Acclaimed Soprano Anna Netrebko to Sing Her First Met AIDA

Anna Netrebko makes her Met role debut in the title role of the enslaved Ethiopian princess in Verdi's tragedy of ancient Egypt, Aida, opening September 26. Anita Rachvelishvili sings the role of her formidable rival, Amneris, following the Georgian soprano's critically acclaimed portrayal of Azucena in Verdi's Il Trovatore last season. The cast also features Aleksandrs Antonenko as the warrior Radamès, Quinn Kelsey as Aida's father, Amonasro, Dmitry Belosselskiy as the high priest Ramfis, and Ryan Speedo Green as the King, under the baton of Nicola Luisotti. The October 6 matinee will be transmitted worldwide, kicking off the Met's new Live in HD series, now reaching more than 2,000 movie theaters in 73 countries around the world.

On January 7, Sonja Frisell's production returns with Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role with Dolora Zajick and Olesya Petrova as Amneris, Yonghoon Lee as Radamès, and Roberto Frontali as Amonasro. For the later performances Luisotti will share podium duties with Plácido Domingo. For two performances, on October 15 and 18, Tamara Wilson will sing the title role.

Anna Netrebko made her role debut as Aida to critical acclaim at the Salzburg Festival last summer. Since making her Met debut in 2002 as Natasha in the company premiere of Prokofiev's War and Peace, she has sung 21 roles at the Met, including her role debuts as the title characters of Puccini's Tosca and Manon Lescaut, Tatiana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore, Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth, and the title role in Tchaikovsky's Iolanta. She will be seen at the Met later this season in the title role of the New Year's Eve gala production of Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur, which will be seen around the world as a part of the The Met: Live in HD series.

Anita Rachvelishvili has previously sung the role of Amneris with companies including Wiener Staatsoper, La Scala, Paris Opera, and Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. She made her Met debut singing the title role in Bizet's Carmen for the company in 2011 and again in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Other performances with the company have included Konchakovna in Borodin's Prince Igor and Azucena in Verdi's Il Trovatore. Later this season, she will sing The Princess of Bouillon in the Met's new production of Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur, also opposite Anna Netrebko, and Dalila in the Met's new production of Saint-Saëns's Samson et Dalila.

Aleksandrs Antonenko has sung the role of Radamès at Zürich Opera and Paris Opera. Most recently at the Met he starred as Calàf in Puccini's Turandot and sang in concert performances of Verdi's Requiem. Other Met performances include the title role of Verdi's Otello, Don José in Bizet's Carmen, Pollione in Bellini's Norma, Grigory in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Luigi in Puccini's Il Tabarro, and the Prince in Dvo?ák's Rusalka. Later this season he will sing Samson in Saint-Saëns Samson et Dalila opposite Anita Rachvelishvili.

Quinn Kelsey adds a new role to his Met repertory as Amonasro. The winner of the 2015 Beverly Sills Artist Award, his other company credits include Count di Luna in Verdi's Il Trovatore, Enrico in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Peter in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, Giorgio Germont in Verdi's La Traviata, Monterone in Verdi's Rigoletto, and Marcello and Schaunard in Puccini's La Bohème. Later this season, he will sing Giorgio Germont in the Met's new production of Verdi's La Traviata with the company.

Dmitry Belosselskiy has previously sung the role of Ramfis in the 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons. He made his Met debut in 2011 as Zaccaria in Verdi's Nabucco. Since then, he has sung The Old Hebrew in Saint-Saëns Samson et Dalila, the Old Convict in Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, de Silva in Ernani, and Wurm in Verdi's Luisa Miller with the company. Later this season he will be seen as the Commendatore in Mozart's Don Giovanni and in the return of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen as Fafner in Das Rheingold, Hunding in Die Walküre, and Fafner in Siegfried.

As a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and a winner of the National Council Auditions, Ryan Speedo Green made his Met debut in 2012 as the Mandarin in Puccini's Turandot, followed by roles as the Second Knight in Wagner's Parsifal, the Jailer in Puccini's Tosca, Bonze in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Rambo in John Adams's The Death of Klinghoffer, Colline in Puccini's La Bohème, and the High Priest Oroe in Rossini's Semiramide. Later this season, he'll be seen as Don Basilio in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Wiener Staatsoper.

Nicola Luisotti made his Met debut conducting Tosca in 2006, and since then has conducted Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci, La Bohème, and La Fanciulla del West with the company. Later this season, he will lead the Met's new production of Verdi's La Traviata and Rigoletto. From 2009-2018, he was Music Director of the San Francisco Opera and has conducted many other opera companies including La Scala, La Fenice, the Bavarian State Opera, Dresden State Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Seattle Opera, LA Opera, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

The September 26, October 2, and March 7 performances of Aida will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 75, and the October 2 and March 7 performances will also be streamed live on the Met's web site, www.metopera.org.

The October 6 matinee performance of Aida will be transmitted live around the world at 1:00 p.m. The transmission will be seen in more than 2,000 movie theaters in 73 countries around the world.

To post a comment, you must register and login.