Guleghina, Domingo, Borodina Star In Adriana Lecouvreur 2/6

Maria Guleghina and Plácido Domingo star in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur, which opens at the Metropolitan Opera on February 6 with Domingo returning to sing the role of his Met debut 40 years ago. Guleghina sings Adriana, the famous actress in love with the military hero Maurizio, sung by Domingo. Olga Borodina sings the Principessa di Bouillon, Adriana's rival for Maurizio's affections, and Roberto Frontali is Adriana's faithful friend Michonnet. Marco Armiliato conducts all performances, and Marcello Giordani sings the role of Maurizio on February 17. All the principal singers other than Domingo are performing their roles for the first time at the Met. Mark Lamos stages this revival, with set designs by C.M. Cristini after sketches by Camillo Paravicini and costume designs by Ray Diffen with additional costumes by Jane Greenwood. Lighting design is by Duane Schuler and choreography by Sergei Gritsai.

On September 28, 1968, Domingo made his Met debut substituting on short notice for Franco Corelli and singing opposite the great Italian soprano Renata Tebaldi, for whom the present production was created. Reviewing the performance, The New York Times called him "the Met's hottest young artist," and went on to describe him as "a strapping fellow with a plangent and sizeable voice, as well as considerable stage magnetism."

Adriana Lecouvreur is based on The Life of the famous 18th century French actress Adrienne Lecouvreur and her love affair with Louis XV's great general, Maurice de Saxe (Maurizio in the opera). The best known work by Italian composer Francesco Cilea, it is a passionate and melodic verismo opera that has long been a favorite of Italian prima donnas. The Met first staged it for the glamorous Lina Cavalieri in 1907, with Enrico Caruso as Maurizio. Tebaldi and Corelli sang the premiere of the current production in 1963, and its revivals since then have included such illustrious cast members as Montserrat Caballé, Renata Scotto, Mirella Freni, José Carreras, Regina Resnik, and Fiorenza Cossotto.

Maria Guleghina, one of the world's most celebrated dramatic sopranos, adds the role of Adriana Lecouvreur to her Met repertoire. Renowned for her portrayals of some of the most notoriously demanding roles in the soprano repertory, Guleghina last season sang Lady Macbeth in the new production of Verdi's Macbeth, which was part of The Met: Live in HD series, as well as the title role of Bellini's Norma. Since her 1991 Met debut as Maddalena in Andrea Chénier, she has been heard in more than 100 performances with the company in roles that include Giorgetta in Il Tabarro, Dolly in the company premiere of Sly, Tosca, and Aida.

Placido Domingo has had one of the most remarkable careers in the Met's 125-year history. He has sung an astounding 611 performances and 45 roles with the company, as well as numerous appearances in galas and concerts. In addition, he has conducted 127 performances of 9 operas. He has performed in 21 opening night performances at the Met, more than any other principal artist in history, including the legendary Enrico Caruso. The 40th anniversary of Domingo's Met debut was celebrated on September 28, 2008 with a special dinner on the stage of the Met and will be fêted again on March 15, 2009, when the Met marks its 125th anniversary with a special gala performance. Domingo's Met career has included many firsts, among them the title role in the world premiere of Tan Dun's The First Emperor (2006), which was later transmitted around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD series; the title role in the United States premiere of Franco Alfano's Cyrano de Bergerac (2005); the title roles in the Met premieres of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari's Sly (2002) and Verdi's Stiffelio (1993); and the role of Danilo in the Met premiere of Lehár's The Merry Widow (2000). He has taken leading roles in 24 new production premieres at the Met and appears regularly in the company's television and radio broadcasts.

Later this season, Domingo returns to another of his best-known roles: Siegmund in Wagner's Die Walküre, which he sings on April 28 and May 5, in the final two performances of Otto Schenk's landmark production of Der Ring des Nibelungen.

Olga Borodina adds the role of the Principessa to her Met repertory after having sung the role of Laura in La Gioconda earlier this season. The Russian singer is among the handful of mezzo-sopranos on international stages today whose repertory covers the wide spectrum from dramatic Verdi parts (Eboli in Don Carlo, Amneris in Aida), to lyrical seductresses by French composers (Dalila in Saint-Saëns's Samson et Dalila and the title role in Bizet's Carmen), to bel canto characters (Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri and La Cenerentola), to the powerful heroines of her native Russia (Marina in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Pauline in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades), all of which she has performed at the Met.

Roberto Frontali sings the role of Michonnet this season, having recently sung the title role of Rigoletto for the first time at the Met on January 24. Frontali has undertaken many major baritone parts at the Met since his 1992 debut as Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore, half of them by Verdi: Germont in La Traviata, Miller in Luisa Miller, Ford in Falstaff, and Count di Luna in the 2002 new production of Il Trovatore. He returns to performing Rigoletto from April 1 to 17.

This season Marco Armiliato conducted Act III of Manon at the Opening Night Gala, which was transmitted as part of The Met: Live in HD, as well as performances of Lucia di Lammermoor and the new production of La Rondine, which was also shown live in HD. Last season, he conducted the new production of La Fille du Régiment, which was also a Live in HD transmission, as well as La Traviata. Among the other operas he has conducted at the Met are the company premiere of Wolf-Ferrari's Sly and the United States premiere of Franco Alfano's Cyrano de Bergerac. The Italian conductor has worked with such companies as the Vienna State Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and Venice's La Fenice. He led two performances of the famed Three Tenors concerts.

Earlier this season, the renowned Italian tenor Marcello Giordani sang the title role in a new production of Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust, which was transmitted as part of The Met: Live in HD series. He also reprised the role of Pinkerton in Anthony Minghella's production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, which he had performed at its premiere on opening night in 2006. In the span of less than six months last season at the Met, Giordani appeared in five operas. He sang Edgardo in Mary Zimmerman's new production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, which opened the season; Roméo in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette (replacing an ailing colleague on short notice); added the title role in Verdi's Ernani to his Met repertoire; and appeared in two Puccini works, as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut which was also shown in The Met: Live in HD series. Giordani has participated in two Met premieres: as Gualtiero in Bellini's Il Pirata (2002), and as the eponymous hero of Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini (2003). He made his Met debut in 1995 as Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème.

Adriana Lecouvreur is being heard by millions of people around the world this season, on the radio and via the internet, through distribution platforms the Met has established with various media partners.

The Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS channel 78 and XM Radio channel 79 is broadcasting the premiere on February 6 as well as performances on February 10, 21, and 25.

The February 6 and 25 performances will also be available via RealNetworks internet streaming through the Met's web site, www.metopera.org. In addition, the Saturday matinee performance on February 21 will heard live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan International Radio Network.

Under the leadership of General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director James Levine, the Met has a series of bold initiatives underway that are designed to broaden its audience and revitalize the company's repertory. The Met has made a commitment to presenting modern masterpieces alongside the classic repertory, with highly theatrical productions featuring the greatest opera stars in the world.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2008-09 season pays tribute to the company's extraordinary history on the occasion of its 125th anniversary, while also emphasizing the Met's renewed commitment to advancing the art form. The season features six new productions, 18 revivals, the final performances of Otto Schenk's production of Wagner's Ring cycle conducted by Levine, and two gala celebrations; the galas include the season-opening performance featuring Renée Fleming as well as a 125th anniversary celebration on March 15. New productions include the company premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic as well as the Met's first staged production of Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust since 1906, Massenet's Thaïs, Puccini's La Rondine, Verdi's Il Trovatore, and Bellini's La Sonnambula.

Building on its 77-year-old radio broadcast history - currently heard over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network - the Met now uses advanced media distribution platforms and state-of-the-art technology to attract new audiences and reach millions of opera fans around the world.

The Emmy Award-winning The Met: Live in HD series reached more than 935,000 people in the 2007-08 season, more than the number of people who saw performances in the opera house. These performances began airing on PBS in March 2008, and nine of these HD performances are now available on DVD. The most recent, The Magic Flute is released by the Met and will be available at the newly renovated Met Shop in the opera house lobby in mid-December. The other eight are on the EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, and Decca labels. In the 2008-09 season, the HD series expands to feature 11 live transmissions, starting with the Met's Opening Night Gala and spanning the entire season. The HD productions are seen this season in over 850 theaters in 31 countries around the world. Five new productions are featured, including the Met premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic. The Opening Night transmission was seen in the Americas only; the remaining ten high-definition productions are shown live worldwide on Saturdays through May 9 with encores scheduled at various times.

Live in HD in Schools, the Met's new program offering free opera transmissions to New York City schools in partnership with the New York City Department of Education and the Metropolitan Opera Guild, reached more than 7,000 public school students and teachers during the 2007-08 season. This season, Live in HD in Schools expands to reach schools in 18 cities and communities nationwide.

Continuing its innovative use of electronic media to reach a global audience, the Metropolitan Opera introduces Met Player, a new subscription service that will make its extensive video and audio catalog of full-length performances available to the public for the first time online, and in exceptional, state-of-the-art quality. The new service currently offers almost 200 historic audio recordings and 50 full-length opera videos will be available, including over a dozen of the company's acclaimed The Met: Live in HD transmissions, known for their extraordinary sound and picture quality. New content, including HD productions and archival broadcasts, will be added monthly.

Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Radio is a subscription-based audio entertainment service broadcasting both an unprecedented number of live performances each week throughout the Met's entire season, as well as rare historical performances, newly restored and remastered, spanning the Met's 77-year broadcast history.

In addition to providing audio recordings through the new Met on Rhapsody on-demand service, the Met also presents free live audio streaming of performances on its website once every week during the opera season with support from RealNetworks®.

The company's groundbreaking commissioning program in partnership with New York's Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), provides renowned composers and playwrights with the resources to create and develop new works at the Met and at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater. The Met's partnership with LCT is part of the company's larger initiative to commission new operas from contemporary composers, present modern masterpieces alongside the classic repertory, and provide a venue for artists to nurture their work.

The Met has launched several audience development initiatives such as the company's Open House Dress Rehearsals, which are free and open to the public. Two are planned for the 2008-09 season: La Damnation de Faust on November 4 and La Sonnambula on February 27. Just prior to beginning the current season, the Met presented a free performance of the Verdi Requiem on September 18, in tribute to the late Luciano Pavarotti. Other company initiatives include the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Gallery Met which exhibits contemporary visual art; the new $25 Weekend Tickets program: the immensely successful Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Rush Ticket program; and an annual Holiday Series presentation for families. This season's special Holiday Presentation is Julie Taymor's production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, an abridged, English-language version of the opera which is given four special matinee performances and one holiday evening performance as a way for families to celebrate the holiday season.

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