'Norma' kicks off opera season

Even as we still endure summer fire weather here in Northwest Montana, autumn is rapidly approaching and with it the next season of Live in HD broadcasts from The Metropolitan Opera.

The 2017-18 HD season at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center and Cinemark Signature Stadium 14 includes 10 operas, all broadcast on Saturday mornings. Five of the 10 are either an American premiere or entirely new productions. One is rarely performed; others are some of the most commonly performed in the opera repertoire. Settings range from BC Babylon and France to the Coney Island Fairgrounds and Sideshow in New York City in the early 1950s.

Audiences will hear dazzling young opera stars — Sonya Yoncheva appears to be the soprano of choice this season — as well as older stars, including Placido Domingo, Stephanie Blythe and Sir Bryn Terfel. We will see a Tony Award-winning Broadway singer Kelli O’Hara cross over to opera as a cheeky servant in a Mozart classic.

Genres include two melodramas, two romantic comedies, four love-story tragedies and two fairy tales. And the operas seem to be a little shorter in duration this season, with the majority about three hours or less, including intermissions. There are English subtitles for every opera, even the one sung in English.

Tickets at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center are $20 adults/$5 students/$10 college students, cash or check, purchased at the door. A season ticket bundle (a single ticket for each of the 10 broadcasts) are available for $180 (10 for the price of 9). Call 406-862-7591 in advance or buy a season ticket bundle at the door.

Tickets at Cinemark Signature Stadium 14 in Kalispell are available in advance online at https://www.cinemark.com or at the door. Tickets are $23 adults, $21 seniors and $16 for children. Season ticket bundles are also available online.

The Met — Live in HD 2017-18

- Oct. 7, 10:55 a.m. — “Norma” by Vincenzo Bellini

- Oct. 14, 10:55 a.m. (Signature Theatre ONLY) — “Die Zauberflote” (“The Magic Flute”) by Mozart*

- Oct. 28, 10:55 a.m. (Whitefish Performing Arts Center ONLY) — “Die Zauberflote” (“The Magic Flute”) by Mozart*

- Nov. 18, 10:55 a.m. — “The Exterminating Angel” by Thomas Ades

- Jan. 27, 10:55 a.m. — “Tosca” by Giacomo Puccini

- Feb. 10, 10 a.m. — “L’Elisir D’Amore” (“The Elixir of Love”) by Gaetano Donizetti

- Feb. 24, 10:30 a.m. — “La Boheme” by Giacomo Puccini

- March 10, 10:55 a.m. — “Semiramide” by Gioachino Rossini

- March 31, 10:55 a.m. — “Cosi fan tutte” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

- April 14, 10:30 a.m. — “Luisa Miller” by Giuseppe Verdi

- April 28, 10:55 a.m. — “Cendrillon” (“Cinderella”) by Jules Massenet

*The Magic Flute is shown pre-recorded at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center on Oct. 28 at 10:55 a.m., but is live in cinemas nationwide on Oct. 14 at 10:55 a.m. All the other operas are shown in cinemas at the same time as listed above.

“Norma” (Bellini) is a new production. The opera “Norma” is a fusion of sublime melody, vocal challenge and dramatic power in the bel canto opera style. It is set in Gaul (France) in 50 BC when the Romans first began to invade. It features a strong-willed Druid princess, Norma, who compromises her ideals for love, yet is ultimately betrayed by her lover. Norma has two children by a Roman warrior whom she loves, but that man is secretly in love with Norma’s girlfriend. Norma protects him by telling her people not to fight the Romans. When Norma learns that he is about to elope with her friend, Norma goes berserk — and trouble ensues. Soprano Sondra Radvanovski stars as Norma (you may remember her as Queen Elizabeth I in “Roberto Devereux” two seasons ago). Joyce DiDonato stars as Norma’s girlfriend, with Joseph Calleja as her unfaithful Roman lover. Sung in Italian; total run time is 3 hours 4 minutes.

“Die Zauberflote” (“The Magic Flute” by Mozart) is the last opera by Mozart, who died three months after its premiere in 1791. Some historians believe that Mozart may have been poisoned for revealing too much in this opera about the secret society of Freemasons, to which both Mozart and his librettist belonged. Indeed, this opera is supposedly filled with Masonic imagery and references throughout.The opera is set in a mythical Egypt-like land and feels like a timeless fairytale. Written to appeal to both upper and lower classes, this opera features noble characters exuding the high morals of true love (the lovers Pamina and Tamino) as well as comedic, earthy characters such as the bird man Papageno and his bird-woman crush, Papagena. The Queen of the Night sings an unbelievable coloratura aria featuring arpeggios that leap to an F above high C — it will curl your hair.

The basic story is that the Queen’s daughter Pamina is kidnapped by the evil Sarastro. The Queen gives a magic flute to Prince Tamino to protect him while he journeys to rescue Pamina. After much cloak-and-dagger action, initiation rites in a temple, and the magic spells of a flute and bells (perhaps all Freemason references?), Tamino finally gets his girl and we learn who really is the evil one in this opera. Watch for awesome sets, costuming, and animal imagery. And listen for the repeated heavy chords in the overture, suspiciously like a knocking on a door to gain entrance to a secret society meeting. Sung in German; total run time is 3 hours 9 minutes.

“The Exterminating Angel” (Thomas Ades) is the American premiere of a highly acclaimed new opera that debuted at the Salzburg Festival in 2016. It is based on the 1962 absurdist film of the same name by Luis Bunuel that explores what happens when a host invites 14 guests to a dinner party, but then for some inexplicable reason — the presence of an “exterminating angel” perhaps? — no one can leave the room. As days go by, they run out of food and water and panic and madness set in. The veneer of sophistication that many of the guests brought to the party quickly disappears as conditions inside the home deteriorate, and people’s true personalities emerge as they cope with mere survival. The plot is understandably frightening in this era of heightened nuclear alert, terror attacks, horrible natural disasters and potential worldwide cyberattack. Maybe the exterminating angel that keeps the dinner guests hostage is an allegory about modern threats and fears and what it can do to our humanity. One of the 15 cast members is dramatic soprano Alice Coote who usually sings trouser roles. For a change, she will play an older woman who goes completely batty. Interesting tidbit: The composer Thomas Ades is the conductor, and the librettist Tom Cairns is the stage director. Sung in English; total run time is 2 hours 27 minutes.

“Tosca” (Puccini) is a new production. James Levine conducts Sir David McVicar’s production of Puccini’s melodrama about a volatile diva, her idealistic artist lover, and a sadistic police chief — one of the truly bad guys in all of opera. Puccini’s music drives the dramatic action, which does not end well for any of the characters. This opera’s score and story line are prime examples of the verismo (“realism”) opera style, featuring short arias with superb melodies and overwhelming emotional effect.

Tosca is set in Rome on June 17, 1800, when in real life, Roman citizens awaited news of the Battle of Marengo in northern Italy. Each of the three acts occur in buildings that tourists may still visit: the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle, the Palazzo Farnese, and the Castel Sant’Angelo. The sets are so real, they may remind you of your Italian travels. Sonya Yoncheva, the lead in last season’s “La Traviata,” stars as Tosca; Vittorio Grigolo sings Cavaradossi, her artist lover; and Sir Bryn Terfel of Wales, the most highly acclaimed bass-baritone of today, sings the role of the evil police chief Scarpia. The beginning measures of the Tosca overture may be the grandest in all of opera. Sung in Italian; total run time is 2 hours 53 minutes.

“L’Elisir d’Amore” (“The Elixir of Love” by Donizetti) is a romantic comedy to cheer up audiences after “Tosca” and before the tragic “La Boheme.” By bel canto composer Donizetti, the score is instantly appealing and it is immediately clear that nothing bad will happen to the young lovers. One of the most enduring comedies in all of opera, “The Elixir of Love” is set in Italy in the 1830s in a small village where everyone knows everybody and traveling salesmen are a source of entertainment. This one sells a love potion to a peasant smitten with a pretty landowner named Adina; in this opera, “pretty” is literal, for the character of Adina is sung by a young soprano named Pretty Yende, a rising star. The lighthearted story features four great leading roles and chorus, all singing wonderful melodies. Production by Broadway-influenced Bartlett Sher. Sung in Italian; total run time is 2 hours 39 minutes.

“La Boheme” (Puccini) is a tragic love story about a group of friends living in the garrets of Paris in the 1830s is the most frequently staged opera at the Met. We HD viewers saw this Franco Zeffirelli production a few years ago, but the cast will be different this season. In the lead roles are Sonya Yoncheva as Mimi and Michael Fabiano as Rodolfo; you may remember them as the leads in last season’s “La Traviata.” The music of “La Boheme” is lyrical and touchingly beautiful, focusing on love and tragedy of the common man. The score reflects that, for this opera features small musical details unlike the grandiose musical context of earlier operas. Through the plot, the characters and the music, “La Boheme” depicts the joys and sorrows of love and the importance of small everyday treasures. Sung in Italian; total run time is 2 hours 55 minutes.

“Semiramide” (Rossini) was one of Rossini’s best-loved operas back in the early 1800s, but it is rarely performed today. In fact, this will be the first performance of “Semiramide” at the Met in 25 years. One musicologist considers “Semiramide” to be the last of the operas in the Baroque tradition, describing it as “the most beautiful, imaginative, and possibly the most complete.” Also, it reputedly has one of the finest overtures in all of opera.

Set in Babylon in 2000 BC, its plot involves a murderous queen who must choose a successor and a handsome young warrior with whom she falls in love. But oops — he turns out to be her own son. Queen Semiramide is sung by the powerful soprano Angela Meade (who grew up in Centralia, Washington), and the antagonist Assur is sung by Ildar Abdrazakov, who played the role of Prince Igor in the opera of the same name we saw on HD a few years ago. Opera tidbit: the role of Semiramide was sung in an 1890s run at the Met by the world-famous Australian diva, Nellie Melba (for whom melba toast and peach melba was named). Sung in Italian; total run time is 4 hours.

“Cosi fan tutte” (“All Women are Like That” by Mozart) is a new production. This opera is Mozart’s third and final collaboration with brilliant librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte, a comedy of manners that also comments on the dark side of human nature. It has a beautiful score with many woodwinds said to give the opera a breezy seaside ambiance like Naples, Italy where it was originally set. It features outstanding arias, wonderful ensemble pieces, and hilarious comedy. We saw it a few years ago on HD in a production set in the late 1700s; this new production modernizes it to the Coney Island Fairgrounds and Sideshow of the early 1950s on the shores of the Long Island Sound. The whimsical sets are colorful and the costumes quintessential middle-20th century. The plot involves two couples, and the boyfriends decide they want to test the fidelity of their girlfriends. Motivated by the scheming bet-maker Don Alfonso and abetted by sassy servant Despina, the two men disguise themselves and attempt to woo the other guy’s girlfriend — a recipe for trouble. Mozart and Da Ponte chose to disguise the men as Albanian soldiers, but in this production, they become carnival workers. After all is said and done, we are left to ponder which gender — man or woman — is really “like that.” Sung in Italian; total run time is 3 hours 31 minutes.

“Luisa Miller” (Verdi) is a little-known Verdi gem that has not been performed at the Met in more than 10 years. It is a heart-wrenching tragedy of romantic love, fatherly love, jealousy, deception — and poison. The story is about young Luisa Miller who falls in love with Carlo, a handsome stranger to her village. But another man loves Luisa and reveals that Carlo is not who he says he is, but is actually Rodolfo, the son of a hated nobleman, Count Walter. Luisa’s father becomes enraged at her choice. Meanwhile, the Count wants his son to marry a young noblewoman, but of course, Rodolfo would rather not. Luisa’s father energetically defends his daughter, and he gets himself arrested and scheduled for execution. Against the backdrop of good father (Miller) and bad father (Count Walter), tragic events result. Sonya Yoncheva again stars as the lead soprano Luisa Miller, and Piotr Beczala — a superb tenor — stars as Rodolfo. James Levine conducts. The big draw for this opera will undoubtedly be the enduring opera legend who sings the important role of Luisa’s father, Placido Domingo.Sung in Italian; total run time is 3 hours 38 minutes.

“Cendrillon” (“Cinderella” by Massenet) is a new production. This opera is the familiar fairy tale; a few years ago, we HD viewers saw Rossini’s version, “La Cenerentola.” This imaginative new storybook production by Laurent Pelly has already been performed at the Royal Opera and received rave reviews by the New York Times, “a throughly enchanting performance.” Bewitching sets and costuming with a modern flair will bring to life the fairy tale of our childhood fantasies.As typical of French opera, this one by Massenet features ballet numbers woven into the action. Joyce di Donato sings the role of Cinderella (just as she did in “La Cenerentola”), with the dramatic soprano Alice Coote singing the trouser role of Prince Charming. Opera veteran Stephanie Blythe sings the imperious Madame de la Haltiere. Sung in French; total run time is 2 hours 47 minutes.

Sally Murdock is a guest writer for This Week in the Flathead and can be reached at murdock@cyberport.net.