Recent HD's That Need a DVD Release

Two years ago I posted an article on performances that never obtained a DVD release and that should. These performances were a number of historical telecasts starring some of the best from the past. Out of the list only one was released, the Andrea Chenier from the Met with Pavarotti and Maria Guleghina. However the rest are still on a shelf collecting dust. Some of them have been added to the Met opera on Demand but the rest are either on Youtube or not available. The following is a list of recent performances that have made history or that are exceptional but have been ignored by distributors.

Revival of Macbeth for 2014-15 season

La Cieca is reporting that  the 2014-2015 Met season will include a revival of Verdi’s Macbeth featuring Anna Netrebko with Joseph Calleja and René Pape. However there is no baritone announced. From the looks of it, it may Dimitri Hvorostovsky or Zeljko Lucic. Of course it could also be Simon Keenlyside, George Gagnidze, or Thomas Hampson. So these are only a few options. Tell us who you want to see alongside this stellar cast.
Update: It looks like teh eventual Macbeth will Be Lucic reprising the role he sang at the premiere of the production. What do you link of the Met's casting 

CD and DVD release For the Month of September

The month of September see the release of many great CDs and DVDs from the top artist in the industry.

The first release of the month is a CD recording of Riccardo Muti's acclaimed Otello. I was able to see a performance of this opera in Carnegie Hall with Muti and the same cast on this CD and it was one of the highlights of that season. The cast includes Aleksandrs Antonenko, Krassimira Stoyanova and Carlo Guelfi. The CD will be released by CSO Resound and is a must buy.  

Verdi Requiem On DVD and CD

According to Decca and Deutsche Grammphon the Verdi Requiem with Jonas Kaufmann, Elina Garanca, Rene Pape, Anja Harteros and conducted by Daniel Barenboim will be released on DVD, Blu Ray and DVD. The recording is scheduled for August 5th but does not have a proper cover yet. Enjoy!

The 2013 HD Awards

The following are Salazar Family Circle's awards for best HD performances for the 2012-2013 Metropolitan Opera Season. Those who have followed our blog may recall that this blog started with the 2010-2011 awards and continued last year. For this year's edition we have added a few categories and previously announced the nominees in an older blog post. The past year has been filled with great performances from many of the top singers, rising stars and conductors in the world. The following are the nominees and the winners for my Third annual HD Awards at the MET 

Faust Met Opera 2014-2015 Performances cancelled

The planned revival of Faust at the Met in the fall of 2014 has been canceled, because  according to La Cieca/Parterre sources, Netrebko did not feel like singing the production currently at the Met. As a result the company has under contract Anna Netrebko, Joseph Calleja, Artur Rucinski and René Pape for eight performances or so during that time.  

Now that the company has these artists what do you think they should perform? 

2014-2015 Met Opera Season Rumor

After the long awaited 2013-2014 was announced we now have some news on the next season. 2014-15 looks to be even more exciting with 6 new productions and even more exciting revivals.

Opening night will  be with a new production of Le nozze di Figaro, a production that is in a bit of flux at the moment since Anna Netrebko elected not to add Contessa Almaviva to her stage repertoire at the moment.  As it stands now, the new Mozart  will be conducted by James Levine in a production by Michael Grandage. The cast will be Maija Kovalevska, Marlis Petersen and Mikhail Petrenko but by the lack of stars the Met will most likely add a more marketable singer to the list.

Five further new productions dot the season:

The Death of Klinghoffer. Director: Tom Morris (ENO production]

Iolanta/Duke Bluebeard’s Castle. Conductor: Valery Gergiev. Director: Mariusz Trelinski. Cast includes Anna Netrebko and Alexei Tanovitski in theTchaikovksy, with  Nadja Michael and Mikhail Petrenko in the Bartók.

The New Year’s Eve extravaganza this season will be The Merry Widow, Conductor TBA. Susan Stroman directs Renée Fleming; later in the season the show returns with Susan Graham and Rodney Gilfry.

La Donna del Lago. Conductor: Michele Mariotti.  Director: John Fulljames.Joyce DiDonato, Daniela Barcellona, Juan Diego Florez.

Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci. Conducto: Fabio Luisi. Director: TBA. Marcelo Alvarez, Barbara Frittoli.

The repertoire will further include revivals of:

Aida with Liudmyla Monastyrska, Dmitry Belosselskiy.

Un Ballo in Maschera  with Sondra Radvanovsky, Yonghoon Lee.

Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

La Boheme with Maria Agresta.

Carmen with Elina Garanca/Anita Rachvelishvili, Roberto Alagna, Anita Hartig/Ailyn Perez.

Les Contes d’Hoffmann with Susanna Phillips, Matthew Polenzani.

Don Carlos with Barbara Frittoli, Nadia Krasteva, Jonas Kaufmann/Yonghoon Lee, Simon Keenlyside, Ferruccio Furlanetto. Chef d’orchestre for the first-ever Met performances in the original French will be Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Don Giovanni

Ernani  with Placido Domingo as Don Carlo.

Faust with Anna Netrebko, Joseph Calleja, Rene Pape. [This production was described to La Cieca as "hanging by a thread," with nobody involved feeling enthusiastic about the project.]

Hansel and Gretel

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk with Eva-Maria Westbroek, Brandon Jovanovich,Raymond Very.

Lucia di Lammermoor with Olga Peretyatko, conducted by Maurizio Benini.

Manon with Diana Damrau, Vittorio Grigolo.

Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg with Emily Magee, Karen Cargill, Johan Botha, Matthew Polenzani, Bryn Terfel, conducted by James Levine.

The Rake’s Progress with Lisette Oropesa, Stephanie Blythe, Gerald Finley.

La Traviata with Marina Rebeka, Francesco Demuro.

Die Zauberflote.

What do you guys think of this season!

Met Opera Review: A Magical Cast bring spirituality to Wagner's Parsifal

By Francisco Salazar 

(For February 15, 2013 performance)

Wagner's final opera Parsifal is a work that can test your patience in many instances. Its music lacks the melodic abundance of such works as the Ring Cycle or Tristan und Isolde. Wagner decides to go for a few simple melodies that repeat throughout the night. The result is music that transcends the evening, one that elicits emotion and most importantly that brings drama to this sometimes long evening.

On this night the Met opened its first new production of the work since 1991. The production by Francois Girard was met by enthusiastic applause but also with a slew of boos. The Met audiences seem to have become accustomed to booing any new production even if it did not disrespect the work. Girard's production is the complete opposite of Otto Schenk's magnificent natural production which had no symbolism and which opted to show the story in richly designed sets. Girard opts for a symbolic work that strays from the pageantry and allows for the singers, the effects, and the music to do the work. 

The production is set in a post apocalyptic era where the world has fallen to pieces. There is a divide in society between the sinners and the knights of the holy grail. The opening of the production shows a black curtain that reflects on the audience. According to Girard, the curtain represents our own search for spirituality and fundamental principles of compassion and temptation. The curtain then becomes translucent as the prelude is played and a number of bodies appear sitting in seats all dressed in black. One by one they begin to stand up leaving Parsifal in the middle. The men take their suit jackets off leaving them with their pure white shirts while the woman are left in the dark with their hair over their face. The men move to the right while the women move to the left. The separation in society is vivid through a crack representing a dried river. The women never cross to the other side. 

Jonas Kaufmann in Parsifal Photos

The Met has released photos of their upcoming Parsifal production with Jonas Kaufmann and Katarina Dalayman. From the looks of it their will be a lot of blood involved in the production and it looks visually striking.