Patricia Racette and Marcelo Álvarez Sing Their First Met Performances
of Giordano’s French Revolution Tragedy Andrea Chénier
Gianandrea Noseda conducts a cast that also includes
Željko Lučić as Carlo Gérard
New York, NY (March 4, 2014) – Beginning March 24, three Met stars will sing their first company performances of the leading roles in Andrea Chénier, Giordano’s tragic love story set during the French Revolution. Gianandrea Noseda conducts his first company performances of the opera, which will star Marcelo Álvarez in the title role of the real-life poet executed by revolutionary forces; Patricia Racette as the aristocrat Maddalena, whose privileged life is overturned by the revolution; and Željko Lučić as Carlo Gérard, a servant who becomes a leader of the insurrection. The cast also includes Jennifer Johnson Cano as La Bersi, Russian mezzo-soprano Olesya Petrova in her Met debut as Madelon, Tony Stevenson as Incredibile, Dwayne Croft as Roucher, Robert Pomakov as Mathieu, and Margaret Lattimore as the Countess.
This month, Gianandrea Noseda also conducts the acclaimed new production of Borodin’s Prince Igor, in a new performing version of the opera he created with director Dmitri Tcherniakov. He made his Met debut in 2002 leading Prokofiev’s War and Peace, and in subsequent Met seasons he has conducted Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, Un Ballo in Maschera, and Macbeth, as well as the new production premieres of Il Trovatore and La Traviata. He is the Music Director of the Teatro Regio in Turin, Principal Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Orquestra de Cadaqués, and Artistic Director of Italy’s Stresa Festival.
Patricia Racette adds an eighteenth role to her diverse Met repertory as Maddalena. Earlier this season, she sang the title role in a revival of Puccini’s Tosca.
Tosca is one of seven Puccini heroines Racette has sung at the Met, a list that also includes Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, Musetta and Mimì in La Bohème, and the principal soprano roles in Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi. In recent seasons, she has also sung Ellen Orford in the new production of Britten’s Peter Grimes, Leonora in Il Trovatore, and Madame Lidoine in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites. Next spring, she will sing Nedda in a new production of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, opposite Marcelo Álvarez as Canio.
Last season, Marcelo Álvarez starred as Riccardo in the new production of Un Ballo in Maschera. He made his Met debut in 1998 as Alfredo in La Traviata and has also sung Radamès in Verdi’s Aida, Rodolfo in La Bohème, Don José in Bizet’s Carmen, Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, the Chevalier des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon, the Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s Rigoletto, the Italian Singer in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, Cavaradossi in Tosca, and Manrico in Il Trovatore with the company. He will make his Met role debuts as both Turiddu in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Canio in Pagliacci in next season’s new production of the popular verismo double bill.
Željko Lučić made his Met debut in 2006 as Barnaba in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda. He sang the title roles in the recent new production premieres of Verdi’s Macbeth and Rigoletto; his other roles with the company have included Giorgio Germont in La Traviata, di Luna in Il Trovatore, Michele in Il Tabarro, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, and the title role in Verdi’s Nabucco. Next season, he will make his Met role debut as Amonasro in Aida, sing Alfio in the new production of Cavalleria Rusticana, and reprise the title role in a revival of Macbeth.
Andrea Chénier Radio Broadcasts
The March 24 opening performanceof Andrea Chénier will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 74, as will the performances on April 8 and 12. The March 24 performance will also be streamed live on the Met’s website, www.metopera.org.
The April 12 matinee performance will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.
For More Information
For more information on this season’s performances of Andrea Chénier, please visit the Met’s website at http://www.metopera.org.
MET DEBUTS & MET ROLE DEBUTS
Met Debuts
Olesya Petrova, Madelon (March 24)
Met Role Debuts
Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor
Patricia Racette, Maddalena
Marcelo Álvarez, Andrea Chénier
Željko Lučić, Carlo Gérard
Jennifer Johnson Cano, La Bersi
Tony Stevenson, Incredibile
Dwayne Croft, Roucher
Robert Pomakov, Mathieu
Margaret Lattimore, The Countess
Dennis Petersen, The Abbé
Kyle Pfortmiller, Major-Domo
John Moore, Fléville
Jeffrey Wells, Fouquier-Tinville
David Crawford, Schmidt
