Mayer, Muhly, and Mefistofele: The Met's 2018-19 Season

The Met announced their 2018-19 season yesterday. I did plug it into the spreadsheet, and it popped out a score of 0.2481. Which is not only more daring than any of the remarkably close past four seasons, but also the most daring of any season in the past seven years, with the 2013-14 season being next at 0.2489. So it looks like what I found in my last post was just a neat coincidence.

There are two major things bringing this number down. The first is the Ring Cycle. The Ring Cycle is always a special event, and draws in a crowd. The reason it scores so low is because it's difficult to pull off, and so companies don't attempt it that often. But when you do pull it of, it's not exactly an obscure thing that no one's going to see. This is a marked flaw that my algorithm doesn't account for. I expect that's also why Aida scores surprisingly low. It's just a technically difficult show, so it's done less often, but that doesn't mean it's any less popular with crowds.

The other thing bringing the score down is the inclusion of Il Trittico in the season. When I devised the spreadsheet, I had a hard time figuring out how to deal with double bills. Operabase considers each opera individually, and I can't distinguish when Cavalleria Rusticana was paired with Pagliacci or when it was paired with something else, if anything at all. For Cav/Pag, which is opera's most popular double bill, it didn't make a huge difference, because both parts of it are just-popular-enough-but-not-too-popular to not significantly mess with the numbers in a large season. So I could count them as either a single averaged opera, or as the two constituent operas. I elected for the latter. But Il Trittico is three distinct operas, and none of them rank particularly highly on the popularity scale, with Gianni Schicchi, the most popular by a wide margin, scoring 0.119. So should Il Trittico be considered three separate operas? Or as one opera that's the average of the three? Should it be given the score of the most popular of the three? Or something else entirely? Double bills is one of many things my spreadsheet is not equipped to handle.

Even cutting the Ring and Il Trittico, the distribution of operas in the season did not match my model at all. The curve was much steeper, which basically means fewer mid-range operas, and more on one end or the other. So maybe it's coincidence that I happened to find four consecutive seasons that greatly resembled one another. Or maybe the Met is significantly changing its tack this time around.

Let's get into the season a bit, shall we?

After last year's debacle cutting the new production of La Forza Del Destino, the Met is down to four new productions in the 2018/19 season. I think this is fine. As I've said in the past, to the casual opera-goer, there's not that much difference between a brand new production, and an old production that hasn't been seen in 20+ years. Both are pretty exciting.

The first new production is the season opera, Samson Et Dalila, starring Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna, directed by Darko Tresnjak. Garanca will be fantastic in the role, and later in the run, Anita Rachvelishvilli takes over. Alagna is solid, and he certainly has the hair for it. I do like Tresnjak, but this seems like an odd match for him. Based on the promotional pictures, this might somewhat resemble the John Cox Thais, which I have mixed feelings about. Thais and Samson Et Dalila have certain obvious similarities in style and subject matter, but Samson has a greater scale and more plot focus. Space is also much more important in Samson than it is in Thais. Specifically, it needs to be well defined. But I can't judge Tresnjak's production on a few pictures. I look forward to seeing it, and I hope it does well.

The new production of La Traviata is exciting. After this season's Tosca, I believe this will be the second opera to have two new productions under Gelb's tenure at the Met, and it looks like Michael Mayer will be doing the same thing as David McVicar (read my thoughts here) in contrasting the controversial minimalism of his predecessor. I was hesitant to see Mayer listed as the director, as he is the director who foisted the Vegas Rigoletto upon us. But the blurb assures us that this Traviata will be in-period, and the promotional pictures look quite decadent. I am a little worried that it will be too decadent though. I think Michael Mayer has a tendency to get bogged down in the window dressing and to lose the drama in it.

La Traviata will star Diana Damrau and Juan Diego Florez. I'm very happy to see both of them. Damrau's Violetta is somewhat divisive, but she is a smart singer and actress (even if you do think she's a bit of a ham) and I'm counting on her to keep the production grounded if Mayer gets distracted by all the shiny scenery. Florez will be returning to the Met for the first time since La Donna Del Lago in 2015, and since he left, he's been breaking out of his usual fare of Rossini and Donizetti. This Alfredo will be a role debut for him, and I think he'll be phenomenal. He's played wonderfully opposite Damrau before. Quinn Kelsey is Germont, and should be fantastic.

Michael Mayer has a second production in the season in Nico Muhly's new opera, Marnie, based on the Hitchcock film. Muhly has not impressed me, but of course I'll give Marnie a fair shot. Isabel Leonard plays the title role. Leonard is getting a lot of good coverage this season, and mostly in pretty modern fare. She plays Blanche in The Dialogues Of The Carmelites, which is getting a broadcast, and the second title role in Pelleas Et Melisande, both being conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin. I predicted when Nezet-Seguin was named as the Met's new music director that we'd see more late-Romantic / early 20th-century fare, but didn't quite expect it to this degree. I guess he and Leonard are in an impressionist mood this year. I do love Isabel Leonard, but I'm not a huge fan of this rep.

The fourth new production this season is Adriana Lecouvreur, directed by David McVicar. As you've probably gathered, I'm a fan of his work, and I'm optimistic about this. It stars Anna Netrebko, who is back in full force as the diva of the season. I think the role will be good for her voice. One of the frustrations I've had with Netrebko in the past is her insistence on singing roles not suited to her voice, so I'm happy to see her taking on more verismo rep. Anita Rachvelishvilli plays the Princess.

A new production of Aida starring Netrebko had been rumored, but that seems to not be happening. All the same, Aida is happening, and Netrebko is starring, once again opposite Rachvelishvilli as the Mezzo Princess. Later in the run, Yonghoon Lee takes over as Radames, and I think he'll be fantastic. I'm really happy to see Anita Rachvelishvilli getting some much-deserved coverage this season, starring in three productions, two new, and two getting broadcast. Her breakout role at the Met was probably as Konchakovna in Prince Igor in 2014, and since then she's mostly played Carmen. Recently, she played Azucena in Il Trovatore, and the New York Times review didn't so much review the production as kvell about how fantastic she was. So she may be on the fast track to being the Met's next top Mezzo.

Speaking of Mezzos, Joyce DiDonato is back in full force playing Sesto in a perfectly-cast La Clemenza Di Tito. Matthew Polenzani plays Tito, which I'm sure was decided the moment the reviews came in for Idomeneo last year. (By the by, the Met's productions of La Clemenza Di Tito and Idomeneo are both by Jean Pierre Ponelle, and they're exactly the same. Except for the face of Neptune in the latter, Ponelle used the same sets and costumes for both and just changed the names. It works great.) Joining them are Elza Van Den Heever as Vitellia (again, probably cast right after that Idomeneo), Christian Van Horn as Publio, and Ying Fang as Servilla. (I assume Nadinne Sierra and Alice Coote were unavailable for that full Idomeneo cast reunion.) Ying Fang was a marvellous Barbarina, and it's great to see her climbing that Mozart ladder. Paula Murrihy plays Annio. All in all, this seems like the perfect cast for one of the greatest opera seria ever written.

Other singers getting good coverage this season are Pretty Yende and Sonya Yoncheva. Both of them have been promoted a lot in the current season, and this continues next year. Yoncheva stars in Iolanta opposite Matthew Polenzani in a role debut (and it occurs to me I don't think I've ever heard him sing in Russian), as well as an encore of Otello with Stuart Skelton and Zeljko Lucic. Pretty Yende will be starring in The Pearl Fishers and La Fille Du Regiment, both opposite Javier Camarena. I'm happy to see The Pearl Fishers coming back for a second go-around, although I'm not sure I see Camarena in the role. Mariusz Kwiecien reprises his role from the last time, so of course he'll be fantastic, but it will lose some of that wonderful stage chemistry he has with Matthew Polenzani. The Met needs to cast Kwiecien and Polenzani back together again.

But while I can't really see Camarena in The Pearl Fishers, I can totally see him in La Fille Du Regiment, which is sure to be a hoot. Marie is such a different role from what sopranos in this rep usually play, and it's such a fun role, so I'm looking forward to seeing how Yende interprets it. The broadcast is one of the later performances, presumably to capture Marizio Muraro as Sulpice, since Alessandro Corbelli has been recorded many times in the role. I wonder who's going to guest star as Krakenthorpe.

Falstaff is another recent production of a less-well-known opera that's coming back for a second spin, and I'm excited to see it. Love the opera, love the production, and the cast looks great. I am a little iffy on Ailyn Perez as Alice, but then, Angela Meade just sort of wiped any other interpretation of the role clean out of my mind. I was kind of hoping Lisette Oropesa would reprise her Nanetta, but Golda Schultz should be great as well. (Although, on the subject, Met, can't you give Lisette Oropesa more to do?)

Nathan Gunn is back. As Papageno. Because of course he is.

I assume Fanciulla is in the season for one reason and one reason only: They were able to get Jonas Kaufmann. For four performances. Yusif Eyvazov plays the other three. We'll see if Kaufmann sticks with this one, or if Eyvazov will end up singing the entire run. Eva-Maria Westbroek should be great. Zeljko Lucic will be as reliable as ever as Jack Rance, and Oren Gradus and Matthew Rose join the cast as well. The Met seems to be playing it really safe here with the low voices. Got to get all the basses covered I guess.

Mefistofele should be fun. Angela Meade and Christian Van Horn are exciting. Not a huge fan of Michael Fabiano.

I nearly jumped when I saw Luca Pisaroni was finally playing the Don! And Ildar Abdrazakov is his Leporello. Two years ago those roles would have been reversed. But Abdrazakov has more than proven his comic chops in Le Nozze Di Figaro, and there's been hype around a potential Pisaroni Don Giovanni for quite some time. I look forward to finding out what sort of interpretation he takes. I also look forward to the digital recording in which he played not only the Don, but also Leporello and Masetto at the same time. Hey, Bryn Terfel already did it with the Commendatore scene. Susanna Phillips should be an... interesting Elvira. For the most part, this Don Giovanni cast looks like its a lot of vehicles for new singers, so hopefully some standouts will emerge. I'm super optimistic about Aida Garifullina, who is making her Met debut as Zerlina. I think we'll be seeing a lot more of her in the near future.

Il Trittico is a neat addition to the season (and it's also the main way to get me to sit through Gianni Schicchi), but, as with The Tales Of Hoffmann, it looks like it's difficult finding a soprano to sing all three leads. I recall reading a while ago that Kristine Opolais was going to try it, but here she's just playing Suor Angelica. Stephanie Blythe will be in all three installments, though, and she's fantastic. Maurizio Muraro will also be in the two that have bass roles. Placido Domingo plays Schicchi, which should be interesting.

McVicar's Tosca is coming back, this time with Radvanovsky as the headliner, and she's sharing the role about evenly with Jennifer Rowley. Rowley seems to be one of the Met's go-to substitutes lately, stepping in for Cyrano last year, Trovatore this year, and a single performance of Tosca. I really liked her in Cyrano, so I'm hoping she'll impress in these roles as well. She's also filling in for Netrebko for a couple of performances of Adriana. I wish they'd gotten Bryn Terfel for Tosca since he missed it this year. Terfel remains a conspicuous absence from the season. Was his last Met appearance in the last Ring Cycle?

Well, at any rate, as we were promised four years ago, the Ring Cycle is coming back. It's the Lepage production again with the Machine, so we'll have to see how audiences feel about it now. Christine Goerke is the main star as Brunnhilde. Michael Volle is a solid choice for Wotan. The names I'm most excited about are Jamie Barton as Fricka (loved her in Das Rheingold in concert with the NYPhil), Gunther Groissbock as Fasolt and Hunding, and Eric Owens as Hagen. I think Eric Owens is trying to gradually work every single bass role in the Ring Cycle into his rep. If you're one of those people who just wants to catch Die Walkure and leave the rest alone, Eva-Maria Westbroek and Stuart Skelton are the Walsungs. Skelton was good as Tristan, and Westbroek is always great.

The Live In HD lineup features Aida, Samson, Fanciulla, Marnie, Traviata, Adriana, Carmen, Fille Du Regiment, Walkure, and Carmelites. Really surprised Trittico didn't make the cut (I expect Fanciulla went in its stead because of Kaufmann), and I would have liked to see Mefistofele. Looks like Netrebko is once again the diva of the season, with two productions (one new) both being broadcast.

All in all, this is a pretty exciting season. Great array of singers lined up, both old and new. Verdi is represented by five operas in the season, and Puccini by four (or seven, if you count Il Trittico three times). There's a fair bit of French repertoire. Surprisingly little pre-Verdi. Only four operas in the season predate 1850, and three of them are Mozart. The median year of composition for this season is 1876, and the average is 1879. The 1870s are the most represented decade. Looks like Yannick Nezet-Seguin is indeed into the late Romantics.

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