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As part of its free, nightly streams programming, the Metropolitan Opera is offering two special themed weeks this month, each celebrating a legendary figure, director Franco Zeffirelli (the week of February 15) and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky (the week of February 22).
Curtain call at the 125th Anniversary Gala at the Metropolitan Opera House on Sunday night, March … [+]
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The Met is showcasing some of their most celebrated work on its Lincoln Center stage, including several never-before streamed productions, Zeffirelli’s productions of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci (1978), and Mozart’s Don Giovanni (1990); and Hvorostovsky in Elijah Moshinsky’s production of Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades (1999).
Few artists have had a greater impact on Met history than Zeffirelli, the beloved director and designer who died in 2019.
Born in 1923 in Florence, Italy, Zeffirelli created 11 productions for the company over 35 years, starting with his 1964 debut staging of Falstaff at the old Met. Two years later, he would help inaugurate the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center with an extravagant vision of Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra, starring Leontyne Price and Justino Díaz.
Zeffirelli’s historically informed, intricately detailed and breathtakingly beautiful approach delighted generations of operagoers, and his productions of such classics as Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci (1970), Otello (1972) and Tosca (1985) set the standard for grand Met stagings. His 1981 La Bohème remains in the repertory to this day and, with nearly 500 appearances, is the most-performed production in company history.
During the 2019–20 season, revivals of Zeffirelli’s monumental takes on Turandot and La Bohème were dedicated to his memory.
Hvorostovsky, the great Russian baritone, died November 22, 2017, at age 55, after a battle with brain cancer. He was a beloved figure at the Met and one of the world’s most extraordinary operatic artists. Hvorostovsky made his company debut in 1995, as Prince Yeletsky in Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades, a role that showcased his burnished sound and remarkable breath control. In his more than 20 years with the Met, he gave more than 180 performances, including unforgettable turns as Germont in La Traviata, Andrei in War and Peace, Rodrigo in Don Carlo, Count Anckarström in Un Ballo in Maschera, Count di Luna in Il Trovatore, and the title roles of Don Giovanni, Rigoletto and Eugene Onegin, among others.
Hvorostovsky’s final Met performance came in May 2017, when, despite his ill health, he made a heroic surprise appearance at the company’s 50 Years at Lincoln Center gala, to the thrill of the audience, the company and all his fellow artists.
“Dmitri was one of opera’s all-time greats, truly an artist for the ages,” said Met General Manager Peter Gelb after his passing. “In addition to his astounding vocal gifts, he had an electrifying stage presence and a charisma that won over both his adoring audiences and his devoted colleagues.”
The Met’s free nightly streams are available on-demand for a period of 23 hours, beginning at 7:30pm ET on the date of the stream.
Operas being streamed during Franco Zeffirelli week include:
Monday, February 15 – Puccini’s La Bohème
Starring Angela Gheorghiu, Ainhoa Arteta, Ramón Vargas, Ludovic Tézier, and Oren Gradus, conducted by Nicola Luisotti. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From April 5, 2008.
Tuesday, February 16 – Verdi’s Falstaff
Starring Mirella Freni, Barbara Bonney, Marilyn Horne, Bruno Pola, and Paul Plishka, conducted by James Levine. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From October 10, 1992.
Wednesday, February 17 – Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci
Starring Tatiana Troyanos, Jean Kraft, Plácido Domingo, and Vern Shinall; Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, and Allan Monk, conducted by James Levine. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From April 5, 1978.
Thursday, February 18 – Puccini’s Tosca
Starring Hildegard Behrens, Plácido Domingo, and Cornell MacNeil, conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From March 27, 1985.
Friday, February 19 – Mozart’s Don Giovanni
Starring Carol Vaness, Karita Mattila, Dawn Upshaw, Jerry Hadley, Samuel Ramey, Ferrucio Furlanetto, and Kurt Moll, conducted by James Levine. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From April 5, 1990.
Saturday, February 20 – Bizet’s Carmen
Starring Angela Gheorghiu, Waltraud Meier, Plácido Domingo, and Sergei Leiferkus, conducted by James Levine. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From March 25, 1997.
Sunday, February 21 – Puccini’s Turandot
Starring Maria Guleghina, Marina Poplavskaya, Marcello Giordani, and Samuel Ramey, conducted by Andris Nelsons. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From November 7, 2009.
Operas being streamed during Dmitri Hvorostovsky week include:
Monday, February 22 – Verdi’s Il Trovatore
Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Dolora Zajick, Marcelo Álvarez, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, conducted by Marco Armiliato. Production by Sir David McVicar. From April 30, 2011.
Tuesday, February 23 – Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades
Starring Galina Gorchakova, Elisabeth Söderström, Plácido Domingo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and Nikolai Putilin, conducted by Valery Gergiev. Production by Elijah Moshinsky. From April 15, 1999.
Wednesday, February 24 – Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin
Starring Renee Fleming, Ramon Vargas and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, conducted by Valery Gergiev. Production by Robert Carsen. From February 24, 2007.
Thursday, February 25 – Verdi’s Ernani
Starring Angela Meade, Marcello Giordani, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and Ferruccio Furlanetto, conducted by Marco Armiliato. Production by Pier Luigi Samaritani. From February 25, 2012.
Friday, February 26 – Verdi’s La Traviata
Starring Natalie Dessay, Matthew Polenzani, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, conducted by Fabio Luisi. Production by Willy Decker. From April 14, 2012.
Saturday, February 27 – Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera
Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Kathleen Kim, Stephanie Blythe, Marcelo Álvarez, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, conducted by Fabio Luisi. Production by David Alden. From December 8, 2012.
Sunday, February 28 – Verdi’s Il Trovatore
Starring Anna Netrebko, Dolora Zajick, Yonghoon Lee, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, conducted by Marco Armiliato. Production by Sir David McVicar. From October 3, 2015.