A Rare Met Revival of Stravinsky’s Only Full-Length Opera,
The Rake’s Progress, Conducted by James Levine
Paul Appleby stars as Tom Rakewell, with Layla Claire as Anne Trulove,
Stephanie Blythe as Baba the Turk, and
Gerald Finley as the diabolical Nick Shadow
New York, NY (April 21, 2015) – Stravinsky’s twentieth-century operatic masterpiece The Rake’s Progress will return to the Met stage for a revival of three performances only, opening May 1 and continuing through May 9. Music Director James Levine leads the performances, with rising stars Paul Appleby and Layla Claire in the central roles of the carefree Tom Rakewell and his faithful sweetheart, Anne Trulove; Stephanie Blythe as Baba the Turk, the hot-tempered bearded lady whose life becomes entangled with Tom’s; English bass Brindley Sherratt in his Met debut as Anne’s father, Trulove; and Gerald Finley as Nick Shadow, the mysterious man who encourages Tom to trade respectability for a life of aimless pleasure.
This season’s performances will be a revival of Jonathan Miller’s 1997 production, only the second staging of the opera in Met history. The 1952 American premiere of the work was given at the Met in the presence of Stravinsky, in a production conducted by Fritz Reiner and directed by George Balanchine. The opera was revived the following season and then not performed again by the company until Levine conducted the new production premiere more than 40 years later.
Further information, including biographies of the principal artists, is available in our online press room here.
Performances: April 23, 28, May 2mat, 6, 9eve. Curtain times vary: complete schedule here. Running time: 3 hours, 20 minutes, including two intermissions.
Tickets begin at $25; for prices, more information, or to place an order, please call (212) 362-6000 or visit www.metopera.org. Special rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling (212) 341-5410 or visiting www.metopera.org/groups.
Same-day $25 rush tickets for all performances of Un Ballo in Maschera are available on a first-come, first-served basis on the Met’s Web site. Tickets will go on sale for performances Monday-Friday at noon, matinees four hours before curtain, and Saturday evenings at 2pm. To enter, click here.
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