Great Performances at the Met Returns with Concerts from Renowned Opera Stars Beginning March 19 on PBS
Features Renée Fleming, Jonas Kaufmann, Angel Blue, Joyce DiDonato, Anna Netrebko, Bryn Terfel and others performing around the world
Great Performances at the Met returns for a 15th season with 12 new concerts from opera’s biggest stars beginning with Renée Fleming in Concert premiering Friday, March 19 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Staged in striking locations around the world from Washington D.C. to a cathedral in Wales, beloved Metropolitan Opera singers perform some of their signature arias and duets in intimate one-hour concerts. Acclaimed soprano Christine Goerke serves as host for many of the concerts.
“As one of many of the arts organizations forced to go dark last year, the Metropolitan Opera has proved to be undaunted, creating a new season of Great Performances at the Met with opera’s most accomplished singers performing in historic settings,” said series Executive Producer David Horn.
“When the Met was forced to close its doors last March because of the health crisis, we realized right away how important it would be for us to stay engaged with our global audience,” said Met General Manager Peter Gelb. “The Met Stars Live in Concert series has been an invaluable way to keep artists and opera lovers connected when they both sorely needed it. I am very pleased that these concerts will now be seen by an even larger audience via Great Performances at the Met.”
Great Performances at the Met Season 15 Concert Schedule:
Renée Fleming in Concert – Premieres Friday, March 19 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)
Recorded on August 1, the beloved soprano performs favorite arias by Puccini and Massenet to selections by Handel and Korngold. Highlights include “Endless pleasure, endless love” from Handel’s “Semele,” Canteloube’s “Baïlèro,” and the Marschallin’s Act I monologue from Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier.” The singer performs from the music salon of Dumbarton Oaks in Washington D.C. accompanied by Robert Ainsley.
Jonas Kaufmann in Concert – Premieres Friday, April 2 on PBS (check local listings)
The superstar tenor sings a program of classic arias from the Baroque interior of the historic Polling Abbey located in the Bavarian countryside outside Munich, Germany. Selections from this performance include “Nessun dorma” from “Turandot,” “E lucevan le stelle” from “Tosca,” “Ah! lève-toi, soleil” from “Roméo et Juliette,” “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée” from “Carmen,” “È la solita storia” from “L’Arlesiana,” and “Un dì all’azzurro spazio” from “Andrea Chenier,” among others. Helmut Deutsch accompanies him on piano. The performance was filmed in July.
Lise Davidsen in Concert – Premieres Friday, May 7 on PBS (check local listings)
The soprano performs arias and songs that brought her success around the world including selections from Wagner’s “Tannhäuser,” Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos,” Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” and Scandinavian songs by Sibelius and Grieg, from Oslo’s Oscarshall Palace in Norway. The concert was recorded last August.
Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak in Concert – Premieres Friday, June 4 on PBS (check local listings)
Recorded in August, the married tenor and soprano duo perform arias and duets from the Château de la Chèvre d’Or perched on a cliff in the South of France. selections performed include the love duet from “Madama Butterfly,” the hilarious “Caro elisir” from “L’Elisir d’Amore,” and the Mexican favorite “Cielito Lindo.”
Anna Netrebko in Concert – Premieres Friday, June 18 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)
Recorded in February from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria, the megastar performs Russian songs by Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky as well as selections by Debussy, Dvořák, Fauré and Strauss. Accompanied by Pavel Nebolsin on piano, the program also features mezzo-soprano Elena Maximova for duets from Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” and Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades.”
Joyce DiDonato in Concert – Premieres Friday, July 2 on PBS (check local listings)
The American mezzo-soprano performs from the converted art-nouveau Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum, Germany. The program includes the world premiere of “I Dream a World,” a new work with music by Kenyatta Hughes and text from the Langston Hughes poem of the same name. The concert also features Baroque works by Handel and Monteverdi as well as well-known songs such as “La vie en rose” and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” The singer is accompanied by Carrie-Ann Matheson on piano and the chamber music ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro. Recorded last September.
Diana Damrau and Joseph Calleja in Concert – Premieres Friday, August 6 on PBS (check local listings)
Recorded in October, the soprano-tenor pair perform popular arias and duets from the Royal Palace of Caserta, Italy, including works by Verdi, Bizet, Rossini and others. Soprano Angel Blue hosts.
Sonya Yoncheva in Concert – Friday, September 3 on PBS (check local listings)
The soprano performs in this special concert recorded in February from the Baroque Library in Schussenried Cloister in southwest Germany accompanied by Julien Quentin on piano. The program includes arias from Verdi’s “Aida” and “Il Trovatore;” Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” “La Bohème,” and the rarely performed “Le Villi.”
Sondra Radvanovsky and Piotr Beczala in Concert – Premieres Friday, October 1 on PBS (check local listings)
From the historic Stadthalle in Wuppertal, Germany, recorded in January, this world-famous soprano-tenor pair perform arias and duets from some of their many performances at the Met including Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier,” Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino,” “Luisa Miller” and Dvořák’s “Rusalka”, accompanied by Vincenzo Scalera on piano.
Three Divas at Versailles – Premieres Friday, October 8 at 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)
Three-time GRAMMY winner Isabel Leonard joins Nadine Sierra and Ailyn Pérez to perform timeless selections by Mozart, Offenbach and Bizet including “Voi che sapete” and “Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour” along with beloved songs like “Bésame Mucho” and “Cielito Lindo.” The concert was recorded in May at the Royal Opera of Versailles in France and Met Opera soprano Christine Goerke hosts.
Wagnerians in Concert – Premieres beginning Friday, November 5 on PBS (check local listings)
Recorded in May, a quartet of some of opera’s most powerful and dramatic singers comes together at the Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, Germany. Sopranos Christine Goerke and Elza van den Heever, tenor Andreas Schager, and baritone Michael Volle perform a program of selections by Wagner and Strauss accompanied by pianist Craig Terry including excerpts from “Tannhäuser,” “Parsifal,” “Die Walküre,” “Die Frau ohne Schatten,” and more, as well as Wagner’s complete Wesendonck Lieder. Hosted by Anthony Roth Costanzo.
Bryn Terfel in Concert – Premieres Friday, December 3 on PBS (check local listings)
Recorded December 2020, the legendary bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel performs a holiday program accompanied by Jeff Howard on piano and the Welsh traditional folk group Calan from Brecon Cathedral in the singer’s native Wales. In addition to festive favorites such as “Silent Night,” “O Holy Night,” and “O Come All Ye Faithful,” the program will also include Lerner and Loewe’s “Little Prince,” and “O du, mein holder Abendstern” from Wagner’s “Tannhäuser.”
New Year’s Eve Gala – Premieres Friday, December 31 on PBS (check local listings)
Recorded in December, the Met rings in the new year with a gala performance featuring Met stars Angel Blue, Pretty Yende, Javier Camarena and Matthew Polenzani. Performing from the Parktheater in Kurhaus Göggingen, in Augsburg, Germany, the program features arias, duets and ensembles from Donizetti to Puccini, as well as arrangements of operetta and Neapolitan songs.
Great Performances at the Met is a presentation of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, bringing the best of the Metropolitan Opera into the homes of classical music fans across the United States.
For the Met, Gary Halvorson directs each program. Mia Bongiovanni is Supervising Producer, and Louisa Briccetti, Matt Dobkin, and Victoria Warivonchik are Producers. Peter Gelb is Executive Producer. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is Series Producer; David Horn is Executive Producer.
Corporate support for Great Performances at the Met is provided by provided by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builder®. Major funding is provided by The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, Ellen and James S. Marcus, and Jody and John Arnhold.
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