Metropolitan Opera broadcasts continue this month on WITF 89.5 with one new production and three ongoing performances.
March 5 — Armida (Rossini), 1pm
The subject matter for Rossini's 1817 opera Armida was widely popular from the 17th through the early 20th centuries: the story of the Saracen sorceress and her desire for the Christian warrior Rinaldo. The source material is Torquato Tasso's epic poem "Gerusalemme liberate" (1581). Rossini's treatment of the material contrasts with his other operas and demonstrates his range and capabilities, especially in the first and third acts, where the world created is darker, more sensual and magical. There are seven tenor roles written for the opera, rendering it, in the eyes of some, "unperformable."
With Renée Fleming (Armida), Lawrence Brownlee, John Osborn, Barry Banks and Kobie van Rensburg; Riccardo Frizza conducts.
March 12 — Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky), noon
Listeners will have a chance to hear this season's new production of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, conducted by Valery Gergiev, directed by Stephen Wadsworth and starring René Pape in the title role. Also stars Ekaterina Semenchuk, Aleksandrs Anto?enko, Oleg Balashov, Evgeny Nikitin, Mikhail Petrenko and Vladimir Ognovenko.
March 19 — Lucia di Lammermoor, 1pm
Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), one of Scotland's most celebrated authors, wrote The Bride of Lammermoor in 1819. The life of Janet Dalrymple, a shadowy figure in Scottish lore, was the source from which Scott crafted his poignant story. A favorite among many composers, Scott's literary style lent itself well to musical adaptation. From Scott's novel came the contrast of the wedding festivities and the horror of the bridal chamber. Lucy's incoherent babbling during the mad scene in the novel is transformed into Lucia's delusional mad-scene music. Salvatore Cammarano, Donizetti's librettist, excluded much of Scott's novel from the libretto, whittling it down to its essential situations and characters, emphasizing the tragedy of Lucy.
With Natalie Dessay (Lucia), Joseph Calleja, Ludovic Tézier and Kwangchul Youn; Patrick Summers conducts.
March 26 — The Queen of Spades (Tchaikovsky), 1pm
The Queen of Spades is based on Alexander Pushkin's novella, a short masterpiece about a man who loses his fortune and his mind to cards. Peter Tchaikovsky turned down his brother Modest's libretto the first time it was offered to him, arguing that the subject did not move him. But when Tchaikovsky finally settled down to work on The Queen of Spades, he sketched the entire opera in just 44 days.
Andris Nelsons conducts, and the cast includes Karita Mattila, Tamara Mumford, Dolora Zajick, Vladimir Galouzine, Alexey Markov and Peter Mattei.
