Borodin's Russian Epic PRINCE IGOR Returns to the Met Tonight

Borodin's operatic masterpiece Prince Igor will return to the Met tonight, February 6 for the first time since 1917, in a new production by acclaimed director Dmitri Tcherniakov in his Met debut.

Ildar Abdrazakov stars as the heroic title character, a 12th-century ruler who defended Russia against invading Polovtsian forces. Gianandrea Noseda, a specialist in Russian music, will conduct a new edition of the opera-left unfinished by Borodin at the time of his sudden death in 1887-which has been specially created for the Met production. The cast also includes Ukrainian soprano Oksana Dyka in her Met debut as Igor's wife, Yaroslavna; Anita Rachvelishvili as the fiery Polovtsian princess Konchakovna; Russian tenor Sergey Semishkur in his Met debut as Igor's son, Vladimir Igorevich; Mikhail Petrenko as Yaroslavna's brother, Prince Galitsky; and Štefan Kocán as Khan Konchak, leader of the Polovtsian forces. Tcherniakov is also the set designer for his production, which will feature costume design by Elena Zaitseva in her Met debut, lighting design by Gleb Filshtinsky, and choreography by Itzik Galili in his Met debut. The Saturday, March 1 matinee performance of Prince Igor 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 64 countries around the world.

Prince Igor was performed at the Met just 10 times between 1915 and 1917, always in an Italian translation. The opera then fell out of the company's repertory, though it continues to be performed regularly elsewhere, particularly in Russia, where it is part of the standard operatic repertory. In 1953, Robert Wright and George Forrest adapted parts of the score, as well as other Borodin compositions, into the Broadway musical Kismet, best-known for the standard "Stranger in Paradise" which is set to the music of one of Prince Igor's Polovtsian Dances. For the Met production, Noseda and Tcherniakov have constructed a new edition of the opera using recent research that incorporates all the known music and orchestration by Borodin. This edition also makes significant changes to the order of scenes in the opera and includes three pieces of newly orchestrated material by Pavel Smelkov, the Russian composer and conductor who will lead the February 21 performance.

Dmitri Tcherniakov is a leading international opera and theater director, having staged numerous acclaimed productions in Europe and his native Russia. His recent productions include Verdi's La Traviata, which opened the current season at La Scala; Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride for the Berlin State Opera and La Scala; Janá?ek's Jen?fa for Zurich Opera; Verdi's Simon Boccanegra for the Munich Festival; and Mozart's Don Giovanni at Aix-en-Provence. His staging of Rimsky-Korsakov's The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh premiered at the Mariinsky in 2000 and was performed at the Met in 2003 as part of the Lincoln Center Festival. Tcherniakov's honors include the 2013 inaugural Opera Award for Best Director and four Golden Mask awards, Russia's highest theatrical honor, for his stagings of The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, Verdi's Aida, and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.

Gianandrea Noseda made his Met debut in 2002 leading Prokofiev's War and Peace. In later Met seasons, he has conducted Verdi's La Forza del Destino, Un Ballo in Maschera, and Macbeth, as well as the new production premieres of Il Trovatore and La Traviata. He is the Musical Director of the Teatro Regio in Turin, Principal Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Orquestra de Cadaqués, and Artistic Director of Italy's Stresa Festival. In 1997, he was named Principal Guest Conductor of the Mariinsky Theater; he was the first non-Russian musician ever appointed to the position.

Ildar Abdrazakov's many starring roles at the Met have included the title role in the Met premiere of Verdi's Attila, conducted by Riccardo Muti; the title character in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro; Masetto, Leporello, and the title character in Don Giovanni; Dosifei in Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina; Enrico in the Met premiere of Donizetti's Anna Bolena; and the Four Villains in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann. He opened the San Francisco Opera's current season in the title role of Boito's Mefistofele.

Oksana Dyka makes her Met debut as Yaroslavna. She sings regularly at numerous leading opera houses around the world. Her recent performances have included the title role in Aida at Paris Opera, Berlin State Opera, Arena di Verona, and La Scala; the title role in Puccini's Tosca at Berlin State Opera, the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, La Scala, Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Dresden State Opera, and Frankfurt State Opera; and the title role in Puccini's Madama Butterfly at Los Angeles Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Arena di Verona.

Anita Rachvelishvili made her Met debut in 2011 in the title role of Bizet's Carmen, a role she repeated at the Met last season. She has sung Carmen at many major houses, including La Scala; the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Teatro Regio in Torino; Deutsche Oper Berlin; Arena di Verona; and Seattle Opera. Her other recent performances include Lyubasha in The Tsar's Bride at Berlin State Opera, Amneris in Aida at Detroit Opera, and the Principessa de Boullion with Opera Orchestra of New York.

Sergey Semishkur sings regularly at the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg. His roles with that company in recent seasons have included the title character in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Aeneas in Berlioz's Les Troyens, Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème, Števa in Janá?ek's Jen?fa, Truffaldino in Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges, the title character in Gounod's Faust, and Vaudemont in Tchaikovsky's Iolanta.

Mikhail Petrenko made his Met debut in 2002 in War and Peace, singing the roles of Marshal Davout, Bolkonsky's Valet, and Tikhon. His other roles with the company have included Pistola in Verdi's Falstaff, Hunding in Wagner's Die Walküre, Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto, and Pimen in the new production premiere of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.

Earlier this season, Štefan Kocán sang Prince Gremin in the new production of Eugene Onegin and Sparafucile in Rigoletto, a role he also sang in the new production premiere last season. His other Met roles have included the King and Ramfis in Aida, the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, the Grand Inquisitor in Verdi's Don Carlo, and Ferrando in Il Trovatore.

Elena Zaitseva has collaborated frequently with Tcherniakov, designing costumes for his productions of Khovanshchina and Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites at the Bavarian State Opera and his upcoming The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh for La Scala, Dutch National Opera, and Gran Teatre del Liceu. Gleb Filshtinsky made his Met debut in 2005-06 season as lighting designer for the Met premiere of Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa. Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili has staged more than 60 ballets for companies including the Bavarian State Opera and Dutch National Ballet; he is co-Artistic Director of the contemporary dance company Dansgroep Amsterdam.

Prince Igor Related Events:

- On Wednesday, January 15 at 8 p.m., the Met and Le Poisson Rouge will present "Russian Exoticism and Prince Igor," a concert at Le Poisson Rouge featuring Ildar Abdrazakov, Anita Rachvelishvili, Štefan Kocán, and soprano Anna Netrebko. The concert will include arias from Prince Igor and selections by other Russian composers, and musicians will include pianists Natalia Katyukova and Irina Soboleva, both assistant conductors at the Met. The event is sold out; for more information, visit www.lepoissonrouge.com.

- On Wednesday, January 22 at 7 p.m., the Film Society of Lincoln Center will present a screening of Sergei Eisenstein's classic 1938 film Alexander Nevsky. Before the film begins, Dmitri Tcherniakov will join music historian and professor Simon Morrison of Princeton University for a discussion on the role of powerful leaders in the creation of the Russian nation, introduced by Peter Gelb. For more information or to order tickets, visit www.filmlinc.com.

- On Wednesday, January 29 at 6 p.m., MetTalks, the Met's series of panel discussions related to new productions, will feature a discussion of Prince Igor. Peter Gelb will moderate a conversation with Dmitri Tcherniakov, Gianandrea Noseda, and Ildar Abdrazakov. This program will take place in the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available through the Met Guild at $20 for the general public, $15 for Met Subscribers, and $10 for Guild Members and Young Associates. MetTalks are free to all Met Patrons. To purchase tickets, call 212-769-7028 or visit www.metguild.org/lectures. Patrons may call 212-870-4502 to reserve tickets to MetTalks.

- On Monday, February 10 at 5:30 p.m., many of New York's leading mixologists will create Prince Igor-inspired libations for the Met's fifth annual cocktail competition. The event, which is open to Met Opera Students and other special guests, will be judged by leading mixologists and nightlife journalists, as well as a Met star to be announced at a later date.

Prince Igor Live in HD and on the Radio: The March 1 matinee performance of Prince Igor will be transmitted live to movie theaters around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD series. Bass-baritone Eric Owens will host the transmission, which begins at 12 p.m. ET (check local listings.) Since the Live in HD series launched in 2006, nearly 14 million tickets have been sold to opera lovers worldwide. The Met: Live in HD is now seen in more than 2,000 theaters in 64 countries around the world.

The February 6 opening performance will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 74, as will the performances on February 10, 24, and March 1. The February 6 performance will also be streamed live on the Met's website, www.metopera.org.

The March 1 matinee performance will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

For more information on this season's performances of Prince Igor, visit the Met's website at www.metopera.org.

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