Great Performances » John Relyea

GP at The Met: La Damnation de Faust: Introduction

daniel ross — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:24:12 +0000

Radiant mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and dashing Italian tenor Marcello Giordani are unlucky lovers in La Damnation de Faust, Hector Berlioz’s classic take on dancing with the devil, Saturday, February 28 at noon (ET) on Great Performances at the Met (check local listings). Presented by THIRTEEN in 5.1 digital surround sound on PBS HD, the new Met production is conducted by Music Director James Levine and conceived by visionary Canadian director Robert Lepage.

Nearly stealing the show: handsome young Canadian bass-baritone John Relyea as a most persuasive Méphistophélès.

“Stunning,” wrote The New York Times of Lepage’s breakthrough use of video imagery, depicting everything from a grassy field to a fiery hell. Also lauded were Graham’s “rapturous richness and elegant restraint,” Giordani’s “ardor and intelligence” and Relyea’s “wily, seductive lyricism.”

Based on Goethe’s Faust Part I, the work retells the timeless tale of the devil-dealing title character (Giordani) who ultimately barters his soul for the salvation of his beloved Marguerite (Graham). In one of music’s most chilling exits, he and his diabolical nemesis gallop to hell in Berlioz’s celebrated, and fearsome, “Ride to the Abyss.”

Perhaps best known today as the composer of the bizarrely delightful Symphonie Fantastique (1838), Hector Berlioz toiled relentlessly in the field of opera. Although slow to find their places in the world’s repertory, these efforts included Benvenuto Cellini (1838) and his masterpiece, Les Troyens (1858). La Damnation de Faust, which he termed a “légende dramatique” and not written for the stage, was first performed in Paris in 1846.

Director Lepage, in his Met debut, has reconceived the production he originally created for Japan’s Saito Kinen Festival and the Opéra National de Paris. The new staging features enhanced media and technology that was previously not available – some of which was developed by Lepage and his Quebec-based company, Ex Machina. The entire production team makes its Met debut with the production: set designer Carl Fillion, costume designer Karin Erskine, lighting designer Sonoyo Nishikawa, choreographers Johanne Madore and Alain Gautier, and video designers Holger Foerterer and Boris Firquet.

Great Performances at the Met: La Damnation de Faust, the third of 11 productions to air this season on the series, is sung in French with English surtitles. The libretto is adapted from Goethe by Berlioz and Almire Gandonnière. It was recorded on stage in performance November 22, 2008, as part of The Met: Live in HD series. Barbara Willis Sweete directs, with Susan Graham as opening host and baritone Thomas Hampson stepping in at intermission. Jay Saks is audio producer.

Great Performances is funded by the Irene Diamond Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, public television viewers, and PBS. Corporate support for Great Performances at the Met is provided by Toll Brothers. Telecast funding for La Damnation de Faust is provided by Donald G. Sisler.

GP at The Met: Macbeth: Production Credits

daniel ross — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:30:30 +0000

Web Credits

Producer: Anu Krishnan
Designer: Lenny Drozner
Graphic Art: Ying Zhou-Hudson, Emily Nonouchi
Technical Director: Brian Lee
Production Assistant: Diana Cofresí-Terrero
Copy Editor: Leslie Kriesel
HTML Implementation: Brian Santalone

Thirteen Online is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York’s Kravis Multimedia Education Center in New York City. Anthony Chapman, Director of Interactive & Broadband. Bob Adleman, Business Manager. Carmen DiRienzo, Vice President and Managing Director, Corporate Affairs.

Television Credits

GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: “Macbeth”

Directed For Live Cinema By
Gary Halvorson

Conductor
James Levine

Production
Adrian Noble

Set And Costume Designer
Mark Thompson

Lighting Designer
Jean Kalman

Choreographer
Sue Lefton

Special Guest Interviewer
Mary Jo Heath

Cast In Order Of Appearance

Macbeth
Željko Lucic

Banquo
John Relyea

Lady Macbeth
Maria Guleghina

Lady-In-Waiting To Lady Macbeth
Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs

A Servant Of Macbeth
Richard Hobson

Duncan, King Of Scotland
Raymond Renault

Malcolm, Duncan&Rsquo;S Son
Russell Thomas

Macduff, Thane Of Fife
Dimitri Pittas

Fleance, Banquo&Rsquo;S Son
Adam Hauser PiÑEro

A Murderer
Keith Miller

A Warrior
David Crawford

A Bloody Child
Ashley Emerson

A Crowned Child
Anne-Carolyn Bird

A Herald
Joseph Turi

A Doctor
James Courtney

Chorus Master
Donald Palumbo

Musical Preparation
Lucy Arner
Derrick Inouye
Howard Watkins
Milos Repicky
Steven Gathman
Hemda Kfir

Assistant Stage Directors
Gregory Anthony Fortner
Gina Lapinski
Peter Mcclintock

Stage Band Conductor
Jeffrey Goldberg

Fight Director
Malcolm Ranson

Dramaturg
Paul Cremo

Prompter
Steven Gathman

Assistants To The Set Designer
Colin Falconer
Alex Lowde

Assistants To The Costume Designer
Mitchell Bloom

A Metropolitan Opera High-Definition Production

Supervising Producers
Mia Bongiovanni
Elena Park

Producers
Louisa Briccetti
Victoria Warivonchik

Audio Producer
Jay David Saks

Associate Director
Christine Clark Bradley

Engineer-In-Charge
Mark Schubin

Technical Supervisor
Ron Washburn

Technical Director
Emmett Loughran

Production Mixers
Tom Holmes
Jorge Silva

Audio Supervisor
Bill King

Television Lighting
Wayne Chouinard

Writer
Matt Dobkin

Camera
Miguel Armstrong
Rob Balton
Manny Gutierrez
Charlie Huntley
John Kosmaczewski
Bob Long
Jay Millard
Lyn Noland
Alain Onesto
David Smith
Ron Washburn
Mark Whitman

Robotic Camera Technicians
Ron Travisano
Rick Compeau
Ted Erne
Martin Marietta

Video
Billy Steinberg
Paul Ranieri
Matty Randazzo

Audio
John Bates
Chris Callus
Louise De La Fuente
Ken Hunold
Skip Kent
John Kerswell
Steve Lamphere
Sean Mcclintock
Blake Norton

Videotape
Alan Buchner
Steven Joyce

Television Stage Managers
Terence Benson
Phyllis Digilio
Hank Neimark

English Subtitles Adapted By
Sonya Friedman

Broadcast Graphics
Deborah Cavanaugh

Score Reader
Ben Sosland

Make-Up For Ms. Guleghina
Matiki Anoff

Media Librarian/Archivist
Michael Griebel

Production Associates
Marisa Biaggi
Yolanda S. Williams

Backstage At The Met

Director
Debbie Miller

Associate Director
Karen Mclaughlin

Associate Producer
Matthew Principe

Field Producer
Barry Goodman

Camera
Tim Quigley
Larry Solomon

Steadicam
Jeff Muhlstock

Assistant Camera
Kevin Murphy

Utility
Bob Benedetti
Frank Bourassa
Jose Castro
Keith Conod
Anthony Defonzo
James Washburn

Title Sequence Edited By
Sakae Ishikawa

Production Assistants
Alexandra Eastman
Lisa Hampton
Alyse Horn
Enzo E. Martinez
Harriet Snyder

Video Editor
Gary Bradley

Hd Nitris Editor
Laura Young

Audio Editor
John Bowen

Post-Production Audio Mix
Ken Hahn

Metropolitan Opera Association

General Manager
Peter Gelb

Music Director
James Levine

Assistant Managers

Artistic
Sarah Billinghurst

Technical
Joseph Clark

Editorial &Amp; Creative Content
Elena Park

Operations
Stewart Pearce

Finance
Bill Thomas

Development
Coralie Toevs

Director Of Media &Amp; Presentations
Mia Bongiovanni

Director Of Worldwide Hd Distribution
Julie Borchard-Young

Artistic Administrator
Jonathan Friend

General Counsel
Sharon E. Grubin

Director Of Development
Elizabeth Hurley

Director Of Marketing
Karen Karp

Senior Artistic Advisor
Eva Wagner-Pasquier

Director Of Human Resources &Amp; Labor Relations
Ann Marie Hackett

Director Of Music Administration
Craig Rutenberg

House Manager
James Naples

Press Director
Sommer Hixson

Director New Business Development
Laura Mitgang

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

Orchestra Manager
Robert Sirinek

Concertmaster
David Chan

Librarian
Robert Sutherland

Metropolitan Opera Chorus

Metropolitan Opera Ballet

Ballet Mistress
Diana Levy

Stage Managers
Thomas H. Connell, Iii
Jonathan Waterfield
Gary Dietrich
Raymond Menard

Stage Operations

Master Carpenter
Stephen A. Diaz

Master Electrician
Paul Donahue

Properties Master
James R. Blumenfeld

Wig And Hair Stylist
Tom Watson

Make-Up Artist
Victor Callegari

Wardrobe Supervisor
William Malloy

Costume Shop Head
Lesley Weston

Resident Costume Designer
Sylvia Nolan

Production Facilities

All Mobile Video Inc.

Atlantic Cine Equipment (Ace)

Dolby Laboratories

Remote Recording

Media Counsel
Franklin, Weinrib,
Rudell &Amp; Vasallo, P.C.

The Stage Production Of Macbeth Made Possible By
Mr. And Mrs. Paul M. Montrone

Additional Stage Production Funding Provided By
Mr. And Mrs. William R. Miller

Hermione Foundation

And

The Gilbert S. Kahn

And John J. Noffo Kahn

Endowment Fund

For Great Performances

Director, Program Development Bill O&Rsquo;Donnell

Series Producer
David Horn

A Metropolitan Opera Production

In Association With Pbs And Thirteen/Wnet New York

Executive Producer

Peter Gelb

The contents of these GREAT PERFORMANCES Web pages are copyrighted under United States and other copyright laws. You may not download, reproduce, transmit, display, distribute or make derivative works from the contents of the GREAT PERFORMANCES Web pages other than for personal use without the advance written permission of the copyright owner. Any unauthorized use of any of the contents of the GREAT PERFORMANCES Online Web pages may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.

GP at The Met: Macbeth: Introduction

daniel ross — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:27:11 +0000

Ken Howard/The Metropolitan Opera

Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

Librettists: Francesco Maria Piave and Andrea Maffei

Production: Adrian Noble

Conductor: James Levine

Performers: Željko Lucic (Macbeth), Maria Guleghina (Lady Macbeth), Dimitri Pittas (Macduff), John Relyea (Banquo)

Synopsis:
Director Adrian Noble calls Macbeth “the greatest story Verdi ever told.” It’s the first of three works by Shakespeare that the composer set to music, the others being the beloved Falstaff and the towering Otello. Noble’s powerful new production of this gripping work is conducted by James Levine, and the ferocious couple in murderous pursuit of power is portrayed by baritone Željko Lucic in the title role and soprano Maria Guleghina as his ruthless wife.

Opera synopsis courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera

Funding for GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: “Macbeth” has been provided by Toll Brothers, the Irene Diamond Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS.

Related Web Sites