The Met to Celebrate Britten's Centennial With a Revival of A Midsummer Night's Dream

On the occasion of composer Benjamin Britten's centennial, the Met will present its first performances of his 1960 opera A Midsummer Night's Dream in more than a decade. James Conlon leads his first Met performances of the opera, which is directed by Tim Albery in a revival of his acclaimed 1996 production. Kathleen Kim and Iestyn Davies sing Tytania and Oberon, the sparring king and queen of the fairies. The four mismatched Athenian lovers will be sung by Erin Wall as Helena, Elizabeth DeShong as Hermia, Joseph Kaiser as Lysander, andMichael Todd Simpson as Demetrius. The sextet of "rude mechanicals" whose amateur theater troupe becomes entangled with the other characters will be led by Matthew Rose as the stage-struck weaver Bottom. All of these singers will be making their company role debuts in this season's performances. Actor Riley Costello makes his Met debut in the speaking role of the mischievous Puck.

James Conlon has conducted more than 250 Met performances in a wide-ranging repertory of 21 different operas, including the Met premieres of Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Carlisle Floyd's Susannah and the world premiere of Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy. His other Met performances have included Britten's Peter Grimes; Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust; Bizet'sCarmen; Janá?ek's Jen?fa; Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflöte; Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina; Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites; Puccini's La Bohème and Tosca; Rossini's Semiramide; Strauss's Salome; Verdi's Aida, Un Ballo in Maschera, La Traviata, and Il Trovatore; and Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer. He last conducted Midsummer in 2012 at Rome Opera.

Soprano Kathleen Kim made her Met debut in 2007 as Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro. Last season, she sang Oscar in the new production premiere of Un Ballo in Maschera. Her other roles with the company have included Zerbinetta in Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos, Chiang Ch'ing in the company premiere of John Adams's Nixon in China, and Olympia in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann.

Soprano Erin Wall made her Met debut in 2009 as Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni.She has sung Helena at Lyric Opera of Chicago and La Scala. Later this season, she returns to the Met to sing the title role in Strauss's Arabella and sings Donna Anna with Vancouver Opera.

Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong sang the role of Hermia in a very different context in the world premiere of The Enchanted Island, a Baroque pastiche created for the Met by Jeremy Sams that combines characters and storylines from A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest. She will repeat the role in The Enchanted Island's first Met revival later this season and also make her company role debut as Suzuki in Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

Countertenor Iestyn Davies made his Met debut in 2011 as Unulfo in Handel's Rodelinda. He returned last season to sing the drunken jester Trinculo in the company premiere of Thomas Adès's The Tempest. His other recent credits include Oberon with Houston Grand Opera and Eustazio in Handel'sRinaldo at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Tenor Joseph Kaiser most recently appeared at the Met as Grimoaldo in Rodelinda. He made his company debut in 2007 as Roméo in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. His other Met roles have included Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Narraboth in Salome, and Flamand in Strauss's Capriccio.

Baritone Michael Todd Simpson made his Met debut as Hermann and Schlémil in Les Contes d'Hoffmann. His other roles with the company have been Lescaut in Massenet's Manon, Moralès inCarmen, a Flemish Deputy in Verdi's Don Carlo, and Streshnev in Khovanshchina.

Bass Matthew Rose starred as Talbot in last season's Met premiere performances of Donizetti'sMaria Stuarda. He made his company debut in 2011 as Colline in La Bohème. He has sung Bottom at Houston Grand Opera and La Scala.

Young actor Riley Costello makes his Met debut as Puck. His Broadway credits includeEveryday Rapture and Bye Bye Birdie with Roundabout Theater Company and the musical 13.

A Midsummer Night's Dream Radio Broadcasts

The October 11 opening performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 74, as will the performances on October 15 and 31. The October 11 performance will also be streamed live on the Met's website, www.metopera.org.

On December 21 at 1 p.m. EST, an archival recording of one of this season's A Midsummer Night's Dream performances will be broadcast over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

For More Information

For more information on this season's performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream, please visit the Met's website at http://www.metopera.org.

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