Great Performances at the Met Season 7

Synopsis

Great Performances at the Met returns to PBS for a seventh season of 12 lavish productions, presenting classic favorites alongside rarely performed gems, and featuring the world’s leading stars of opera. The new season offers several bold new productions, including Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, Handel’s Giulio Cesare and a provocative production of Verdi’s Rigoletto set in 1960s Las Vegas. Season highlights also include two Met Opera premieres: Thomas Adès’ The Tempest (with the composer at the podium) and a new production of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda.

Main Cast

Episodes

Episode 1

18 January 2013 - L'Elisir d'Amore

Season 7 opens with Gaetano Donizetti's comic opera "L'Elisir d'Amore," about a peasant (Matthew Polenzani) who wins the heart of a beautiful farm owner (Anna Netrebko) with the help of a love potion he purchased from a quack doctor (Ambrogio Maestri). Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Episode 2

24 February 2013 - Otello

Verdi's "Otello," about a Moorish general (Johan Botha) who comes to suspect his wife (Renée Fleming) of infidelity due to seeds of doubt sowed by a treacherous aide (Falk Struckmann). Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Episode 3

17 March 2013 - The Tempest

Thomas Adès conducts his operatic adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest." The production stars Simon Keenlyside as the exiled Prospero and Isabel Leonard as his daughter Miranda, who falls for the son (Alek Shrader) of her father's rival after a shipwreck brings him to their island. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Episode 4

14 April 2013 - La Clemenza di Tito

Mozart's "La Clemenza di Tito" stars Elina Garanca in the trouser role of Sesto, who finds himself enmeshed in an assassination plot against Roman emperor Titus (Giuseppe Filianoti) through the manipulations of vengeful Vitellia (Barbara Frittoli), the daughter of a deposed emperor, after her hopes of becoming his consort are dashed. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Episode 5

05 May 2013 - Un Ballo in Maschera

Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera," about a Swedish king (Marcelo Álvarez) pursuing an affair with his best friend's wife (Sondra Radvanovsky). Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Episode 6

17 May 2013 - Rigoletto

Verdi's "Rigoletto" is updated to 1960s-era Las Vegas, where a womanizing lounge singer (Piotr Beczala) seduces the daughter (Diana Damrau) of his sidekick (Zeljko Lucic), causing his pal to seek revenge by hiring a hit man (Stefan Kocán) to off him. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Episode 7

09 June 2013 - Aida

Liudmyla Monastyrska and Roberto Alagna star in Verdi's "Aida," about a military commander in ancient Egypt who risks his life for the love of an enslaved Ethiopian princess. Fabio Luisi conducts. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Episode 8

30 June 2013 - Les Troyens

Berlioz's "Les Troyens," about a Trojan military commander (Bryan Hymel) who flees the fallen Troy and lands in the North African kingdom of Carthage, where he falls for the queen (Susan Graham). Deborah Voigt plays Cassandra, the Trojan prophetess whose warnings about an apparent gift from the Greeks are ignored. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Episode 9

14 July 2013 - Maria Stuarda

A performance of Gaetano Donizetti's "Maria Stuarda," about the rivalry between Mary, Queen of Scots (Joyce DiDonato) and Elizabeth I (Elza van den Heever). Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Episode 10

28 July 2013 - Parsifal

Richard Wagner's "Parsifal," about a fool (Jonas Kaufmann) who may be key to a wounded king's recovery. The cast also includes René Pape as knight Gurnemanz; Katarina Dalayman as siren Kundry; Peter Mattei as King Amfortas; and Evgeny Nikitin as Klingsor, the evil wizard. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Episode 11

18 August 2013 - Francesca da Rimini

A production of Riccardo Zandonai's "Francesca da Rimini," about a doomed romance between a warlord's wife (Eva-Maria Westbroek) and brother (Marcello Giordani). Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Episode 12

01 September 2013 - Giulio Cesare

David Daniels and Natalie Dessay star in David McVicar's imaginative take on "Giulio Cesare," Handel's opera about Caesar and Cleopatra. The cast also includes Alice Coote in the trouser role of Sesto, a Roman youth; Guido Loconsolo as Egyptian general Achilla; and John Moore as Roman general Curio. Host: Renée Fleming. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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