Roberto Alagna to Star in CYRANO DE BERGERAC at the Met Opera, 5/2

Roberto Alagna adds a new role to his extensive Met repertory with his first performances as the title character in Cyrano de Bergerac, opening May 2. Marco Armiliato conducts the revival of Alfano's rarely performed opera, which will be staged for four performances through Saturday, May 13. American soprano Jennifer Rowley makes her role debut as Roxane, Cyrano's secret love, in a cast that also features Atalla Ayan as Christian and Juan Jesús Rodríguez as de Guiche.

Roberto Alagna has previously sung Cyrano at Opéra National de Montpellier. Last season at the Met, he sang Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly and made his role debut as des Grieux in a new production of Puccini's Manon Lescaut. Since his company debut in 1996 as Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème, he has sung over 110 performances of 15 different roles with the company including Don José in Bizet's Carmen, Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca, Radamès in Verdi's Aida, and the title characters in Gounod's Faust and Massenet's Werther. Next season, he will sing Turiddu in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Canio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.

Jennifer Rowley makes her role debut as Roxane. In 2014, she made her Met debut as Musetta in La Bohème. Her recent performances with other companies have included the title role of Tosca with New Orleans Opera and Dresden's Sächsische Staatsoper; Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore with Théâtre de Caen, Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, and Opéra de Lille; the title role of Barber's Vanessa with Toledo Opera; and Musetta in La Bohème at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

Atalla Ayan makes his role debut as Christian after making his company debut earlier this season as Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata. His recent credits with other opera houses include Nemorino in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore at the Bavarian State Opera and La Scala, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at Oper Köln, Rodolfo in La Bohème at Deustche Oper Berlin, and Ruggero in Puccini's La Rodine at Royal Opera, Covent Garden. Later this season, he will reprise the role of Alfredo in La Traviata at the San Francisco Opera and Glyndebourne Festival.

Juan Jesús Rodríguez adds a new role to his Met repertory. The Spanish baritone made his Met debut last season as di Luna in Il Trovatore, and his recent credits with other companies include Verdi roles such as the title character in Rigoletto at Madrid's Teatro Real, the title role of Nabucco at the Las Palmas Opera, and Rodrigue in Don Carlos at the Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao. After his performances at the Met, he will sing Marcello in La Bohème at Teatro de la Maestranza in Sevilla.

Marco Armiliato has conducted over 400 performances with the Met since 1998 and has led all other previous performances of Cyrano de Bergerac with the company. In recent seasons, he has conducted performances at the Vienna State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Zurich Opera, and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. The Italian maestro led Aida, La Bohème, and Manon Lescaut earlier this season with the company, and during the 2017-18 Met season, he will conduct three Puccini operas: La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot.

Cyrano de Bergerac Fun Facts

Cyrano de Bergerac premiered at the Rome Opera in 1936. The original staging was sung in Italian, although Alfano originally set the text in French. Today's staging at the Met is sung in French.

The opera had its United States premiere at the Met in 2005 with Plácido Domingo singing in the title role opposite Sondra Radvanovsky as Roxane. To date, the opera has only been staged at the Met for nine performances, all of which have been conducted by Marco Armiliato, who will lead four performances of the opera with the company this season.

Cyrano de Bergerac Radio Broadcasts

The Cyrano de Bergerac performance on May 2 will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 74 and streamed live on the Met's website, www.metopera.org.

The May 6 matinee performance will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

For More Information

For more information on Cyrano de Bergerac, including casting by date, please click here.

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