The Metropolitan Opera’s
50th Anniversary at Lincoln Center Season
Opens September 26 With a New Staging of
Wagner’s Epic Tristan und Isolde
Sir Simon Rattle conducts his first Met opening night;
the new production is by acclaimed Polish director Mariusz Treliński
Nina Stemme sings her first company performances of Isolde,
the role that has won her accolades at major opera houses around the world,
opposite Australian tenor Stuart Skelton as Tristan
The gala opening night performance will be transmitted live to Times Square, and for the second season in a row, a limited number of $25 rush tickets inside the house
will be available online
New York, NY (September 6, 2016) – The Metropolitan Opera will open its 132nd season, the 50th anniversary of its iconic Lincoln Center home, on Monday, September 26 with a new production of Wagner’s epic tragedy Tristan und Isolde. Sir Simon Rattle returns to the Met for the first time since his acclaimed 2011 debut to conduct the opera. The production is by acclaimed Polish director Mariusz Treliński, who made his Met debut in 2015 with the double bill of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle. Swedish dramatic soprano Nina Stemme leads the cast in her first Met performances of her signature role, Isolde, which she has sung to acclaim with major international opera companies around the world. Australian tenor Stuart Skelton sings the role of her doomed lover, Tristan, with Ekaterina Gubanova as Isolde’s maid, Brangäne; Evgeny Nikitin as Tristan’s servant, Kurwenal; and René Pape as King Marke, the heartbroken ruler who comes between the two lovers. Asher Fisch, last seen at the Met leading Wagner’s Parsifal in the 2012-13 season, will conduct the final two performances of the run.
Treliński’s staging of Tristan und Isolde will feature the work of his design team from Iolanta and Bluebeard’s Castle, with scenic design by Boris Kudlička, costume design by Marek Adamski, lighting design by Marc Heinz, projection design by Bartek Macias, and choreography by Tomasz Wygoda.
As part of the Met’s ongoing commitment to making opera more accessible to all audiences, the opening night performance will once again be broadcast for free to numerous giant screens in Times Square—a tradition begun in 2006. The company’s Rush Tickets program will also once again be extended to include opening night, allowing at least 100 lucky opera lovers the chance to purchase $25 orchestra seats for the gala performance.
The October 8 matinee performance of Tristan und Isolde will kick off the 11th season of the Met’s Live in HD series, which now reaches more than 2,000 movie theaters in 70 countries around the world. This performance will mark the 100th transmission worldwide in the Met’s Live in HD series.
Further information, including biographies of principal artists, is available in our online press room here.
Performances: September 26, 30; October 3, 8mat, 13, 17, 24, 27. Curtain times vary: complete schedule here. Running time: 4 hours and 47 minutes, 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 Tristan und Isolde 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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