Bryan Hymel and Ailyn Pérez to Star in Bartlett Sher Directed ROMEO ET JULIETTE

The final production of the Met's 2017-18 season, Gounod's Roméo et Juliette opens on April 23, 2018, with Bryan Hymel and Ailyn Pérez as the star-crossed lovers, conducted by Plácido Domingo and directed by Bartlett Sher. The cast also includes Karine Deshayes as Stéphano, Joshua Hopkins as Mercutio, and Kwangchul Youn as Frère Laurent, with six performances through May 12, 2018.

Ailyn Pérez adds a new role to her Met repertory as Juliette, in what is a break-out year for the soprano, singing leading roles in three productions at the company. Earlier this season she sang the title role in Massenet's Thaïs and the Countess in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. Pérez made her company debut in 2015 as Micaëla in Bizet's Carmen. Next season at the Met, she will sing Mimì in Puccini's La Bohème and Alice Ford in Verdi's Falstaff.

Karine Deshayes makes her company role debut as Stéphano, a role she has sung at Lyon Opera. Her past roles at the Met include Nicklausse/The Muse in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Siébel in Gounod's Faust and Isolier in Rossini's Le Comte Ory. Later this season, she will sing Angelina in Rossini's La Cenerentola at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Urbain in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots at Paris Opera, and Charlotte in Massenet's Werther at Théâtre du Capitole.

Bryan Hymel makes his role debut in the title role of Roméo. He made his company debut in 2012 as Aeneas in Berlioz's Les Troyens, and that same year, he received the prestigious Beverly Sills Artist Award. Other roles with the company have included Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Rodolfo in La Bohème. Following his performances in Roméo et Juliette, he will sing the title role of Faust at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Raoul de Nangis in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots at Paris Opera, and Arrigo in Berlioz's Les Troyens at the Bayerische Staatsoper. Next season, he will sing the Duke in the Met revival of Verdi's Rigoletto.

Joshua Hopkins has previously sung Mercutio at Santa Fe Opera. He made his Met debut as Ping in Puccini's Turandot in 2009. His recent performances include Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Figaro in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Den Norske Opera, and Dr Falke in Die Fledermaus at Santa Fe Opera.

Kwangchul Youn makes his role debut as Frère Laurent. Following his company debut in 2004 in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, he has sung Narbal in Berlioz's Les Troyens, Raimondo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, and King Marke in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, and Talbot in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda. Earlier this season he was seen at the Met as Ferrando in Verdi's Il Trovatore.

Plácido Domingo has led 155 Met performances of ten operas and sung over 675 performances at the Met. The operas he has conducted include Puccini's La Bohème and Madama Butterfly, Verdi's Stiffelio and La Traviata, Bizet's Carmen, and Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. Earlier this season, he sang Miller in Verdi's Luisa Miller with the company. Next season, which marks his 50th anniversary at the Met, he will sing the title role in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi and reprise Germont in Verdi's La Traviata, in addition to conducting performances of Verdi's Aida with the company.

Bartlett Sher's staging of Roméo et Juliette is a co-production with La Scala. It was initially presented at the Salzburg Festival in 2008.

The April 23 performance of Roméo et Juliette will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 75, and will also be streamed live on the Met's web site, www.metopera.org.

The May 5 matinee performance will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

Photo by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

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