The Metropolitan Opera celebrates its 125th anniversary year with a unique gala performance on March 15, 2009 at 6:00 p.m., featuring Met stars in recreations of historic classic productions and high points in the company's past. Music Director James Levine conducts the evening of 26 staged scenes that, with the use of projections, and scenic and costume recreations, will evoke the Met's illustrious history.
The gala also celebrates the 40th anniversary of the debut of Plácido Domingo, who will be a featured performer. He will be joined by Met stars including Roberto Alagna, Aleksandrs Antonenko, Kim Begley, Stephanie Blythe, Joseph Calleja, Natalie Dessay, Renée Fleming, Juan Diego Flórez, Angela Gheorghiu, Marcello Giordani, Maria Guleghina, Thomas Hampson, Ben Heppner, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Maija Kovalevska, Mariusz Kwiecien, Waltraud Meier, Susanne Mentzer, James Morris, René Pape, Sondra Radvanovsky, John Relyea, and Deborah Voigt.
Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch, the creators of last season's hit production of Satyagraha, have conceived the sets, stage direction, and projections to integrate historic, archival elements into a unique theatrical experience. Leo Warner and Mark Grimmer of Fifty Nine Productions are designing the elaborate projections as they did for both Satyagraha and the recent Met premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic (with sets by Julian Crouch). The projections will include such retrospective elements as the proscenium of the old Met Opera House, playbills, archival photos, original set designs, and pieces of scenery, as well as colorful animation. Catherine Zuber, who designed the costumes for the Met's Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Doctor Atomic, is in charge of costumes for the production, guiding both the recreations and creating new designs where needed. Peter Mumford, lighting designer for the Met productions of Madama Butterfly and Peter Grimes, designs the lighting for this gala as well.
Met General Manager Peter Gelb said, "We would like this to be a celebration of both the music and the rich theatrical history of the old and new Met, which is why we are going beyond the traditional gala format. This will be more than the typical gala parade of singers."
James Levine said, "This is going to be one of the most engaging and enjoyable galas that we have ever done, both for the performers and the audience. Joined by some of the great artists of today, we will pay tribute to the Met's glorious history, touching on legendary moments we all wish we had heard, and reliving some whose memory we treasure. It's sure to be fascinating."
The gala program also affords a preview of future casts with many stars singers performing arias or ensembles from works they are scheduled to sing in upcoming Met seasons, many in new productions. Examples include René Pape singing the Death Scene from Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Stephanie Blythe as Amneris in a duet from Aida, Mariusz Kwiecien in an aria from Don Giovanni, Plácido Domingo singing the title role in a duet from Simon Boccanegra, Deborah Voigt and Ben Heppner in the Siegfried final scene, and Natalie Dessay in the title role of La Traviata.
Highlights include four excerpts from Faust, the opera that opened the Met on October 22, 1883, performed in costumes based on that production; an aria from Puccini's La Fanciulla del West, which had its world premiere at the Met in 1910 with Enrico Caruso in the tenor lead, with the staging and costumes evoking a well-known photograph from the original performance; the conclusion of Parsifal, which had its first (unauthorized) presentation outside of Bayreuth at the Met in 1903 with costumes based on that production; the final duet from Carmen with a recreation of Rosa Ponselle's famous costume designed by Valentina for the 1935 revival; the overture from Die Zauberflöte using animation to bring the renowned 1967 production designed by Marc Chagall to life; the finales of both Das Rheingold and Siegfried, in homage to the first Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle given in America at the Met in 1889; and three tenor arias from Puccini operas saluting the productions of Franco Zeffirelli.
