Watch a preview:

The opera, a compelling dramatization of the tragic final days of Anne Boleyn—whose husband Henry VIII spurns her and has her sentenced to death—is directed by David McVicar and conducted by Marco Armiliato. The cast includes Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova as Anna’s romantic rival, Giovanna (Jane Seymour); Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov as the cruel Enrico (Henry VIII); American tenor Stephen Costello as Anna’s first love, Lord Percy; and American mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford as the queen’s devoted page Smeton.

Great Performances at the Met is a presentation of THIRTEEN for WNET, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. For more than 50 years, WNET has been producing and broadcasting national and local arts programming to the New York community.

The telecast was originally seen live in movie theaters on October 15 as part of the groundbreaking series, The Met: Live in HD, which transmits live performances to more than 1600 movie theaters and performing arts centers in 54 countries around the world.

Generally considered one of Donizetti’s finest operas, Anna Bolena is the first in a trilogy of works based on the lives of Tudor-era queens that David McVicar will direct at the Met over the next few seasons (the other two are Maria Stuarda and Roberto Devereux). McVicar, whose production of Il Trovatore aired on Great Performances at the Met in August, has created a historically detailed setting for the opera, which re-emerged as a musical and dramatic showpiece for extraordinary sopranos when Maria Callas starred in a famous 1957 La Scala revival of the work.

“Donizetti takes the bel canto form and explores every possible dramatic opportunity within it,” McVicar says. “The lynchpin of the story is Anna Bolena’s inability to provide Henry VIII with the male heir that he craves. And, of course, to be a wife of Henry VIII is to risk as much as you gain.”

She made her Met debut in 2002 as Natasha in Prokofiev’s War and Peace. Since then, Netrebko has sung nine additional roles with the company, including Donizetti’s Norina in Don Pasquale and Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor. This spring, she will return to the Met as the hedonistic heroine of Massenet’s Manon in her second new production of the season, also to be broadcast on Great Performances at the Met.

Gubanova made her Met debut in a 2007 revival of War and Peace and starred as Giulietta opposite Netrebko’s Antonia in Bartlett Sher’s 2009 new production premiere of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann. At the Met, Abdrazakov has starred in the title role in the company premiere of Verdi’s Attila, as Méphistophélès in both Gounod’s Faust and Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust, and as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor. Rising young tenor Costello made his Met debut as Arturo, Lucia’s doomed husband, in the new production of Lucia di Lammermoor that opened the 2007-08 season. He sang the role of Percy at the Dallas Opera in the 2010-11 season.

The design team for Anna Bolena includes two artists making their Met debuts. Scenic designer Robert Jones collaborated with McVicar on the acclaimed 2005 Glyndebourne production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare and has designed numerous plays and musicals, including the Broadway productions of Tom Stoppard’s Rock ‘n’ Roll and the 2002 revival of Noises Off. Olivier Award-winning costume designer Jenny Tiramani, a leading authority on historical costuming, has designed for numerous theater productions and spent eight years as Head of Design at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. Paule Constable, whose Met credits include the company premiere of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha and this season’s new production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, is the lighting designer for Anna Bolena. Her numerous honors include a 2011 Tony Award for her work on Broadway’s War Horse.

This production of Anna Bolena was made possible by a generous gift from Mercedes and Sid R. Bass.

Renée Fleming, who will star in Handel’s Rodelinda later this year on Great Performances at the Met, hosts. Gary Halvorson directs the telecast.

Great Performances is funded by Vivian Milstein, the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, and Annaliese Soros. 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.

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: 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

–> 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.