Watch a preview:

The telecast was originally seen live in movie theaters on April 9, 2011 as part of the groundbreaking series The Met: Live in HD, which transmits live performances to more than 1500 movie theaters and performing arts centers in 46 countries around the world.

This performance made headlines the world over as—less than an hour before curtain time—tenor Flórez assisted in the delivery of his first child. He welcomed the baby boy into the world, then raced to the Met to sing the opera’s demanding title role, a scheming young count who vies with Isolier (DiDonato, in a trouser role) for the love of the lonely Countess Adèle (Damrau).

Renée Fleming, who will star in the Great Performances at the Met broadcast of Capriccio on August 14, hosts the broadcast.

All three of the opera’s stars appeared in Sher’s acclaimed Met production of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia; Damrau and Flórez sang in the 2006 new production premiere and DiDonato and Flórez starred in a 2007 Great Performances at the Met broadcast.

Le Comte Ory’s hero is Flórez’s seventh bel canto role at the Met. He also starred in the Great Performances at the Met broadcasts of La Fille du Régiment and La Sonnambula. Damrau has performed at the Met in a varied repertory encompassing stratospheric coloratura roles, such as Mozart’s Queen of the Night, as well as bel canto heroines, including the title characters in Lucia di Lammermoor and La Fille du Régiment. DiDonato has won praise for her singing and acting at the Met as Rosina in Barbiere, as well as in the trouser roles of Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro. The cast also includes Susanne Resmark as Ragonde; Stéphane Degout as Raimbaud; and Michele Pertusi as The Tutor.

The New York Times called Le Comte Ory “one of Rossini’s wittiest and most seamless and sophisticated works” and applauded Sher’s “lively, colorful and inventive production.” Reviewing the opening of the new production, the Associated Press critic said Le Comte Ory “sparkles…with a brilliant cast of bel canto specialists… Flórez reveled in the title role’s pyrotechnical challenges, including many excursions up to high C and above…Damrau stopped the show with the coloratura fireworks in her entrance aria and proved a consistent, sweet-toned delight…DiDonato sang Isolier with luxuriant tone and dazzling agility.”

Sher’s design team for Le Comte Ory includes his frequent collaborators, Michael Yeargan (sets) and Catherine Zuber (costumes), both of whom designed Sher’s previous Met productions, Barbiere and 2009’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Brian MacDevitt (lighting) recently designed the Met premieres of Armida and Doctor Atomic. The three designers have earned a total of 11 Tony Awards for their work on Broadway.

Gary Halvorson directs the broadcast and Jay David Saks is music producer.

Major funding for Great Performances at the Met: Le Comte Ory was provided by Mrs. Charles B. Wrightsman. Great Performances is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, and Joseph A. Wilson. Corporate support for Great Performances at the Met is provided by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builder®.

For the Met, Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park are Supervising Producers, and Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik are Producers. Peter Gelb is Executive Producer. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is Series Producer; David Horn is Executive Producer.

Great Performances is a production of THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers.

Flórez and Dudamel, close friends off the concert stage, developed the special lineup of bel canto arias and popular Latin American canciones by Rossini, Granda, Lara, Moncayo, Grever, Gutiérrez and Márquez for Celebración! Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil with Juan Diego Flórez. The program will air Wednesday, December 29, 2010 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).

Watch a preview:

In describing the conductor’s interpretation of Rossini’s “Semiramide” overture, critic Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times enthused, “Dudamel rode Rossini’s crescendos like a surfer on an epic wave, sending nature’s power into to the concert hall. He brought out wonderful instrumental details. The orchestra sparkled.”

The full program is slated to include:

ROSSINI Overture to La gazza ladra
ROSSINI “Principe più non se” from La Cenerentola
ROSSINI Overture to Semiramide
ROSSINI “La speranza più soave” from Semiramide
GRANDA (arr. Flórez) La flor de la canela
LARA (arr. Hayes) Granada
MONCAYO Huapango
GREVER (arr. Guinovart) Júrame
GUTIÉRREZ (arr. Pena) Alma llanera
MÁRQUEZ Danzón No. 2

As a bonus, viewers will also hear Flórez bring down the house all over again with two brilliant encores: “Ah! Mes Amis” from Donizetti’s “The Daughter of the Regiment” and “La Donna è Mobile” from Verdi’s “Rigoletto.”

The evening marks the beginning of Dudamel’s second season as the Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Director. Acclaimed worldwide as an exciting and compelling maestro, Dudamel began his tenure at the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Fall 2009, while continuing as Music Director of the Gothenburg Symphony in Sweden. Dudamel also enters his eleventh year as Music Director of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela.

On October 8, 2009, Dudamel led the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the inaugural gala at Walt Disney Concert Hall. This concert was also telecast on PBS’s Great Performances.

Dudamel was born in 1981 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. In 1996, he was named Music Director of the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra. In 1999, he assumed the Music Director position of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra. Gustavo Dudamel was named one of the 100 most influential people of 2009 by TIME magazine and has been featured three times on CBS’ 60 Minutes.

Flórez’s virtuosic bel canto tenor voice makes him an ideal interpreter of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini and much sought after by the world’s leading opera houses. His performances in opera as well as in concert have won him acclaim by the public and critics alike.

Born in Lima, Peru, he made his official debut at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro (Italy) in 1996, substituting for the leading tenor who fell ill. He was considered an overnight sensation, drawing attention from theaters like La Scala, where he made his debut that same year, at the age of only 23.

Flórez, who is making his debut in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, has enjoyed great success at theaters such as the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), Vienna State Opera, Paris Opera, Teatro Real in Madrid, Gran Teatro Liceo in Barcelona, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Zurich Opera, Deutsche Oper in Berlin, and the Salzburg Festival.

He has recorded numerous solo CD’s and complete operas on CD and DVD, and received many prizes and decorations. In 2004 he was decorated with the “Orden al Merito” (Order of Merit) in the rank of “Gran Cruz” (Great Cross), and in 2007 with the “Orden El Sol del Perú” (The Sun of Peru Order) in the rank of “Gran Cruz” (Great Cross), the highest decoration from the Peruvian government.

Mendes first captured the attention of moviegoers in a small, but pivotal part in the critically acclaimed film, “Training Day.” Since then, she has had notable roles in “Stuck on You,” “Once Upon a Time in Mexico,” “Hitch,” “Ghost Rider,” “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” “We Own the Night,” and “The Spirit.”

Celebración! Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil with Juan Diego Flórez was recorded for telecast by Bernhard Fleischer Moving Images, THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG, 3sat, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Great Performances is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, Vivian Milstein, the Irene Diamond Fund, the Starr Foundation, public television viewers, and PBS. Major support for the telecast is also provided by The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust and Jody and John Arnhold. For Great Performances, John Walker and Cara Cosentino are producers; Bill O’Donnell is series producer; David Horn is executive producer.

Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Composer: Gaetano Donizetti

Librettists: Jules Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean François Bayard

Production: Laurent Pelly

Conductor: Marco Armiliato

Performers: Natalie Dessay (Marie), Felicity Palmer (Marquise of Berkenfield), Juan Diego Flórez (Tonio), Alessandro Corbelli (Sulpice), Marian Seldes (Duchess of Krakenthorp)

Synopsis:
Hailed by the Times of London as an “exceedingly yummy operatic cake,” and “the operatic show of the season,” this interpretation of Donizetti’s rousing La Fille du Régiment (The Daughter of the Regiment) premiered at Covent Garden in winter 2007 to rave reviews. Join GREAT PERFORMANCES at the Met for one of Donizetti’s most cherished — and perhaps one of the most vocally challenging — operas. Directed by Laurent Pelly, this production features Natalie Dessay’s fearless coloratura and impeccable comic timing paired with Juan Diego Flórez’s remarkable musicality, including, of course, the famous aria featuring nine high Cs. Dessay and Flórez are an “operatic coupling made in heaven,” proclaimed London’s Financial Times. The production also boasts stage legend and four-time Tony Award winner Marian Seldes as the Duchess of Krakenthorp and is conducted by Marco Armiliato.

Funding for GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: “La Fille du Règiment” has been provided by <a href=”http://www.tollbrothers.com/homesearch/servlet/HomeSearch?BAC-13WNETMetOpera” target=”_new”>Toll Brothers</a>, the Irene Diamond Fund, the Annenberg Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS.

Related Web Sites

• Laurent Pelly, Opera Director
• Natalie Dessay, Soprano
• Felicity Palmer, Mezzo-soprano
• Juan Diego Flórez, Tenor
  

Producer: Anu Krishnan
Designer: Lenny Drozner
Graphic Art: Gabriel Torres
Technical Director: Brian Lee
Production Assistant: Diana Cofresí-Terrero
Copy Editor: Leslie Kriesel
HTML Implementation: Brian Santalone

GREAT PERFORMANCES Web pages copyright © 2007 Educational Broadcasting Corporation.

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. Tamara E. Robinson, Vice President & Director, Programming.

About the Writer

Tim Smith is the classical music critic of THE BALTIMORE SUN. He has also written for THE NEW YORK TIMES, OPERA NEWS, and BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE, among other publications. His writing has won several regional and national journalism awards, including a first place in arts criticism from the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors. He is the author of THE NPR CURIOUS LISTENER’S GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MUSIC (Perigee Books).

Television Credits

GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: “Barber of Seville”

Directed by
Gary Halvorson

Conductor
Maurizio Benini

Production
Bartlett Sher

Set Design
Michael Yeargan

Costume Design
Catherine Zuber

Lighting Design
Christopher Akerlind

Cast in Order of Vocal Appearance
Fiorello
Brian Davis

Count Almaviva
Juan Diego Flórez

Figaro
Peter Mattei

Dr. Bartolo
John Del Carlo

Ambrogio
Rob Besserer

Rosina
Joyce Didonato

Don Basilio
John Relyea

Berta
Claudia White

An Officer of the Law
Mark Schowalter

Recitative Accompanist
Robert Morrison

Chorus Master
Raymond Hughes

Musical Preparation
Gregory Buchalter
Robert Morrison
J. David Jackson
Caren Levine

Assistant Stage Directors
Kathleen Smith Belcher
Robin Guarino
Gregory Keller

Met Titles
Sonya Friedman

Italian Diction Coach
Nico Castel

Assistant to the Costume Designer
Michael Zecker

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

Audio Supervisor
Bill King

Television Lighting
Wayne Chouinard

Camera
Miguel Armstrong
Manny Gutierrez
Charlie Huntley
John Kosmaczewski
John Meiklejohn
Alain Onesto
David Smith
Jim Scurti
Ron Washburn
Mark Whitman

Robotic Camera Technicians
Rick Compeau
Ron Travisano
Ted Erne
Shawn Harkins

Video
Paul Ranieri
Matty Randazzo
Yoneet Commare

Audio
Mel Becker
Paul Cohen
Ken Hunold
Blake Norton
Michael Shoskes
Shawn Marie Walsh

Videotape
Alan Buchner
Steven Joyce

Television Stage Managers
Terence Benson

English Subtitles Adapted by
Sonya Friedman

Broadcast Graphics
Deborah Cavanaugh

Score Reader
Ben Sosland

Makeup for Joyce Didonato
Nzingha

Production Associate
Yolanda S. Williams

Opening Title Sequence
Producers
Gil Gilbert
Pat Jaffe

Intermission Camera
Steadicam
Jeff Muhlstock

Assistant Camera
Kevin Murphy

Utility
James Washburn
Rob Fritche
Giuseppe Restivo

Production Assistants
Michael Griebel
Alyse Horn
Allegra Lucas
Enzo E. Martinez
Amy Rabwin
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 & Creative Content
Elena Park

Operations
Stewart Pearce

Finance
Bill Thomas

Development
Coralie Toevs

Director of Media & Presentations
Mia Bongiovanni

Marketing Director
Julie Borchard-Young

Artistic Administrator
Jonathan Friend

General Counsel
Sharon E. Grubin

Senior Artistic Advisor
Eva Wagner-Pasquier

Director of Human Resources & 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
Nick Eanet

Librarian
Robert Sutherland

Metropolitan Opera Chorus

Metropolitan Opera Ballet
Ballet Mistress
Diana Levy

Stage Managers
Raymond Menard
Margo Maier
Theresa Ganley
Gary Dietrich

Local 1 LATSE

Stage Operations
Master Carpenter
Stephen A. Diaz

Master Electrician
Paul Donahue

Properties Master
James R. Blumenfeld

Wig and Hair Stylist
Tom Watson

Makeup 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
Tandberg Television
Media Counsel
Franklin, Weinrib, Rudell & Vasallo, P.C.

The stage production of “Il Barbiere Di Siviglia” was made possible by a generous gift from the Sybil B. Harrington Endowment Fund

For GREAT PERFORMANCES
Director, Program Development
Bill O’Donnell

Series Producer
David Horn

A Metropolitan Opera Production in association with PBS/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.

Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Since 1996, when he made a last-minute debut at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy, when he was all of 23, Juan Diego Flórez has moved quickly into the front ranks of today’s opera stars. Now 34, the Peruvian-born tenor enjoys a career firmly planted in the bel canto repertoire of Donizetti, Bellini, and, especially, Rossini, thanks to his light, bright, agile voice, incisive phrasing, and dynamic acting style. Those qualities won a fresh round of praise from public and press alike when Flórez starred in the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Rossini’s “Il Barbieri di Siviglia” (”The Barber of Seville”). He spoke with GREAT PERFORMANCES by phone from Vienna, where he was enjoying yet another success, this one in Donizetti’s “La fille du regiment” (”The Daughter of the Regiment”) at the Vienna State Opera.

GREAT PERFORMANCES: The Met’s new “Barbieri” drew a lot of attention partly because it was directed not by an veteran of opera, but by someone from the Broadway world, Bartlett Sher, who recently directed “The Light in the Piazza.” What was it like working with him, and how did you enjoy his take on Rossini?

Juan Diego Flórez: I think it was great. The fact that he was not from opera meant that he brought some new ideas, a fresh approach. He created a “Barbiere” that is modern, and at the same time one that respects the libretto and the opera, never becoming completely outrageous and different from what the librettist and Rossini wanted.

GP: The set design by Michael Yeargan also generated plenty of comment.

JDF: All those doors. No scenery, really, just doors.

GP: And the cast walks out partly into the theater over the orchestra on a runway.

JDF: That was new and exciting, no? In Europe, I have done a lot of things like that, so it wasn’t really so new for me. But it is not so common for the Met. We [in the cast] were all young people, and we love things like that, things that are new and strange. Bring it on, you know?

GP: There were some complaints that the orchestra sounded a little muted because of that runway.

JDF: That’s good, then. (Laughter.) It’s better than the orchestra being too loud.

GP: When you perform in comic operas, you are known for doing a great deal of physical action onstage — running and jumping all over the place. Do you practice a regimen to keep in shape for all of that?

JDF: I haven’t been going to the gym for, like, three months. Before that, I went often for 40 minutes or something like that. I have always been pretty flexible. I could always jump and do all kinds of dangerous movements. In opera I like to do it because it’s fun, as long as it fits the role.

GP: Do the producers look worried when you start doing that?

JDF: They do get a little nervous. (Laughter.) But I will continue to do it. There will be a time when I can’t.

GP: What do you like about portraying the character of Count Almaviva in “Barbieri”?

JDF: I enjoy him very, very much., He’s a romantic. But he’s the funny guy in the opera, no? He is willing to do anything, put on a disguise and get in funny positions, even though he is an aristocrat, and I like that. He is an aristocrat in the beginning and the end, and in the middle he has to be funny. When he is disguised as the music teacher, the way I do it, he even gets a little bit feminine. This is fun.

GP: At the Met, you get to sing the final aria in “Barbieri,” a brilliant showpiece for tenor that almost never used to be included in performances.

JDF: I like it a lot. It fits. It is written, it’s part of the original version of the opera. I think it is cut often because the tenor isn’t comfortable singing it. In the beginning of my career, I wanted to do it in La Scala, but the conductor didn’t let met. Now, I do it everywhere. When I was going to sing the opera in Japan, they even wanted me to sign papers saying that I would do the final aria. Here in Vienna also, they asked me to do it, and they are not used to that aria here, so it means you have to rehearse the opera a little more.

GP: Speaking of Vienna, you’re doing one of your signature roles there, Tonio in “Daughter of the Regiment,” with the famous aria that has nine high Cs. Are all those high Cs no big deal, or do they make you a little nervous each time?

JDF: No, actually I’m pretty calm about them. I worry more about the last aria, which is more technically demanding. Of course, it is always difficult to sing high Cs, especially so many high Cs, but they don’t worry me. If you worry about them, you shouldn’t do this opera. Sometimes I have to sing the aria twice because the public demands it, so you have to have those notes right there.

GP: The Vienna production of “Daughter of the Regiment” has an almost legendary singer in the cameo role of the Duchess of Crakentorp, Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé. What’s it like appearing onstage with her?

JDF: It’s really great. She’s my idol. She had such a wonderful voice, with those incredible pianissimos. And she is such a great woman, so down to earth — and so funny. She’s really a good comedian.

GP: Are there other singers you hold in especially high esteem?

JDF: My two idols were [Alfredo] Kraus and [Luciano] Pavarotti. I always listened to them. I liked their singing very, very much. Also [Plácido] Domingo, especially because of the Spanish songs he sang, the zarzuelas. I listened to them a lot when I was young.

GP: Not too young, though, right? You didn’t start out wanting to be an opera singer.

JDF: I didn’t grow up with classical music. My father was a folk music singer. I played guitar, and did a lot of singing and composing [of pop music]. And I had a rock band. I went to school to learn guitar, solfeggio, and harmony. I wanted to know more about music, how it works. I wanted to take voice lessons, too, and that’s when I discovered what I could do with my voice. At the beginning, I thought I would do classical and pop, but then I learned that I really liked the classical music. I decided that this is what I wanted to do.

GP: Singers are often encouraged to expand their repertoire, to do more and more things, usually heavier roles. Do you get that kind of pressure, and are you thinking of moving into different material, either post-bel canto or even pre-bel canto?

JDF: I’m lucky because my repertoire is so specific, and theaters are interested in me singing my repertoire, because it is not done so much. I’m pretty well settled in my repertoire. I like what I sing. My voice is high, and there is not much in baroque opera for higher tenor. But I am going to do Gluck’s “Orfeo” — the tenor version, which is high. I am also interested in doing a CD of late-baroque arias. And I think there will be a lot of Mozart in the future — not the near future, but the future. I will do my first “Cosi” in Madrid in 2010 or 2011. It will be good to take a rest from extreme repertoire. (Laughter).

GP: All the coloratura in that extreme repertoire doesn’t seem to give you the slightest pause, no matter how high or florid the music gets. Did your vocal agility come naturally, automatically to you when you started?

JDF: I think it is a little bit natural. When you discover you have it, you have to be careful. If you push too much in the center of the voice, you will lose the high notes. If you sing too much in the back of the throat, that will also make you lose high notes. Knowing these technical things helps you maintain the voice, keep[ing] it very high and very clear. And also knowing not to sing the wrong repertoire. Sometimes when the voice loses flexibility and high notes, singers change to heavier repertoire. I hope that doesn’t happen to me.

Interview by Tim Smith for GREAT PERFORMANCES Online conducted in May 2007.

Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Composer: Gioacchino Rossini

Librettist: Cesare Sterbini, based on the play by Pierre Beaumarchais

Production: Bartlett Sher

Conductor: Maurizio Benini

Performers: Joyce DiDonato (Rosina), Juan Diego Flórez (Count Almaviva), Peter Mattei (Figaro), John Del Carlo (Dr. Bartolo), John Relyea (Don Basilio), Claudia Waite (Berta), Mark Schowalter (Sergeant), Brian Davis (Fiorello), Rob Besserer (Ambrogio)

Synopsis:
Act I
Count Almaviva comes in disguise to the house of Dr. Bartolo to serenade Rosina (”Ecco ridente”). Dr. Bartolo keeps Rosina, whom he intends to marry, confined to the house. Almaviva pays the musicians and decides to wait until daylight in the hope of seeing her. Figaro the Barber, who has access to the houses in Seville and knows the town’s secrets and scandals, arrives and describes his busy life (”Largo al factotum”). The Count sings another serenade to Rosina, calling himself Lindoro, a poor student. Figaro devises a plan: the Count will disguise himself as a drunken soldier quartered at Dr. Bartolo’s house to gain access to Rosina. The Count is excited about this plan while Figaro looks forward to a nice cash payoff from the grateful Count (”All’idea di quel metallo”).

Rosina reflects on the voice that has enchanted her heart and resolves to use her considerable wiles to meet Lindoro (”Una voce poco fa”). Dr. Bartolo appears with Rosina’s music master, Don Basilio, who warns him that Count Almaviva, Rosina’s admirer, has been seen in Seville. Dr. Bartolo decides to marry Rosina immediately. Basilio praises slander as the most effective means of getting rid of Almaviva (”La calunnia”). Figaro overhears the plot, warns Rosina, and promises to deliver a letter from her to Lindoro (”Dunque io son”). Suspicious of Rosina, Dr. Bartolo tries to prove that she has written a letter, but she outwits him at every turn. Dr. Bartolo is angry at her defiance and warns her not to trifle with him (”A un dottor della mia sorte”).

Almaviva arrives, disguised as a drunken soldier, and passes Rosina a note, which she manages to hide from Dr. Bartolo. The old man argues that he has exemption from billeting soldiers. Figaro announces that a crowd has gathered in the street, curious about all the noise coming from inside the house. The civil guard burst in to arrest the drunken soldier. The Count reveals his true identity to the captain and is instantly released. Everyone except Figaro is amazed by this turn of events, and everyone comments on the crazy events of the morning.

Act II
Dr. Bartolo suspects that the “drunken soldier” was a spy planted by Almaviva. The Count returns, this time disguised as Don Alonso, a music teacher and student of Don Basilio (”Pace e gioia sia con voi”). He has come to give Rosina her music lesson in place of Basilio who, he says, is ill at home. Don Alonso also tells Dr. Bartolo that he is staying at the same inn as Almaviva and has found the letter from Rosina. He offers to tell Rosina that it was given to him by another woman, proving that Lindoro is toying with her on Almaviva’s behalf. This convinces Dr. Bartolo that Don Alonso is a true student of Don Basilio, and he allows him to give Rosina her music lesson (”Contro un cor”). Figaro arrives to give Dr. Bartolo his shave and manages to snatch the key that opens the balcony shutters. The shaving is about to begin when Basilio shows up looking perfectly healthy.

The Count, Rosina, and Figaro convince Basilio, with repeated assurances and a quick bribe, that he is sick with scarlet fever (”Buona sera, mio signore”). Basilio leaves for home, confused but richer. The shaving begins, sufficiently distracting Dr. Bartolo from hearing Almaviva plotting with Rosina to elope that night. Dr. Bartolo hears the phrase “my disguise” and furiously realizes he has been tricked again. Everyone leaves.

The maid Berta comments on the crazy household (”Il vecchiotto cerca moglie”).

Basilio is summoned and told to bring a notary so Dr. Bartolo can marry Rosina that very evening. Dr. Bartolo then shows Rosina her letter to Lindoro. Heartbroken and convinced that she has been deceived, she agrees to marry Dr. Bartolo and tells him of the plan to elope with Lindoro. A storm passes. Figaro and the Count climb over the wall. Rosina is furious until Almaviva reveals his true identity. Basilio arrives with the notary. Bribed with a valuable ring and threatened with a couple of bullets in the head, Basilio agrees to be a witness to the marriage of Rosina and Almaviva. Dr. Bartolo arrives with soldiers, but it is too late. Count Almaviva explains to Dr. Bartolo that it is useless to protest (”Cessa di più resistere”) and Dr. Bartolo accepts that he has been beaten. Figaro, Rosina, and the Count celebrate their good fortune.

Opera synopsis courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera

Funding for GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: “The Barber of Seville” has been provided by Toll Brothers, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Sybil B. Harrington Endowment Fund, and PBS.

Related Web Sites

• Decca Classics: Juan Diego Flórez
• The Metropolitan Opera: Peter Mattei
• Joyce DiDonato
• The Metropolitan Opera: John Del Carlo
• John Relyea
• Claudia Waite
• Brian Davis
• The Metropolitan Opera: Interview: Rob Besserer
• The Metropolitan Opera: Features: Bartlett Sher
• The Metropolitan Opera: Maurizio Benini
• Classical Music Archives: Gioachino Rossini

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

GREAT PERFORMANCES Web pages copyright © 2007 Educational Broadcasting Corporation.

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: “La Fille du Règiment”

Not available at this time.

<!–Directed by
Gary Halvorson

Conductor
James Levine

Production
Julie Taymor

Set Design
George Tsypin

Costume Design
Julie Taymor

Lighting Design
Donald Holder

Puppet Design
Julie Taymor
Michael Curry

Choreographer
Mark Dendy

English Adaptation
J. D. McClatchy

Characters in Order of Vocal Appearance
Tamino
Matthew Polenzani

First Lady
Wendy Bryn Harmer

Second Lady
Kate Lindsey

Third Lady
Tamara Mumford

Papageno
Nathan Gunn

Queen of the Night
Erika Miklósa

First Slave
Stephen Paynter

Second Slave
Kenneth Floyd

Third Slave
Gregory Cross

Monostatos
Greg Fedderly

Pamina
Ying Huang

First Spirit
Bennett Kosma

Second Spirit
Jesse Burnside Murray

Third Spirit
Jacob A. Wade

Speaker
David Pittsinger

Sarastro
René Pape

First Priest
Brian Davis

Second Priest
Tony Stevenson

Papagena
Jennifer Aylmer

First Guard
Michael Myers

Second Guard
Robert Lloyd

Solo Dancer
Rachel Schuette

Flute Solo
Michael Parloff

Chorus Master
Raymond Hughes

Musical Preparation
Jane Klaviter
Robert Morrison
Joshua Greene
Jens Georg Bachmann
Milos Repicky

Assistant Stage Directors
David Kneuss
J. Knighten Smit
Kathleen Smith Belcher

Libretto Consultant
Paul Cremo

Prompter
Jane Klaviter

Met Titles
Michael Panayos

English Diction Coach
Linda Gates

Children’s Chorus Director
Elena Doria

Projection Designer
Caterina Bertolotto

Makeup Designer
Reiko Kruk

Associate Set Designer
Iosef Yusupov

Associate Costume Designer
Mary Peterson

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

Audio Supervisor
Bill King

Television Lighting
Wayne Chouinard

Writers
William Berger
Ellen Keel

Camera
Miguel Armstrong
Hank Geving
Manny Gutierrez
Charlie Huntley
John Kosmaczewski
Jay Millard
Alain Onesto
David Smith
Larry Solomon
Ron Washburn
Mark Whitman

Video
Billy Steinberg
Matty Randazzo
Paul Ranieri

Audio
Mel Becker
Chris Callus
Paul Cohen
Michael Shoskes
Shawn Walsh

Videotape
Alan Buchner
Steven Joyce

Television Stage Managers
Terence Benson
Karen Mclaughlin

English Subtitles Adapted by
Sonya Friedman

Broadcast Graphics
Deborah Cavanaugh

Score Reader
John Geller

Opening Segment
Director
Pat Jaffe

Lighting
Mitchell Bogard

Editor
Ernie Fritz

Post Production
Video Editor
Gary Bradley

Additional Video Editing
Eric Singer
Laura Young

Audio Editor
John Bowen

Post-Production Audio Mix
Ken Hahn

Production Secretary
Yolanda S. Williams

Production Assistants
Michael Griebel
Alyse Horn
Allegra Lucas
Enzo E. Martinez
Vanessa Palo
Harriet Snyder

Metropolitan Opera Association
General Manager
Peter Gelb

Music Director
James Levine

Assistant Managers
Sarah Billinghurst
Joseph Clark
Elena Park
Stewart Pearce
Bill Thomas
Coralie Toevs

Director of Media & Presentations
Mia Bongiovanni

Artistic Administrator
Jonathan Friend

General Counsel
Sharon E. Grubin

Senior Artistic Advisor
Eva Wagner-Pasquier

Director of Human Resources & Labor Relations
Ann Marie Hackett

Director of Music Administration
Craig Rutenberg

House Manager
James Naples

Chief Financial Officer
Marvin Suchoff

Press Director
Sommer Hixson

Director, New Business Development
Laura Mitgang

Marketing Director
Julie Borchard-Young

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
Raymond Menard
Scott Moon
Theresa Ganley
Margo Maier

Stage Operations
Master Carpenter
Stephen A. Diaz

Master Electrician
Paul Donahue

Properties Master
James R. Blumenfeld

Wig and Hair Stylist
Tom Watson

Makeup Artist
Victor Callegari

Wardrobe Supervisor
William Malloy

Costume Shop Head
Lesley Weston

Resident Costume Designer
Sylvia Nolan

Production Facilities
All Mobile Video Inc.
Dolby Laboratories

Remote Recording
Tandberg Television

Media Counsel
Franklin, Weinrib, Rudell & Vassallo, P.C.

This abridged production of “The Magic Flute” is made possible by generous gifts from Bill Rollnick and Nancy Ellison Rollnick and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

The original production of “Die Zauberflöte” was made possible by a generous gift from Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Kravis

Additional generous stage production funding was received from
John van Meter
The Annenberg Foundation
Karen and Kevin Kennedy
Bill Rollnick and Nancy Ellison Rollnick
Mr. and Mrs. William R. Miller
Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman
and
Mr. and Mrs. Ezra K. Zilkha

For GREAT PERFORMANCES
David Horn
Series Producer

Bill O’Donnell
Director, Program Development

Barry Schulman
Executive Producer

A Metropolitan Opera production in association with PBS/Thirteen WNET New York

Executive Producer
Peter Gelb

Copyright 2006

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