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OPERA BOOT CAMP: Basic Training – Four Sundays: Feb 28, March 7, 14, 21
Newcomers and lifelong opera-goers alike will deepen their appreciation of the lyric arts with this enlightening series. The Metropolitan Opera Guild’s resident experts reveal secrets of listening that maximize enjoyment and minimize boredom; recount the history of the art form, from its Renaissance roots to its place in contemporary culture; and examine operatic mysteries and myths—such as, who is that fat lady after all?
Sunday, February 28, 4:00 – 5:15 PM
OPERA BOOT CAMP: Vocal Verbiage and Vocabulary
presented by Laura Day
Don’t know the difference between a soprano and a tenor, or an aria and a recitative? Think a sforzando is a military command or a sushi order? Learn the language of music and the sounds of the singers in this fun-filled session.
Price: $16; $20 at door
Sunday, March 7, 4:00 – 5:15 PM
OPERA BOOT CAMP: The Opera, Seen from Behind the Scenes
Presented by Laura Day
Not everyone involved in staging an opera gets to take a curtain call—more than 1,500 individuals are responsible for every opera performance at the Met. We’ll talk shop and get to know the many off-stage roles that give direction and bring a production from page to stage.
Price: $16; $20 at door
Sunday, March 14, 4:00 – 5:15 PM
OPERA BOOT CAMP: Opera Evolution: 1600-1800
presented by Dottie Allen
What is opera and where did it come from? Who were Monteverdi, Handel, and Mozart, and why are they important to this splendid synergy of art forms? Find out as we tour opera’s first 200 years.
Price: $16; $20 at door
Sunday, March 21, 4:00 – 5:15 PM
OPERA BOOT CAMP: Opera Revolution: 1800 to Today
Presented by Dottie Allen
Who were Wagner, Verdi, and Puccini, and how did their revolutionary ideas propel opera into superstardom? Learn how opera has continually transformed itself since the 19th century, and what it’s doing to stay vital and relevant today.
Price: $16; $20 at door
Monday, March 1 at 6pm – 7:15pm
THE SINGERS’ STUDIO: CANDID AND CASUAL CONVERSATION
In Studio: Regina Resnik
Presented by Michael Snider
Mezzo-soprano Regina Resnik celebrates the 65th anniversary of her Met debut this season. She joins Martin Bernheimer for a conversation and a look back at her performance career.
Price: $20; $25 at door
Tuesday, March 2 at 6pm – 7:15pm
BASED ON A TRUE STORY: VERDI’S VERSION OF HISTORY
Unsafe Harbor: Simon Boccanegra
Presented by Joseph Colaneri
The tangled and deadly politics of Renaissance Italy inspired many poets and dramatists in the 19th century – and, of course, opera composers. Joseph Colaneri describes how the real-life intrigues of 14th-century Genoa are as dramatic and fascinating as Verdi’s magnificent opera.
Price: $16; $20 at door SOLD OUT
Saturday, March 6 at 11am – 12:15pm
BEYOND BOOT CAMP: EARLY OPERA AND THE BAROQUE ERA
The Way We Were: Early Performance Practices
Presented by Dottie Allen
An evening at the opera in the 18th century was a different experience than today – from sets and lighting to staging practices, casting, and instrumentation, even audience etiquette! Dottie Allen offers the chance to look back at the way opera was.
Price: $16.00; $20 at door
Monday, March 8 at 6pm – 7:15pm
OPERA OUTLOOKS: NEW PRODUCTIONS AT THE MET
A Nose on the Run
Presented by Dr. Harlow Robinson
Eighty years after it scandalized Soviet audiences and party officials at its 1930 Leningrad premiere, Dmitri Shostakovich’s wildly funny The Nose has finally landed at the Met. Farce, satire, music-hall slapstick, and pathos converge in this avant-garde setting of a bizarre tale by Nikolai Gogol about a civil servant who loses his nose. Dr. Harlow Robinson introduces us to this zany masterpiece.
Price: $16.00; $20 at door SOLD OUT
Tuesday, March 9 at 6pm – 7:15pm
SHAKESPEARE SINGS
Star-Crossed Lovers: Romeo and Juliet and its Composers
Presented by Dr. Jeffrey Langford
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was the inspiration for numerous musical adaptations – both symphonic and operatic – in the 19th century. But the musical realizations of this timeless story of tragic love are as different as their composers. Dr. Jeffrey Langford examines Gounod’s adaptation of this story in relation to those of Bellini and Berlioz.
Price: $16; $20 at door
Thursday, March 11 at 2pm – 3:15pm
NATIONAL TREASURES: LESSONS IN LISTENING FOR THE ARMCHAIR ENTHUSIAST
French Flair
Presented by Martin Bernheimer
Many countries and regions have not only their own musical style, but their own style of vocalism as well. Martin Bernheimer surveys opera’s national schools of singing, illustrating the particular colorations and phrasings that can indicate a singer’s artistic origins.
Price: $16.00; $20 at door
Saturday, March 13 at 11am – 12:15pm
BEYOND BOOT CAMP: EARLY OPERA AND THE BAROQUE ERA
Baroque’n Record: The Composers, the Source Material, and the Music
Presented by Jesse Cohen
The Baroque period spans nearly two centuries, bookended by the titanic figures of Monteverdi and Handel. Learn about the developments and reformations that came about during this time, the composers who made them, and how those composers nurtured the evolution of the lyric stage.
Price: $16.00; $20 at door
Monday, March 15 at 6pm – 7:15pm
THE SINGERS’ STUDIO: CANDID AND CASUAL CONVERSATION
In Studio: Harolyn Blackwell
Presented by Paul Gruber
Star soprano Harolyn Blackwell meets with the Guild’s Paul Gruber for a look back on her groundbreaking coloratura career, from her Met debut in Manon to her current dual passions: performance and education.
Price: $20; $25 at door
Tuesday, March 16 at 6pm – 7:15pm
SHAKESPEARE SINGS
Hamlet: Words into Song
Presented by Desirée Mays
In Thomas’s Hamlet, Shakespeare’s famous soliloquies become the material for arias and other powerful scenes. Desirée Mays uses examples from the world’s finest actors and singing actors to explore how the Bard’s words are turned into music.
Price: $16; $20 at door SOLD OUT
Thursday, March 18 at 2pm – 3:15pm
NATIONAL TREASURES: LESSONS IN LISTENING FOR THE ARMCHAIR ENTHUSIAST
Slavic Soul
Presented by Martin Bernheimer
Many countries and regions have not only their own musical style, but their own style of vocalism as well. Martin Bernheimer surveys opera’s national schools of singing, illustrating the particular colorations and phrasings that can indicate a singer’s artistic origins.
Price: $16.00; $20 at door
Saturday, March 20 at 11am – 12:15pm
BEYOND BOOT CAMP: EARLY OPERA AND THE BAROQUE ERA
Handel with Care: Vocal Technique Examined
Presented by Dottie Allen
How is singing Handel different from singing Wagner? The answers may surprise you! This listening tour will examine the vocal stylings utilized by singers of Baroque opera and how they came into practice.
Price: $16.00; $20 at door
Monday, March 22 at 6pm – 7:15pm
THE SINGERS’ STUDIO: CANDID AND CASUAL CONVERSATION
In Studio: Simon Keenlyside
Presented by Brian Kellow
British baritone Simon Keenlyside takes the stage this season as the title character in Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet. Opera News Features Editor Brian Kellow speaks with the singer about his not-to-be-missed portrayal in this production.
Price: $20; $25 at door SOLD OUT
Tuesday, March 23 at 6pm – 7:15pm
SHAKESPEARE SINGS
Antony and Cleopatra: Love in a Warm Climate
Presented by James O’Leary
The world premiere of Samuel Barber’s opera christened the Met’s new home in 1966. James O’Leary revisits this underappreciated and highly effective adaptation of Shakespeare’s great romantic tragedy.
Price: $16; $20 at door
Thursday, March 11 at 2pm – 3:15pm
NATIONAL TREASURES: LESSONS IN LISTENING FOR THE ARMCHAIR ENTHUSIAST
American Beauty
Presented by Martin Bernheimer
Many countries and regions have not only their own musical style, but their own style of vocalism as well. Martin Bernheimer surveys opera’s national schools of singing, illustrating the particular colorations and phrasings that can indicate a singer’s artistic origins.
Price: $16.00; $20 at door
Saturday, March 27 at 11am – 12:15pm
BEYOND BOOT CAMP: EARLY OPERA AND THE BAROQUE ERA
What’s Old Is New: Modern Interpretations
Presented by Jesse Cohen
One reason for the explosive revival of Baroque opera is the attention being brought to authentic performance practice, from period instruments to interpretive technique. Find out what makes the Baroque era’s drama seem so new and fresh in our time.
Price: $16.00; $20 at door
All events will be held in the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s Opera Learning Center on the 6th floor of the Samuel B. & David Rose building at Lincoln Center, unless otherwise noted.
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