Great Performances at the Met
Season 7
January 18, 2013
12Episodes
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.
Episodes
1. L'Elisir d'Amore
January 18, 2013
180 min
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.
2. Otello
February 24, 2013
180 min
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.
3. The Tempest
March 17, 2013
180 min
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.
4. La Clemenza di Tito
April 14, 2013
180 min
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.
5. Un Ballo in Maschera
May 5, 2013
180 min
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.
6. Rigoletto
May 17, 2013
180 min
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.
7. Aida
June 9, 2013
180 min
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.
8. Les Troyens
June 30, 2013
180 min
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.
9. Maria Stuarda
July 14, 2013
180 min
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.
10. Parsifal
July 28, 2013
180 min
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.
11. Francesca da Rimini
August 18, 2013
180 min
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.
12. Giulio Cesare
September 1, 2013
180 min
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.
