Angela Meade and Elizabeth DeShong Star In Rossini Rarity, SEMIRAMIDE

Rossini's Semiramide is presented at the Met for the first time in 25 years, with eight performances beginning February 19, 2018, led by Maurizio Benini. The cast, comprised of artists considered by many to be amongst the world's leading Bel Canto singers, includes Angela Meade in the title role, Elizabeth DeShong as Arsace, Javier Camarena as Idreno, Ildar Abdrazakov as King Assur and Ryan Speedo Green as the High Priest Oroe. On March 10, 2018, the production will be transmitted to cinemas throughout the world as part of the Met's Live in HD series.

The tragic Queen of Babylon was the first role that Gioachino Rossini wrote for Isabella Colbran after their marriage in 1822. The opera was an immediate hit, even though Americans had to wait until 1845 before it arrived in New York. The Met revived the work in the 1890s (with Nellie Melba), but it disappeared from the rep for nearly a century. The Met's 1990 staging starred June Anderson as the Queen, with Marilyn Horne as her commander and would-be lover.

Angela Meade made her company debut in 2008 singing Elvira in Verdi's Ernani, and her other Met roles have included the title roles of Anna Bolena, Alice Ford in Verdi's Falstaff, the Countess in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, and Leonora in Il Trovatore. Last season, the American soprano added a new role to her Met repertory as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and was a soloist during the Met's 50th Anniversary at Lincoln Center Gala. Earlier in the company's 2017-18 season, she sang the title role of Bellini's Norma, a role she had previously sung with the company, as well as at Teatro Real in Madrid, Los Angeles Opera, and Washington National Opera.

Elizabeth DeShong has previously performed at the Met in the pastiche opera The Enchanted Island and in Berg's Lulu. She sang the role of Calbo in Rossini's rarely-performed Maometto II at the Canadian Opera Company, and earlier this season sang Ruggiero in Alcina at Washington National Opera. During the 2016/17 season, the American mezzo-soprano sang Adalgisa in Bellini's Norma at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and made her Royal Opera and Bayerische Staatsoper debuts as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. She has also performed with the San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, English National Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Opeìra National de Bordeaux, and the Glyndebourne Festival.

Javier Camarena made his Met debut in 2011 as Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia,. He sang Don Ramiro in Rossini's La Cenerentola at the Met in 2014, in which the overwhelming audience response led the Mexican tenor to give a mid-performance encore of the aria "Si, ritrovarla io guiro". He gave another mid-performance encore, of the aria "Povero Ernesto", in 2016 when he sang Ernesto in Donizetti's Don Pasquale. In 2017 he sang the role of Arturo in Bellini's I Puritani, and also sang at the Met's 50th Anniversary at Lincoln Center Gala.

Ildar Abdrazakov was most recently seen on stage at the Met in the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro, reprising his performance from the production premiere in 2014. He had previously sung the role at the Met in 2012. The Russian bass's other credits with the Met include Escamillo in Carmen, Henry VIII in Donizetti's Anna Bolena, the title character in Borodin's Prince Igor, and Dosifei in Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina.

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 Madarin in Turandot, followed by roles as the Second Knight in Parsifal, the Jailer in Tosca, Bonze in Madama Butterfly, and Rambo in John Adams's The Death of Klinghoffer. In 2016 the American bass-baritone added a new role to his Met repertory as Colline in Puccini's La Boheme.

Maurizio Benini made his Met debut in 1998 leading L'Elisir d'Amore. Some of his notable performances conducting at the Met include Lucia di Lammermoor, Le Comte Ory, Faust, Bellini's Norma and I Puritani, and the Met premieres of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda and Roberto Devereux. 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.

Semiramide Live in HD and Radio Broadcasts

The March 10 matinee performance of Semiramide will be transmitted live around the world at 12:55 p.m. ET hosted by Christopher Maltman. The transmission will be seen in more than 2,000 movie theaters in 73 countries around the world.

The February 19 performance will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 75, as will the performances on Tuesday March 6. The performances will also be streamed live on the Met's Web site, www.metopera.org.

The March 10 matinee performance will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

Photo: A scene from Act I of Rossini's "Semiramide" with Angela Meade in the title role.
Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera

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