Premieres nationwide Friday, April 5 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)
Encores Sunday, April 7 at 12 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)
Season 13 of Great Performances at the Met comes to primetime with Verdi’s masterpiece La Traviata, premiering nationwide Friday, April 5 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Conducted by new Metropolitan Opera music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the opera stars Diana Damrau in the pinnacle soprano role of Violetta alongside Juan Diego Flórez as her hapless lover Alfredo and Quinn Kelsey as his father Germont.
Michael Mayer’s new production follows courtesan Violetta Valéry, who knows she will die soon and wishes to leave her professional life for a chance at love. After meeting the charming Alfredo Germont at a party, the two begin a relationship and move to the country in an effort to enjoy their love away from society. A tumultuous visit from Alfredo’s father, the bourgeois Giorgio Germont, casts doubt in Violetta’s heart for the future of their relationship, causing her to abandon their love nest. After seeing Violetta on the arm of a baron, a jealous Alfredo must fight for his love and reunite with her before it is too late. Anita Rachvelishvili hosts.
Notable Talent:
Diana Damrau – Violetta Valéry
Juan Diego Flórez – Alfredo Germont
Quinn Kelsey – Giorgio Germont
Yannick Nézet-Séguin – conductor
Anita Rachvelishvili – host
Noteworthy Fact:
- La Traviata marks conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s first new production since becoming the Met’s music director in September 2018. Nézet-Séguin’s previous Great Performances at the Met appearances include Carmen (2010), Don Carlo (2010), Faust (2012), Rusalka (2014) and Otello (2016).
Run time: 3 hours
Production Credits:
Michael Mayer – Production
Christine Jones – Set Designer
Susan Hilferty – Costume Designer
Kevin Adams – Lighting Designer
Lorin Latarro – Choreographer
For the Met, Gary Halvorson directs the telecast. David Frost is Music Producer. Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park are Supervising Producers, and Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik are Producers. Peter Gelb is Executive Producer. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is Series Producer; David Horn is Executive Producer.
Underwriters:
Corporate support for Great Performances at the Met is provided by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builder®. Major funding for the Met Opera presentation is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. This Great Performances presentation is funded by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, Ellen and James S. Marcus, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation and public television viewers.
