Special Events Coming Soon at The Majestic 11
The stakes could not be higher as one of the theater's finest stage directors teams up with one of the world's leading opera companies to tackle opera's most monumental challenge: a new production of Wagner's Ring cycle - the four-part, 16-hour work that the composer first presented in 1876. Wagner's Dream takes you deep into the artistic and musical challenges of the epic work. Visionary director Robert Lepage begins a five-year journey to create the most ambitious staging in Metropolitan Opera history, featuring a 90,000-pound set ("The Machine") designed to realize all of Wagner's scenic instructions. The film follows heroic singers from rehearsals to performance as they take on many of the most daunting roles in opera. An intimate look at the challenges of live theater and the risks that must be taken, the documentary chronicles the tremendous creativity and unflagging determination behind this daring attempt to realize Wagner's dream of a perfect Ring.
Two unparalleled artists join forces to create a groundbreaking new Ring for the Met: Maestro James Levine and director Robert Lepage. The cycle launches with Das Rheingold, the prologue to Wagner's epic drama. "The Ring is not just a story or a series of operas, it's a cosmos," says Lepage, who brings cutting-edge technology and his own visionary imagination to the world's greatest theatrical journey. Bryn Terfel sings the leading role of Wotan for the first time with the company, heading an extraordinary cast. James Levine; Wendy Bryn Harmer, Stephanie Blythe, Patricia Bardon, Richard Croft, Gerhard Siegel, Bryn Terfel, Eric Owens, Franz-Josef Selig, Hans-Peter Konig. Original transmission date: October 9, 2010 at 1:00 pm ET.
On Thursday, May 10th, 2012, an episode of This American Life will be filmed live on stage at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City and beamed live via satellite to more than 500 movie theatres around the country! The show will feature stories by Ira Glass, writer David Rakoff, comic Tig Notaro and Snap Judgment host Glynn Washington, plus live music by OK Go. It'll also include things you could never do on the radio, like a new short film by Mike Birbiglia, dance by Monica Bill Barnes & Company, original animation, projected illustration and more. Plus special surprise guests.
A stellar cast comes together for this second installment of Robert Lepage's new production of the Ring cycle, conducted by James Levine. Bryn Terfel is Wotan, lord of the Gods. Deborah Voigt adds the part of Brunnhilde to her extensive Wagnerian repertoire at the Met. Jonas Kaufmann and Eva-Maria Westbroek star as the twins, Siegmund and Sieglinde, and Stephanie Blythe is Fricka. James Levine; Deborah Voigt, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Stephanie Blythe, Jonas Kaufmann, Bryn Terfel, Hans-Peter Konig. Original transmission date: May 14, 2011
In part three of the Ring, Wagner's cosmic vision focuses on his hero's early conquests, while Robert Lepage's revolutionary stage machine transforms itself from bewitched forest to mountaintop love nest. Jay Hunter Morris sings the title role and Deborah Voigt's Brunnhilde is his prize. Bryn Terfel is the Wanderer. Fabio Luisi conducts. Approximate running time: 6 hours. Original transmission date: November 5, 2011, 12 pm ET
With its cataclysmic climax, the Met's new Ring cycle, directed by Robert Lepage, comes to its resolution. Deborah Voigt stars as Brunnhilde and Jay Hunter Morris is Siegfried - the star-crossed lovers doomed by fate. Fabio Luisi conducts. Approximate running time: 6 hours. Original transmission date: February 11, 2012, 12 pm ET
Anna Netrebko opens the Met season with her portrayal of the ill-fated queen driven insane by her unfaithful king. She sings one of opera's greatest mad scenes in this Met premiere production by David McVicar. Ekaterina Gubanova is her rival, Jane Seymour, Ildar Abdrazakov sings Henry VIII, and Marco Armiliato conducts. Approximate running time: 4 hours. Original transmission date: October 15, 2011, 12:55 pm ET
Rossini's vocally dazzling comedy stars bel canto sensation Juan Diego Florez in the title role of this Met premiere production. He vies with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, in the trouser role of Isolier, for the love of the lonely Countess Adele, sung by soprano Diana Damrau. Bartlett Sher, director of the Met's hit productions of The Barber of Seville and The Tales of Hoffmann, describes the world of the opera as, "a place where love is dangerous. People get hurt. That can be very funny and very painful. Rossini captures both - with the most beautiful love music Rossini ever wrote." Original transmission date: April 9, 2011 at 1:00 pm ET
Fabio Luisi conducts Tony Award®-winning director Michael Grandage's new production, featuring an all-star cast including Marina Rebeka, Barbara Frittoli, Ramon Vargas, and Luca Pisaroni. Approximate running time: 4 hours. Original transmission date: October 29, 2011, 12:55 pm ET
Three obsessions - a mechanical doll, a Venetian courtesan, and a young opera singer - are the focus of three endlessly rich tales in Jacques Offenbach's landmark operatic adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann's 1851 play. Tenor Joseph Calleja, along with Anna Netrebko, Alan Held, and Elina Garanca star as Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher (South Pacific) transforms Offenbach's inventive work into a study in Kafka-esque psychological fantasy. James Levine conducts.
Natalie Dessay triumphed as the fragile heroine of Donizetti's masterpiece on Opening Night of the 2007-08 season in Mary Zimmerman's hit production. Now she returns to the role of the innocent young woman driven to madness, opposite Joseph Calleja, who sings her lover Edgardo. Starring: Patrick Summers; Natalie Dessay, Joseph Calleja, Ludovic Tezier, Kwangchul Youn. Original transmission date: March 19, 2011 at 1:00 pm ET
Strauss's comic masterpiece of love and intrigue in 18th-century Vienna stars Renee Fleming as the aristocratic Marschallin and Susan Graham in the trouser role of her young lover. Edo de Waart conducts a cast that also includes Kristinn Sigmundsson and Thomas Allen. Conductor: Edo de Waart; Production: Nathaniel Merrill; Renee Fleming, Susan Graham, Christine Schafer, Eric Cutler, Thomas Allen, Kristinn Sigmundsson. Captured live in January of 2010.
