Anna Netrebko: Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Met, New York 3. December 2009

Today on 3. December 2009 it has been the season premiere of the new Met production of Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann", starring Joseph Calleja as Hoffmann, Anna Netrebko as Antonia/Stella, Kathleen Kim as Olympia, Ekaterina Gubanova as Giulietta, Alan Held as the four villains and Kate Lindsey as Nicklausse/Muse. James Levine conducted the Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera House. The production was by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher.

Joseph Calleja has made his role debut as Hoffmann. As it was announced in exclusive on this blog on 26. May 2009, Joseph Calleja replaced Rolando Villazón who cancelled his appearance when he announced in April that he needed surgery to remove a cyst on his larynx.

Kathleen Kim has made also her role debut as Olympia, the mechanical doll.

Anna Netrebko made her role debut as Antonia at the Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg on 11. November 2000 in a performance conducted by Gianandrea Noseda and directed by Marta Domingo. The critic of the St. Petersburg Times wrote that "her captivating performance was the genuine highlight of the production. Her tormented Antonia, suffering over the paths she had to choose, was pierced with despair."

Ekaterina Gubanova has made her role debut as Giulietta. She made her Met debut in 2007 as Hélène Bezukhova in War and Peace.

Kate Lindsey has made also her role debut as Nicklausse/The Muse, replacing Elina Garanca who decided to withdraw and to sing the title role in the upcoming performances of Carmen at the Met, when Angela Gheorghiu withdraw from those performances.

Alan Held made his debut as the four villains at the Met in 1993. He has replaced René Pape who decided not to add the four villains to his repertoire.

A number of first impressions about the performance, collected during the live broadcast, can be read at the comments sections of a post published on Parterre Box.

Les Contes d'Hoffmann
Music by Jacques Offenbach
Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on stories by E.T.A. Hoffmann

Season Premiere
Metropolitan Opera House, New York 3. December 2009

Cast
Hoffmann: Joseph Calleja
Olympia: Kathleen Kim
Antonia: Anna Netrebko
Giulietta: Ekaterina Gubanova
Stella: Anna Netrebko
Lindorf: Alan Held
Coppélius: Alan Held
Dappertutto: Alan Held
Dr. Miracle: Alan Held
Nicklausse: Kate Lindsey
Muse: Kate Lindsey
Andrès: Alan Oke
Cochenille: Alan Oke
Pitichinaccio: Alan Oke
Frantz: Alan Oke
Luther: Dean Peterson
Nathanael: Rodell Rosel
Hermann: Michael Todd Simpson
Spalanzani: Mark Schowalter
Schlemil: Michael Todd Simpson
Crespel: Dean Peterson
Antonia's Mother Voice: Wendy White

Conductor: James Levine
Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera House

Production
Production: Bartlett Sher
Set Designer: Michael Yeargan
Costume Designer: Catherine Zuber
Lighting Designer: James F. Ingalls
Choreographer: Dou Dou Huang

About the Opera
Opera Background
Cast and Characters
About the Composer
Story and Music
Synopsis

Live Broadcasts
The premiere on 3. Dec 2009 has been live broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 78 and XM channel 79 and via RealNetworks internet streaming on the Met website.

The performances on 11., 19., 23. and 30. Dec 2009 will be live broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 78 and XM channel 79. The performance on 19. Dec 2009 will be transmitted live to selected movie theaters around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD Series. The performance on 19. Dec 2009 will be also live broadcast over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network and the one on 23. Dec 2009 will be live broadcast via RealNetworks internet streaming on the Met website.

Press Reports
Anthony Tommasini, talking about Anna Netrebko, wrote on The New York Times,

[...] she was vocally lustrous, charismatic and wrenching as Antonia [...]. She also made a captivating and tart Stella [...]

The review published on Parterre Box says,

[...] Netrebko was rapturous as Antonia, bathing us in her sweet sound, and showing both detail and presence in all parts of her range.

Ronni Reich wrote on the nj.com,

Here, full focus was on soprano Anna Netrebko, and rightfully so. Virtually unmatched in her luscious tone, Netrebko sang as if each phrase were truly her last, surprisingly full-throated, a little wild, and absolutely spellbinding.

Les Contes d'Hoffmann, 2. Act - Antonia, Duet: "C'est une chanson d'amour", Hoffmann, Antonia. Uploaded to Youtube by RickBanner.

Les Contes d'Hoffmann, 2. Act - Antonia, Duet: "Ne plus chanter! hélas!", Hoffmann Antonia. Uploaded to Youtube by RickBanner.

Les Contes d'Hoffmann, 2. Act - Antonia, Trio Final: "Tu ne chanteras plus?", Antonia, Antonia's Mother Voice, Miracle. Uploaded to Youtube by RickBanner.

Les Contes d'Hoffmann, 2. Act - Antonia, Trio Final, Antonia, Antonia's Mother Voice, Miracle. Uploaded to Youtube by RickBanner.

Les Contes d'Hoffmann, 2. Act - Antonia, Final Scene: "Mon père! Écoutez! c'est ma mère!", Antonia. Uploaded to Youtube by RickBanner.

Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Epilogue. Uploaded to Youtube by RickBanner.

Videoclips
In this videoclip uploaded to Youtube by wnycradio, Stage Director Bartlett Sher talks about his interpretation of the opera

Photos
A wonderful collection of photos by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera is available at the Archives of the Metopera Database.

Here you can get some additional photos, at the curtains calls and at the stage door, kindly provided by the author.