Acting
Live performance from the Metropolitan Opera, March 1, 2014. Absent from the Met stage since 1917, Borodin’s masterwork about an introspective prince’s military campaign against the invading Polovtsians returned in 2014 with a first-rate cast and an astonishing production by Dmitri Tcherniakov. Well worth the wait, the sets feature visually striking projections interlaced with lush flowering fields, and the first act delivers one of opera’s most exciting dance medleys, a portion of which went mainstream in the 1950s when Tony Bennett recorded “Stranger in Paradise.”
Lying in bed, Tsar Dodon dreams of retirement. The problem is, people keep invading his country. His astrologer offers him a golden cockerel with magical powers, a weather vane which indicates from which direction danger will come. In his case, it will be from the East in the shape of a charming oriental princess determined to conquer his kingdom.
Young Renata hears voices. Since her childhood, she has been visited by a fiery angel with sublime radiance. Mad about him, gone in search of him since he abandoned her, she meets on her way the knight Ruprecht who, out of love for her, will try to tear her away from this carnal possession. From tavern to convent, between scenes of spiritualism or exorcism, collective hysteria or burlesque humor, nothing is lacking at L'Ange de feu.
It’s Christmas in the Ukrainian village of Dikanka and the blacksmith Wakula is unhappily in love with Oksana, daughter of a landowner. She only wants to marry him on the condition that he gets her the Tsarina's golden shoes. In desperation, Wakula turns to the devil to fly him to the capital and help him procure the shoes. Will this be enough to win the hand of Oksana?
Pushkin folk tale as comedic opera whose sultry elements expand an Oriental influence. Korsakov portrays the story of Tsar Nicholas II, punished for his cowardice and despotism, using satire to condemn Russia's autocratic ruler.
Stephen Wadsworth’s production of Mussorgsky’s epic masterpiece brilliantly captures the suffering and ambition of the Russian people at a critical time in their nation’s history. René Pape is riveting as the Tsar of the title, giving a commanding and charismatic performance of one of the greatest bass roles in the repertoire—his Boris is dominating, tortured, flawed and utterly unforgettable. The extraordinary cast and the Met Orchestra and Chorus are led by Russian maestro Valery Gergiev, the foremost Mussorgsky interpreter of our time.
Acclaimed artist William Kentridge directed and designed this visually dazzling Met premiere production of Shostakovich’s satirical opera, adapted from the classic short story by Nikolai Gogol. Baritone Paulo Szot leads the cast as Kovalyov, the hapless bureaucrat whose nose has mysteriously gone missing. Alexander Lewis and Andrey Popov co-star, and Pavel Smelkov conducts.
