own safety and was guided to the U.S. Embassy in Budapest where by spe cial bipar ti san Con gres sional arrange ment she was able to enter the United States. Fol low ing the ouster of extrem ists, she was invited by the newly formed mod er ate gov ern ment to return to Ser bia for a Euro pean con cert tour and over 300,000 fans came to hear the music that helped calm a nation torn apart by hatred and violence. Fol low ing the tragedy of 9/11, Marina felt com pelled to return to the United States to per form a series of ben e fit con certs for the vic tims and their fam i lies in Penn syl va nia and Mary land and to thank the Amer i- can peo ple for their gen eros ity in grant ing asy lum in the United States to refugees in mixed Serbian-Muslim mar riages who had fled per se cu tion in Bosnia. She was initiated as an Honorary Member by the Pontchartrain Alumnae Chapter in 2003. Marina also under took a multi-city con cert tour in the United States and Canada to raise aware ness and human i tar ian aid for orphans and needy chil dren through out East ern Europe by assist ing char i ties such as the Ser- bian Life line Human i tar ian Orga ni za tion and the Russ ian Children's Wel- fare Soci ety. Attendees of the 100th anniversary National Convention in Dearborn, MI, were treated to a performance by Marina, initiated as an Honorary Member of Sigma Alpha Iota. She is cur rently com pos ing music for the- atre, film and con cert stage com mem o rat ing the life of her coun try man, the renowned sci en tist Nikola Tesla. Her Tesla Rhap sody will be debuted in 2015 by orches tras through out the United States and Europe. — marinainamerica.com For more information, visit metopera.org/ ClICk For More HONORED continued from page 8 MET continued from page 9

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