Sondra Radvanovsky to Star as Queen Elizabeth I in Met Opera's ROBERTO DEVEREUX

Sondra Radvanovsky completes her season-long quest to sing the leading roles in all three operas in Donizetti's Tudor queens trilogy on March 24, when she stars as Queen Elizabeth I in the Met premiere of Roberto Devereux. Radvanovsky gave acclaimed performances as Anne Boleyn in Anna Bolena and Mary, Queen of Scots in Maria Stuarda earlier this season. Her performances in Roberto Devereux will make her the first singer since Beverly Sills in the 1970s to perform all three roles in a single New York season.

The staging, featuring direction and scenic design by Sir David McVicar, will be conducted by bel canto specialist Maurizio Benini and will also star Matthew Polenzani as the title character; Mariusz Kwiecien as the Duke of Nottingham; and El?na Garan?a as Sara, the Dutchess of Nottingham who is secretly in love with her husband's best friend, Devereux.

McVicar makes his Met debut as set designer with this production, which also features costumes designed by Moritz Junge, lighting designed by Paule Constable, and choreography by Leah Hausman.

The Saturday, April 16 matinee performance of Roberto Devereux will be transmitted worldwide as part of the Met's Live in HD series, which is now seen in more than 2,000 movie theaters in 70 countries around the world.

Cast and Conductor Bios

Sondra Radvanovsky has previously sung the role of Elisabetta with the Canadian Opera Company in 2014. After winning the National Council Auditions in 1995, she made her Met debut the following year as the Countess Ceprano in Verdi's Rigoletto. She has sung 193 performances with the company to date. Recent roles at the Met include Amelia in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore, the title characters in Bellini's Norma and Verdi's Aida, and earlier this season, the title roles of Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda. Following her performances in Roberto Devereux, she will sing the title characters in Puccini's Tosca at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Verdi's Aida at the Paris Opera.

El?na Garan?a makes her role debut as Sara. After making her Met debut in 2008 as Rosina in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, she starred as Angelina in Rossini's La Cenerentola, Sesto in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, and in the title role of Bizet's Carmen. Next season, she will sing her first Met performances of a signature role, Octavian, in a new production of Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier.

This season, Matthew Polenzani adds a new role to his repertory as Roberto Devereux. He has sung 326 performances with the Met since his company debut in 1997 as a Boyar in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. Other credits with the company include Ferrando in Mozart's Così fan tutte, the title character in Offenbach's Les Contes d' Hoffmann, Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore, Leicester in Maria Stuarda, and the Duke in Rigoletto. Earlier this season, Polenzani made his role debut as Nadir in the Met premiere of Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles, and next season, he will star in the title role of Mozart's Idomeneo, Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni, and as the Italian Singer in the new production of Der Rosenkavalier.

Mariusz Kwiecien sang the role of the Duke of Nottingham at the Teatro Real in Madrid earlier this season. He made his Met debut in 1999 as Kuligin in Janá?ek's Ká?a Kabanová, and since then, he has sung over 190 performances with the company. His other roles at the Met include the Count in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Marcello in Puccini's La Bohème, Riccardo Forth in Bellini's I Puritani, Onegin in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore, the title role of Don Giovanni, and earlier this season, Zurga in the new production of Les Pêcheurs de Perles, opposite Polenzani. Next season at the Met, he can be seen reprising the title character in Don Giovanni.

Maurizio Benini has conducted over 165 performances at the Met since his company debut in 1998 leading L'Elisir d'Amore. Some of his notable performances conducting at the Met include Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Rossini's Le Comte Ory, Gounod's Faust, Bellini's Norma, and the Met premiere of Maria Stuarda. The Italian conductor has led performances at various opera houses around the world including the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, Paris Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. This month, he is also conducting Donizetti's Don Pasquale, and next season, he can be seen leading Il Barbiere di Siviglia, as well as Bellini's I Puritani.

Director and Creative Team Bios

With this staging, Sir David McVicar completes an ambitious directorial accomplishment: staging the Met premieres of all three operas in Donizetti's Tudor trilogy. He made his company debut in 2009 staging Il Trovatore, followed by Handel's Giulio Cesare, and the double bill of Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. McVicar has also staged multiple operas around the world including at the Vienna State Opera, English National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Frankfurt Opera, Scottish Opera, and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, as well as the Glyndebourne Festival and Salzburg Festival.

Moritz Junge made his Met debut last season designing costumes for McVicar's staging of Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci. His work with other opera companies includes the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Hannover State Opera, English National Opera, the Bolshoi Theatre, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. His work spans from designing costumes for The National Theater, Theater Aachen, and Theater Oberhausen to costumes for the Royal Ballet and Paris Ballet.

Paule Constable has been the lighting designer on multiple productions with the company since her Met debut in 2008 designing lighting for Philip Glass's Satyagraha. Her other Met credits include the recent new productions of Don Giovanni, Anna Bolena, Giulio Cesare, Cavalleria Rusticana/ Pagliacci, Lehár's The Merry Widow, and Le Nozze di Figaro. She has been the lighting designer for various opera houses in Europe including the Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, English National Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden along with the Glyndebourne Festival. Her work has been seen across the West End and Broadway such as Amadeus, Evita, The Cripple of Inishmaan, and Wolf Hall, and garnered her two Tony Awards for her work on War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night.

Leah Hausman has choreographed for two of McVicar's productions at the Met: Maria Stuarda and Il Trovatore. She has worked as a choreographer and movement director for La Scala, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Royal Dutch Opera, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. She has also choreographed for the National Theatre and Old Vic in the UK. In addition to choreography, Hausman has also directed productions at the Royal Court Theatre and National Theatre.

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