Jonas Kaufmann's New CD!

Sony has announced the third CD by Jonas Kaufmann. Here is the cover artwork!

  

Kickstarter Campaign

Hello Fellow Followers

I am coming out of retirement after I finish my movie. However the only way I can do that is if I am able to raise the money for my film. My brother and i launched a kickstarter campaign for the film entitled "The Next Page." I need your help with a small donation to get closer to my  60,000 goal. It is extremely important that I make teh goal or else Ii won't be able to make it and in turn will not be able to continue this great blog.

Thank you and here is the link to the campaign https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/31412723/the-next-page-feature-film

Farewell Letter

Good Afternoon to all My Followers:

I have had to make a huge decision today. Due to professional reasons I have made the decision to stop blogging for Salazar family Circle. I have enjoyed my time here and enjoyed the conversations we've had here. It has been fun to post great reviews and interesting articles. Thank You so Much for Having followed me and I hope you will Keep in Contact with Me. Feel Free to email me at my Gmail account or Facebook me.

Thank You So much for these past three Years!
Francisco Salazar

Vittorio Grigolo Announces New CD

Twitter has just announced The Romantic Hero by Vittorio Grigolo. The CD includes a number of his favorite French arias. No release date has been given but expect it soon And Hopefully with this announcement Sony Will Also announce a DVD.  

Letter to Sony For a DVD Release of La Boheme!

Dear Sony Classical

This past weekend Vittorio Grigolo and Kristine Opolais performed a glorious "La Boheme" at the Metropolitan Opera. The performance was record on HD through the Live in HD series that the Met presents in cinemas. I ask you to please release this performance on DVD. First because Girgolo is one of your exclusive artist. While he has recorded three albums for the company, he has yet to get a DVD release of any of his performances from the Royal Opera House or any of his earlier Orange TV recordings. Secondly Grigolo is one of the biggest tenors in the industry and is likely to have a huge career in the coming years.

The final reason for this release is because it brings together two of the most exciting artists who are up and coming and this is truly one of the most historic and spontaneous Live in HD performances that has ever been recorded.

I know the Met has three DVDs of "Boheme" but this is truly a special performance that is different from the last three and one that should be documented for people to own.

Lastly I ask that you sign Opolais to a CD contract because the company does not have a spinto soprano on their roster and this woman has a promising career that is about to bloom and will be in demand for a number of years.

Kristine Opolais To in La Boheme HD

Kristine Opolais will sing Mimi in today’s matinee performance of Puccini’s La Bohème, replacing Anita Hartig, who is ill.

Angela Gheorghiu Cancels Faust At Baden Baden

Earlir Today Angela Gheorghiu Put Up These Comments in reference to Her Cancellation of Faust 
"I am very sorry to have to turn down the offer from the Baden-Baden-Festspielhaus to perform in Faust in June this year. It has always been one of my principles not to sing in a new production that has not been conceived from the very beginning for me. It is also rather unusual for me to have to replace another singer. Nevertheless, I have tried to make it possible and to be available for the whole period but unfortunately I have not been successful in doing this."

However she has since taken down the comments after numerous Social Media blogs criticized her intolerant and arrogant response.

What Do You Think of this Statement? 

Juan Diego Florez Cancels!

“Javier Camarena will sing the role of Prince Ramiro in the season’s three initial performances of Rossini’s La Cenerentola on April 21, 25, and 28, replacing Juan Diego Flórez, who is ill. Flórez is scheduled to return for the three final performances of the opera, on May 2, May 6, and the May 10 matinee, which will be transmitted worldwide as part of the Met’s Live in HD series.”

La Boheme Review

Puccini's "La Boheme" is arguably the most popular opera in the world. The Metropolitan Opera usually showcases the work every season (expect for last season) and despite its enduring appeal, the work has lost some of its allure due to its constant repetition. However, the company assembled a terrific group of singers for the iconic work this season; the performance on Saturday, March 29 was easily one of the finest "Boheme's" in the Met's recent history.

Critics have gone on about how overindulgent Franco Zeffirelli's epic production is ever since its inception. On one level, one might understand the notion that the production is so large that it could be at odds with arguably the most intimate of all operas. Some might argue that the constant buzz throughout the stage, particularly in Act 2, could be distracting. But there can be no denying the vibrancy and life that the production brings to the work, even after decades of dominating the Met stage. Continue Reading 

Royal Opera House 2014-15 season

The Royal Opera House has announced its 2014-15 season with many of the great stars attached to sing at the theater. Jonas Kaufmann, Annetrebko, Placido Domingo, Nina Stemme, Vittorio Girgolo, Bryn Terfel, Anne Sophe Von Otter, Kristine Opolais, Mariusz Kwiecien. Dimitri Hvorostovsky, and Rolando Villazon. 

Compete List of Operas

Autumn Season

Anna Nicole
Mark-Anthony Turnage
Dir: Richard Jones
Cond: Antonio Pappano

A tale of sex, celebrity and scandal: Mark-Anthony Turnage’s opera explores the dramatic life and death of Anna Nicole Smith.

Cast:

• Anna Nicole – Eva-Maria Westbroek
• Virgie – Susan Bickley
• The Lawyer Stern – Rodney Gilfry
• Old Man Marshall – Alan Oke
• Blossom – Allison Cook
• Doctor – Andrew Rees
• Larry King – Peter Hoare
• Aunt Kay – Rebecca de Pont Davies
• Billy – Grant Doyle
• Mayor – Wynne Evans
• Donald – Jeremy White
• Royal Opera Chorus, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

11 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 24 September at 7.30pm; 13 September at 7pm

Rigoletto
Giuseppe Verdi
Dir: David McVicar
Cond: Maurizio Benini (except 6 Oct) / Paul Griffiths (6 Oct)

Corruption and innocence collide in Verdi’s remarkable opera. David McVicar’s staging emphasizes the depravity at the heart of the court of Mantua.

Cast:

• Duke of Mantua – Saimir Pirgu (12, 15, 20 mat, 23, 27, 30 Sept; 3, 6 Oct) / Piero Pretti (17, 21 mat Sept)
• Rigoletto – Simon Keenlyside (12, 15, 20 mat, 23, 27, 30 Sept; 3, 6 Oct) / Dimitri Platanias (17, 21 mat Sept)
• Gilda – Aleksandra Kurzak (12, 15, 20 mat, 23, 27, 30 Sept; 3, 6 Oct) / Eri Nakamura (17, 21 mat Sept)
• Sparafucile – Brindley Sherratt (12, 15, 20 mat, 23, 27, 30 Sept; 3, 6 Oct) / Alexander Tsymbalyuk (17, 21 mat Sept)
• Maddalena – Justina Gringyte (12, 15, 20 mat, 23, 27, 30 Sept; 3, 6 Oct) / Nadezhda Karyazina §
• Royal Opera Chorus, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

12 | 15 | 17† | 23 | 30 September at 7.30pm; 20 September at 12.30pm; 21 September at 2pm; 27 September at 7pm
3** | 6 October at 7.30pm

§ Jette Parker Young Artist
† BP Big Screen Live Relay
**Sign-language interpreted

Royal Opera House Cinema 2014-15 Schedule Leaked

Yesterday the cinema schedule for the Royal Opera was leaked. The link was immediately taken down but the schedule is as follows: 

The official program of the Live Cinema Season 2014/15

Thursday 16 October 2014 [7:15pm]

The Royal Ballet

MacMillan: MANON (live)

Cast tbc

Monday 27 October 2014 [7:15pm]

The Royal Opera

Verdi : I DUE FOSCARI (live)

New Production

Plácido Domingo / Francesco Meli / Conductor: Antonio Pappano

Wednesday 26 November 2014 [7:15pm]

The Royal Opera

Donizetti: L’ELISIR D’AMORE (live)

Vittorio Grigolo / Lucy Crowe / Bryn Terfel / Conductor: Daniele Rustioni

Tuesday 16 December 2014 [7:15pm]

The Royal Ballet

Wheeldon:  ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND (live)

Cast tbc

Thursday 29 January 2015 [7:15pm]

The Royal Opera

Giordano: ANDREA CHÉNIER (live)

New Production

Jonas Kaufmann / Eva-Maria Westbroek / Conductor: Antonio Pappano

Tuesday 24 February 2015 [7:15pm]

The Royal Opera

Wagner:  DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER (live)

Bryn Terfel / Conductor: Andris Nelsons

Tuesday 17 March 2015 [7:15pm]

The Royal Ballet

Petipa: SWAN LAKE (live)

Cast tbc

Wednesday 1 April 2015 [7:15pm]

The Royal Opera

Weill: RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF MAHAGONNY (live)

Anne Sofie von Otter / Willard White / Christine Rice

Conductor: Mark Wigglesworth

Tuesday 5 May 2015 [7:15pm]

The Royal Ballet

Ashton: LA FILLE MAL GARDÉE (live)

Cast tbc

Wednesday 10 June 2015 [7:15pm]

The Royal Opera

Puccini: LA BOHÈME (live)

Anna Netrebko / Joseph Calleja / Conductor: Dan Ettinger

Sunday 5 July 2015 [2:45pm]

The Royal Opera

Rossini: GUILLAUME TELL (live)

Gerald Finley / John Osborn / Conductor: Antonio Pappano

Andrea Chenier Review

Umberto Giordano's "Andrea Chenier" is a major part of the operatic canon, but has rarely been performed regularly at the Metropolitan Opera. The last time Met audiences got a chance to see the verismo masterpiece was in 2007 when American tenor Ben Heppner took on the title role. For the revival on Monday, March 24, Argentinean tenor Marcelo Alvarez took on the work's eponymous character with Patricia Racette and Zeljko Lucic filling out the cast.

The production Nicolas Joel debuted back in 1996 and despite being inherently traditional in its trappings, remains modern in its intelligent use of space. "Chenier" does not really lend itself to a modern update or transposition of the action to a different locale of time period. The French Revolution is not simply mentioned in a few passing statements, but dominates the action of the work from the start to the finish. Continue Reading 

Vienna State Opera 2014-15 season Features Anna Netrebko, Juan Diego Florez and Angela Gheorghiu

After a number hours in which the Vienna State Opera's website crashed, I finally have a list of works which will be performed this year. The reason for slow connection was because the company announced the season and puts all tickets on sale immediately. 

The upcoming season will see 223 staged opera performance and will include six new productions listed below: 

The Tempest (Austrian premiere) 14 June 2015 c: Thomas Ades, d: Robert Lepage, with Adrian Eröd, Audrey Luna, Stephanie Houtzeel, David Daniels

• Idomeneo 5 October 2014 c: Christoph Eschenbach, d: Kasper Holten, with Michael Schade, Margarita Gritskova, Maria Bengtsson, Chen Reiss 
• Khovanshchina 15 November 2014 c: Semyon Bychkov, d: Lev Dodin, with Ferruccio Furlanetto, Christopher Ventris, Herbert Lippert, Andrzej Dobber, Ain Anger, Elisabeth Kulman, Norbert Ernst
• Rigoletto 20 December 2014 c: Franz Welser-Möst, d: Pierre Audi, with Piotr Beczala, Simon Keenlyside, Valentina Nafornită, Elena Maximova 
• Elektra 29 March 2015 c: Franz Welser-Möst, d: Uwe Eric Laufenberg, with Anna Larsson, Nina Stemme, Anne Schwanewilms, Falk Struckman 
• Don Pasquale 26April 2015 c: Jesús López-Cobos, d: Irina Brook, 
 with Michele Pertusi, Juan Diego Flórez, Alessio Arduini, Valentina Nafornită

The company will see the return of a number of stars including Juan Diego Florez in L'Elisir d'Amore and La Cenerentola, Placido Domingo and Maria Guleghina in Nabucco, Anna Netrebko in Anna Bolena and Angela Gheorghiu in Werther. Kristine Opolais and Piotr Beczala will perform Rusalka while Olga Peretyatko will bring her acclaimed Elvira in I Puritani. Another highlight will be Aleksandrs Antonenko in Tosca and Pique Dame. Elina Garanca will bring her acclaimed Octavian to Der Rosenkavalier while Ramon Vargas will sing Don Carlos, Werther, and Simon Boccanegra. Nina Stemme will also return as Minnie in La Fanciulla del West. For more Click Here 

Kaufmann tries out Otello

As everyone already knows Jonas Kaufmann and Renee Fleming performed a concert together to great success. Here is a clip of the Otello duet which saw Kaufmann perform it for the first time.

Andrea Chenier Opens Tonight

Giordano's masterpiece opens at the Metropolitan Opera with Marcelo Alvarez in the title role, Patricia Racette as Maddalena and Zeljko Lucic as Gerard. The production by Nicolas Joel will be conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. The opera will be livestreamed on the Met website and on Sirius. Tell us what you think of the performance!  

Netrebko To Sing La Boheme At ROH?

It looks like Anna Netrebko will bring her acclaimed Mimi to the Royal Opera House. Intermezzo reveals that Jennifer Rowley will join the Russian Diva as Musetta. How true this information is yet to be confirmed. The season is supposed to be announced at the end of the month.

Notable DVD and CD Releases for the Month of March and April

The next two  months will see the releases of many great artists including a number of Jonas Kaufmann releases.

The final part of the ring cycle "Gotterdammerung" from La Scala will be released. Lance Ryan, Irene Theorin, Mikail Peterenko and Waltraud Meirer star in this production which was conducted by Daniel Barenboim. The DVD comes out a few months after the release of the first three operas. It is unknown if Arthaus will release a box set.

Gheorghiu Replaces Netrebko

Angela Gheorghiu will replace Anna Netrebko in Baden Baden in the new production of Gounod's Faust. The soprano known for cancelling ironically has been on the rescue mission as of later. She recently  savid the day when Harteros pulled out of a high profile concert last month. Now Gheorghiu's Marguerite replaces Netrebko's in both Hamburg andBaden Baden.

Netrebko was to have sung the role in four theaters but decided to leave the production because she did not feel her voice suited it anymore.
Netrebko will instead give a concert in Baden-Baden with arias from Macbeth, Trovatore, Manon Lescaut, Adriana Lecouvreur, etc., on Tuesday, 10th (June). Faust-ticketholders wil be allowed to buy discounted tickets for that concert, but the Faust-tickets can't be returned.

 The Baden Baden production will be directed by Bartlett Sher and will also star Erwin Schrott and Charles Castronovo.  

Diana Damrau Conducts

After Having Surprised Audiences with Cartwheels at the La Sonnambula, the soprano Diana Damrau continued her antics at a Carnegie Hall Concert. She conducted the Vienna Philharmonic.

Royal Opera House Rumors

The Royal Opera House is taking a while to announce their season but there are some things that are rumored for next season. 

Mariusz Kwiecien  has already announced on his website that he will be joined by Saimir Pirgu in Steffen Aarfing's production of Szymanowski's King Roger in June of 2015.

Meanwhile Dmitri Platanias will sing the title role of Nabucco, which will be revived for the first time since the new production premiered. The Royal Opera will also stage Andrea Chenier  with Jonas Kaufmann, Eva-Maria Westbroek and Željko Lucic. The production will most likely be featured in the Live in Cinemas series. 

Another big opera will be Verdi's I Due Foscari. The production will star Maria Agresta as Lucrezia and Placido Domingo who will also perform Simon Boccanegra. Once again these are all rumors and things can change by the time the company announces the season. 

Werther Final Scene

The Met has posted the final scene for Massenet's Werther. After a glitch that occurred in movie theaters the company decided to release the material to compensate audiences. 

La Sonnambula Review

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Sonnambula at the Met. While I hated the production and was utterly confused throughout the night, Diana Damrau was incredible and Javier Camarena was a break out.

Here is a snippet of my review. For the full review you'll have to click on the link below. Enjoy!

Opera is often considered the ultimate art form in which all other forms come together to create a potent whole. It is often unrealistic to expect the wholes to come together in perfect harmony every single time an opera is staged and often times the transcendence of certain elements is more than enough to make up for other subpar qualities in a performance. This is precisely what happened on Friday March 14 when the Met Opera revived Bellini's "La Sonnambula" for the first time since 2009.

The first major touchstone of Friday's performance was soprano Diana Damrau, who was making her role debut as Amina. Damrau is one the finest artists in the opera world today and always seems to maintain a wondrous balance between her vocal dynamism and her terrific acting ability. Click Here For the full Review

Jonas Kaufmann signing

  Today at the Met Opera shop Jonas Kaufmann signed CDs and DVDs for his fans. The tenor however requested that he did not want pictures taken. The signing was one of the busiest in years with more than 200 people in attendance. The lineup went all the way to the subway but fans waited patiently to meet the tenor. However here are some pictures of the event. 

There is more at our facebook page if you click here

No Thomas Hampson Tonight

“Daniel Sutin will sing the title role in tonight’s performance of Berg’s Wozzeck, replacing Thomas Hampson, who is recovering from bronchitis.”  This is the second performance that Hampson cancels as he missed opening where Matthias Goerne filled in. 

Deutsche Oper Berlin 2014-15 Season with Rolando Villazon headlining

The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced its 2014-15 season. The season will feature a number of great stars including Rolando Villazon in Don Carlo, Elina Garanca in Der Rosenkavalier, and Lyudmila Monastyrka takes on Abigaille. There will be a Lohengrin with Klaus Florian Vogt, Anja Harteros, and Waltraud Meier. Harteros will also be in  Tosca and a single concert Ariadne auf Naxos. 

 The premieres are:

• Oresteia by Xenakis - in the Deutsche Oper car park
• The Rape of Lucretia - c.Nicholas Carter d. Fiona Shaw - the Glyndebourne production will be shown in the Haus der Berliner Festspiele
• Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk  c.Donald Runnicles d.Ole Anders Tandberg, with Evelyn Herlitzius and Sir John Tomlinson
• La rondine c. Roberto Rizzi Brignoli d. Rolando Villazon 
• Roméo et Juliette c. Donald Runnicles d.Sasha Waltz
• Faust c. Marco Armiliato d.Philipp Stölzl, with Teodor Ilincai, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo and Krassimira Stoyanova

Maria Stuarda coming to DVD

So its finally coming after months of waiting. Erato has finally announced that it will release the acclaimed production of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda. The release comes as no surprise as the company has been consistent in release Joyce Didonato's performances from all over the world including the Met.  This production was one of the highlights of last years season and it also stars Matthew Polenzani and Elza Van Den Heever. Maurizio Benini conducted David McVicar's production.  

Thomas Hampson Cancels Wozzeck

The Met is reporting that : “Matthias Goerne is stepping into the title role in tonight’s opening night performance of Berg’s Wozzeck, replacing Thomas Hampson, who has withdrawn due to illness.” 

They also reported that “The Met approached Goerne, who was in New York performing at Carnegie Hall, yesterday evening when the company’s artistic staff learned of Hampson’s withdrawal. Goerne sang a solo recital at Carnegie Hall and then considered the offer overnight before agreeing. He is currently en route to the Met where he will rehearse with Maestro James Levine and the company’s staff directors. In a serendipitous twist, Goerne attended Monday morning’s dress rehearsal of Wozzeckas a guest, allowing him a chance to see the production in advance.”

Bayerische Staatsoper 2014-15 Season

The Bavarian State Opera have announced their 2014-15 season with six new productions and a numbr of a list singers. The following are the new productions:  

• Věc Makropulos - Conductor: Tomáš Hanus  Production: Árpád Schilling with Nadja Michael in the title role. 
• Manon Lescaut - Conductor: Alain Altinoglu Production: Hans Neuenfels - Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann
• Lucia di Lammermoor - Conductor: Kirill Petrenko  Production: Barbara Wysocka - Diana Damrau and Pavol Breslik head the  cast
• Lulu - Conductor: Kirill Petrenko  Production: Dmitri Tcherniakov - Marlis Peterson and Bo Skovhus 
• Pelléas et Mélisande (festival) - Conductor: Constantinos Carydis  Production:Christiane Pohle 
• Arabella (festival) - Conductor: Philippe Jordan  Production: Andreas Dresen - Anja Harteros and Thomas Mayer star.

Other highlights in the season include the Kriegenburg Ring cycles which will be conducted by  conducted by Kirill Petrenko and stars Evelyn Herlitzius, Stuart Skelton, Stephen Gould and Anja Kampe.

Harteros will sing revivals of Tosca, Il trovatore, Don Carlo and La forza del destino. The latter is with Jonas Kaufmann.

Rolando Villazon will also return to L' Contes d'Hoffman.

 Kristine Opolais tackles Eugene Onegin, with Mariusz Kwiecen in the title role. Opolais will also perform La Clemenza di Tito and Madama Butterfly. Irene Theorin and Evelyn Herlitzius share the title role in  Elektra.

The legendary Edita Gruberova will return for  Roberto Devereux and Don Carlo will also feature Rene Pape, Ramon Vargas and Simon Keenlyside. Tristan und Isolde will be conducted by Philippe Jordan, features Pape with Waltraud Meier and Peter Seiffert.

Tell us what your most excited about!

Kaufmann Cancels Werther

Jean-François Borras will make his Met debut in the title role of Massenet’s Werther at this evening’s performance, replacing Jonas Kaufmann, who is ill.

Werther Review Link

Transcendent Genius. Those are among the best words to describe what transpired on the Metropolitan Opera stage of Friday, Feb. 28. From the stage production to the cast members, to the orchestra, to even the audience members, the performance of Massenet's masterpiece "Werther" was a communal experience of visceral intensity and immediacy.

The work has not had an auspicious career at the noted opera house. Friday's performance was just the 78^th time the opera had been performed at the house; the last time the Met put up a performance of the work prior to this run was in 2003-04. The revival of the work required a new production and for this year's run, Met general manager Peter Gelb turned to director Richard Eyre to inject "Werther" with new life. Eyre previously directed the Met's current "Carmen" production; his take on the work is rather "conservative" by modern standards but is extremely focused on character development and includes some subtle metaphors and symbols to enrich the work. It is this approach that he takes for his "Werther" and the execution of the work is spot-on. Continue Reading 

Netrebko Withdraws from All Faust Productions

A Statement was recently released on Anna Netrebko's page: 

"I am so sorry to have to withdraw from the role of Marguerite in Faust. After much consideration and intensive preparation, I have come to the conclusion that the role is not right for me. I had been very much looking forward to debuting this role at the Royal Opera House and following it with further performances in Vienna and Baden-Baden. Unfortunately, I must now withdraw from all these productions. I am very sad to be disappointing my fans in these cities and hope they will understand the difficult decision that I have had to make. However, I am very much looking forward to returning to The Royal Opera to perform with the company again in 2015."

The soprano was to have to made her role debut at the ROH and was later to have sung two more runs. There have been no replacements of yet but the companies are working hard to find a new soprano. 

Zurich Opera 2014-15 season to be headlined y Anna Netrebko, Diana Damrau, Joyce Didonato, and Cecilia Bartoli

The Zurich Opera has announced the 2014-15 season. The season will feature nine new productions.

The full list of premieres:

• Lohengrin - Simone Young, Andreas Homoki - with the great Klaus Florian Vogt in his signature role and Elza van den Heever as Elsa.
• The Turn of the Screw - Constantin Trinks, Willy Decker - with Pavol Breslik rounding those vowels as Quint
• Robin Hood by Frank Schwemmer - a children's opera
• Die Zauberflöte - Cornelius Meister, Tatjana Gürbaca 
• Juliette - Fabio Luisi, Andreas Homoki - Annette Dasch takes the title role
• Rote Laterne by Christian Jost - Alain Altinoglu, Nadja Laschky
• La traviata - Marco Armiliato, David Herman - Anita Hartig/Ailyn Perez, Pavol Breslik/Matthew Polenzani, Quinn Kelsey
• La verità in cimento - Ottavio Dantone, Jan Philipp Gloger  - a Vivaldi obscurity with an impressive period-specialist cast
• I Capuleti e i Montecchi - Fabio Luisi, Christof Loy - Anita Hartig and Joyce DiDonato are the lovelorn couple

There will also be a few revivals with big names. Among them are the revival of the Guth/Luisi Ariadne auf Naxos. Cecilia Bartoli will return to the theater  to perform "La Cenrentola"alongside Lawrence Brownlee. 

Claus Guth's Tristan und Isolde reappears conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek, and featuring Nina Stemme and Stephen Gould. Anna Netrebko will return to her acclaimed portrayal of Anna Bolena. She will be joined by Luca Pisaroni. There will also be a revival of Elektra with Evelyn Herlitzius in the title role and Emily Magee. Luca di Lammermoor will also be performed with Sonya Yoncheva while Aida will be revived with Latonia Moore in the title role. Finally Diana Damrau will sing Adina in L'Elisir d'Amore, 

Anna Netrebko in Manon Lescaut

Anna Netrebko is currently in Rome rehearsing Manon Lescaut from Puccini and the first pictures out.  The production is by Chiara Muti and will conducted by Riccardo Muti. 

New Cast Mate for 'Arabella'

The Met ust released this : “Juliane Banse will make her Met debut as Zdenka in this season’s performances of Strauss’s Arabella, replacing Genia Kühmeier, who has withdrawn for personal reasons…. Arabella, conducted by Philippe Auguin, also stars Malin Byström and Erin Wall in the title role; Roberto Saccà in his Met debut as Matteo; Michael Volle in his Met debut as Mandryka; and Martin Winkler in his Met debut as Waldner.”