Met Opera 2023-24 Season

MET PREMIERE
Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Latonia Moore (Sister Rose), Joyce DiDonato (Sister Helen Prejean), Susan Graham (Mrs. Patrick De Rocher), Ryan McKinny (Joseph De Rocher)

Jake Heggie’s powerful work has its highly anticipated Met premiere in a new production by Ivo van Hove. Based on Sister Helen Prejean’s memoir about her fight for the soul of a condemned murderer, Dead Man Walking matches the high drama of its subject with Heggie’s poignant music and a libretto by Tony and Emmy Award–winner Terrence McNally. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium, with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato starring as Sister Helen. The cast also features bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as the death-row inmate Joseph De Rocher, soprano Latonia Moore as Sister Rose, and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham—who sang Helen Prejean in the opera’s 2000 premiere—as De Rocher’s mother.

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Lark Theater, PO Box 685, Larkspur, CA 94977

MET PREMIERE
Kazem Abdullah (Conductor), Leah Hawkins (Louise/Betty), Raehann Bryce-Davis (Ella), Victor Ryan Robertson (Elijah/Street), Will Liverman (Malcolm), Michael Sumuel (Reginald)

Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Robert O’Hara, who was nominated for a Tony Award in 2020 for his direction of Slave Play, oversees a new staging that imagines Malcolm as an everyman whose story transcends time and space. A cast of breakout artists take part in the operatic retelling of Malcom X’s life. Baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, sings Malcolm. Soprano Leah Hawkins plays his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis is his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel is his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson is the Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis’s libretto.

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Lark Theater, PO Box 685, Larkspur, CA 94977

ENCORE
James Levine (Conductor), Ying Huang (Pamina), Erika Miklósa (Queen of the Night), Matthew Polenzani (Tamino), Greg Fedderly (Monostatos), Nathan Gunn (Papageno), David Pittsinger (Speaker), René Pape (Sarastro)

The Met made history in December 2006 when it presented its first Live in HD transmission to cinemas worldwide: the abridged English-language version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Julie Taymor’s whimsical production features a winning ensemble, including tenor Matthew Polenzani, baritone Nathan Gunn, and bass René Pape. The opera returns to select movie theaters for a special encore presentation during the holiday season.

Click here to download order form and return to the Box Office, or mail to:
Lark Theater, PO Box 685, Larkspur, CA 94977

MET PREMIERE
Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Ailyn Pérez (Florencia Grimaldi), Gabriella Reyes (Rosalba), Nancy Fabiola Herrera (Paula), Mario Chang (Arcadio), Michael Chioldi (Álvaro), Mattia Olivieri (Riolobo), Greer Grimsley (Captain)

Sung in Spanish and inspired by the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez, Mexican composer Daniel Catán’s 1996 opera focuses on an opera diva, Florencia Grimaldi, who returns to her native Brazil to perform and to search for her lost lover, who has vanished into the jungle. The Met premiere stars soprano Ailyn Pérez as Florencia in a new production by Mary Zimmerman that brings the mystical realm of the Amazon to the Met stage. The distinguished ensemble of artists portraying the diva’s fellow travelers on the river boat to Manaus features Gabriella Reyes as the journalist Rosalba, bass-baritone Greer Grimsley as the ship’s captain, baritone Mattia Olivieri as his enigmatic first mate, tenor Mario Chang as the captain’s nephew Arcadio, and mezzo-soprano Nancy Fabiola Herrera and baritone Michael Chioldi as the feuding couple Paula and Álvaro, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium.

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Lark Theater, PO Box 685, Larkspur, CA 94977

REVIVAL
Daniele Callegari (Conductor), Liudmyla Monastyrska (Abigaille), Maria Barakova (Fenena)
SeokJong Baek (Ismaele), George Gagnidze (Nabucco), Dmitry Belosselskiy (Zaccaria)

Ancient Babylon comes to life in a classic Met staging of biblical proportions. Baritone George Gagnidze makes his Met role debut as the imperious king Nabucco, alongside Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska reprising her thrilling turn as his vengeful daughter Abigaille. Mezzo-soprano Maria Barakova and tenor SeokJong Baek, in his company debut, are Fenena and Ismaele, and bass Dmitry Belosselskiy repeats his celebrated portrayal of the high priest Zaccaria. Daniele Callegari conducts Verdi’s early masterpiece, which features the ultimate showcase for the great Met Chorus, the moving “Va, pensiero.”

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Lark Theater, PO Box 685, Larkspur, CA 94977

NEW PRODUCTION
Daniele Rustioni (Conductor), Angel Blue (Micaëla), Aigul Akhmetshina (Carmen), Piotr Beczała (Don José), Kyle Ketelsen (Escamillo)

Acclaimed English director Carrie Cracknell makes her Met debut, reinvigorating the classic story of deadly passion with a staging that moves the action to the present day, amid a band of human traffickers. Mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina leads a powerhouse quartet of stars in the touchstone role of the irresistible femme fatale, alongside tenor Piotr Beczała as Carmen’s lover Don José, soprano Angel Blue as the devoted Micaëla, and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the swaggering Escamillo. Daniele Rustioni conducts Bizet’s heart-pounding score.

Click here to download order form and return to the Box Office, or mail to:
Lark Theater, PO Box 685, Larkspur, CA 94977

NEW PRODUCTION
Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Lise Davidsen (Leonora), Ekaterina Semenchuk (Preziosilla), Brian Jagde (Don Alvaro), Igor Golovatenko (Don Carlo di Vargas), Patrick Carfizzi (Fra Melitone), Soloman Howard (Marquis of Calatrava/Padre Guardiano)

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, with stellar soprano Lise Davidsen, following a string of recent Met triumphs, in her role debut as the noble Leonora. Director Mariusz Treliński delivers the company’s first new Forza in nearly 30 years, setting the scene in a contemporary world. The cast also features tenor Brian Jagde as Don Alvaro, baritone Igor Golovatenko as Don Carlo, mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk as Preziosilla, bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi as Fra Melitone, and bass Soloman Howard as both Leonora’s father and Padre Guardiano.

Click here to download order form and return to the Box Office, or mail to:
Lark Theater, PO Box 685, Larkspur, CA 94977

REVIVAL
Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Nadine Sierra (Juliette), Samantha Hankey (Stéphano), Benjamin Bernheim (Roméo), Frederick Ballentine (Tybalt), Will Liverman (Mercutio), Alfred Walker (Frère Laurent)

Two singers at the height of their powers—soprano Nadine Sierra and tenor Benjamin Bernheim—come together as the star-crossed lovers in Gounod’s Shakespeare adaptation, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium to conduct one of the repertoire’s most romantic scores. Bartlett Sher’s staging also features baritone Will Liverman and tenor Frederick Ballentine as the archrivals Mercutio and Tybalt, mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey as the mischievous pageboy Stéphano, and bass-baritone Alfred Walker as Frère Laurent.

Click here to download order form and return to the Box Office, or mail to:
Lark Theater, PO Box 685, Larkspur, CA 94977

REVIVAL
Speranza Scappucci (Conductor), Angel Blue (Magda), Emily Pogorelc (Lisette), Jonathan Tetelman (Ruggero), Bekhzod Davronov (Prunier)

Puccini’s bittersweet love story makes a rare Met appearance, with soprano Angel Blue starring as the sophisticated French courtesan Magda, opposite tenor Jonathan Tetelman in his company debut as Ruggero, an idealistic young man who offers her an alternative to her life of excess. Maestro Speranza Scappucci conducts Nicolas Joël’s Art Deco–inspired staging, which transports audiences from the heart of Parisian nightlife to a dreamy vision of the French Riviera. Soprano Emily Pogorelc and tenor Bekhzod Davronov—both making their Met debuts—complete the cast as Lisette and Prunier.

Click here to download order form and return to the Box Office, or mail to:
Lark Theater, PO Box 685, Larkspur, CA 94977

REVIVAL
Xian Zhang (Conductor), Asmik Grigorian (Cio-Cio-San), Elizabeth DeShong (Suzuki), Jonathan Tetelman (Pinkerton), Lucas Meachem (Sharpless)

In her Met debut, Asmik Grigorian tackles the demanding role of Cio-Cio-San, the trusting geisha at the heart of Puccini’s tragedy. Tenor Jonathan Tetelman is the callous American naval officer Pinkerton whose betrayal destroys her. Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong is the steadfast maid Suzuki, and baritone Lucas Meachem is the American consul Sharpless. Acclaimed maestro Xian Zhang makes her Met debut conducting Anthony Minghella’s vivid production.

Click here to download order form and return to the Box Office, or mail to:
Lark Theater, PO Box 685, Larkspur, CA 94977