Mozart’s masterpiece Don Giovanni returns to the Met January 30

A scene from Mozart's "Don Giovanni." Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera

·         German conductor Cornelius Meister leads the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in his company debut

 

·         Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni sings the title role for the first time; later performances feature the return of Swedish baritone Peter Mattei

 

·         Notable Met debuts include Italian soprano Federica Lombardi as Donna Elvira, Russian soprano Aida Garifullina as Zerlina, and French tenor Stanislas de Barbeyrac as Don Ottavio

 

New York, NY (January 8, 2019)—The Metropolitan Opera presents Mozart’s timeless drama Don Giovanni, with 12 performances January 30, 2019, to April 18, 2019. All performances of Michael Grandage’s production are conducted by Cornelius Meister in his Met debut.

January and February performances feature Luca Pisaroni in his anticipated role debut as the rakish Don and Ildar Abdrazakov as his sidekick Leporello, plus Rachel Willis-Sørensen as Donna Anna,Federica Lombardi as Donna Elvira in her Met debut, Aida Garifullina as Zerlina in her Met debut, Stanislas de Barbeyrac as Don Ottavio in his Met debut, Brandon Cedel as Masetto, and Štefan Kocán as the Commendatore. At the performance on February 20, Jennifer Check is Donna Anna, Rihab Chaieb is Zerlina, and Peixin Chen is Masetto.

April performances feature Peter Mattei in the title role and Adam Plachetka as Leporello, plus Guanqun Yu as Donna Anna, Susanna Phillips as Donna Elvira, Serena Malfi as Zerlina, Pavol Breslik andPaul Appleby as Don Ottavio, Kihwan Sim as Masetto, and Dmitry Belosselskiy in his Met role debut as the Commendatore.

 

Don Giovanni Radio and Online Broadcasts

The January 30, February 16, and April 9 performances of Don Giovanni will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SiriusXM Channel 75. The February 16 performance will be broadcast over theToll Brothers–Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network, and the January 30 performance will also be streamed live on the Met’s web site, metopera.org. 

 

Don Giovanni Artist Biographies

American soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen has previously performed as Donna Anna at the Vienna State Opera and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She made her Met debut as Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro in 2014. She is a winner of the Met’s 2010 National Council Auditions. In 2014, she won first prize, the Birgit Nilsson prize, and the Zarzuela prize at the Operalia competition.

Chinese soprano Guanqun Yu makes her Met role debut as Donna Anna, a role she has sung at Oper Frankfurt. She made her Met debut in 2012 as Leonora in Verdi’s Il Trovatore and since then has sung Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Liù in Puccini’s Turandot. Earlier this season at the Met, she was seen as Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen.

Italian soprano Federica Lombardi makes her Met debut as Donna Elvira. She has been seen as Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen and Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanniat Deutsche Oper Berlin and Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at Bavarian State Opera. This season, she sings Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte at Bavarian State Opera and Elettra in Mozart’s Idomeneo at La Scala.

American soprano Susanna Phillips, who has sung more than 100 Met performances, adds a new role to her Met repertory as Donna Elvira. She made her company debut as Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème in 2008, a role she has sung more than 50 times at the Met. A recipient of the Met’s Beverly Sills Award, her other roles with the company include Clémence in the Met premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin, Rosalinde in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Stella and Antonia in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and Pamina in The Magic Flute. Also this season at the Met, she sings Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen.

Russian soprano Aida Garifullina makes her Met debut as Zerlina. A first prize winner of the 2013 Operalia competition, she has been seen as Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto at Vienna State Opera, Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème at Paris Opera and Vienna State Opera.This season she sings Louisa in a new production of Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery at Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, Adina in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore at Vienna State Opera, and Leïla in Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs des Perles at the Salzburg Festival.

Italian mezzo-soprano Serena Malfi reprises her performance of Zerlina, which she sang with the company in 2016. She was seen last season as Dorabella in the Met’s new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, which was seen around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD series. This season, she will be seen as Siébel in Gounod’s Faust at Teatro Real in Madrid, Angelina in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at Vienna State Opera, and Dorabella at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

French tenor Stanislas de Barbeyrac makes his Met debut as Don Ottavio. He has been seen as Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at Paris Opera and Opernhaus Zürich and as the Chevalier de la Force in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. This season he sings Don Ottavio at Paris Opera and Bavarian State Opera.

Slovakian tenor Pavol Breslik reprises Don Ottavio, a role in which he made his Met debut in 2009. He has been seen as Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi at Bavarian State Opera, Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata at Vienna State Opera, and Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore at Bavarian State Opera and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. This season, he will reprise Don Ottavio at Bavarian State Opera.

American tenor Paul Appleby has previously sung Don Ottavio with the company in 2016.  A winner of the Met’s National Council Auditions in 2009, he made his Met debut singing Brighella in Strauss’sAriadne auf Naxos in 2011. A graduate of the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, he has also sung Demetrius in the Baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island, Hylas in Berlioz’s Les Troyens, Chevalier de la Force in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, Brian in the Met premiere of Nico Muhly’s Two Boys, David in Mozart’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress. Also this season at the Met, he sings Pelléas in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande.

Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni makes his role debut as Don Giovanni. He made his company debut in 2005 as Publio in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, followed by performances as Figaro in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Caliban in The Enchanted Island, and Alidoro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Recent performances include Mustafà in Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Méphistophélès in Gounod’s Faust at the Teatro Real in Madrid, and Don Pizarro in Beethoven’s Fidelio at La Scala. Other performances this season include Claudio in Handel’s Agrippina in Barcelona and at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Golaud in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande at Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, and Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

            Swedish baritone Peter Mattei has previously sung Don Giovanni at the Met in 2003, 2009, and 2015. He made his Met debut in 2002 as Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and since then has sung roles including Amfortas in Wagner’s Parsifal, Shishkov in Janáček’s From the House of the Dead, and Wolfram in Wagner’s Tannhäuser. Recent performances include Amfortas and Shishkov at Paris Opera and the title role of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at Opernhaus Zürich and Paris Opera. This season he also sings Don Giovanni at Vienna State Opera.

Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov makes his Met role debut as Leporello. His other credits with the Met include the title role of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, Henry VIII in Donizetti’sAnna Bolena, the title character in Borodin’s Prince Igor, and Dosifei in Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina. Other performances this season include the title role of Verdi’s Attila and Don Ruy Gomez de Silva in Verdi’sErnani at La Scala.

Czech bass-baritone Adam Plachetka reprises the role of Leporello, which he first sang at the Met in 2016. He made his Met debut in 2015 as Masetto followed by performances as Belcore in Donizetti’sL’Elisir d’Amore. He has sang a variety of Mozart roles at the Met including the title role of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and last season as Guglielmo in the Met’s new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, which was seen in cinemas around the world as a part of The Met: Live in HD.  This season he also sings Alidoro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at Vienna State Opera and Paris Opera.

American bass-baritone Brandon Cedel makes his Met role debut as Masetto. He is a winner of the Met’s 2013 National Council Auditions. Recent performances include Sprecher in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Angelotti in Puccini’s Tosca, and Lieutenant Ratcliffe in Britten’s Billy Budd, all at Oper Frankfurt. This season he will sing Colline in Puccini’s La Bohème at Canadian Opera Company and Argante in Handel’s Rinaldoat the Glyndebourne Festival.

South Korean bass Kihwan Sim made his Met debut in the 2015–16 season as Colline in Puccini’s La Bohème. Recent performances include Lodovico in Verdi’s Otello at Oper Frankfurt and First Nazarene in Strauss’s Salome at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. This season he sings as Sir Giorgio in Bellini’s I Puritani, Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, and Méphistophélès in Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust at Oper Frankfurt.

Slovakian bass Štefan Kocán previously sang the role of the Commendatore at the Met in 2011 and 2017. He made his Met debut in 2009 as the King in Verdi’s Aida. Other roles at the Met include the Grand Inquisitor in Verdi’s Don Carlo, Khan Konchak in Borodin’s Prince Igor, Gremin in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Sparafucile in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and Ferrando in Verdi’s Il Trovatore.

Russian bass Dmitry Belosselskiy adds a new role to his Met repertory as the Commendatore. He made his Met debut in 2011 as Zaccaria in Verdi’s Nabucco. Earlier this season at the Met, he was seen as the Old Hebrew in Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila and Ramfis in Verdi’s Aida, both of which were seen in cinemas around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD. Other roles at the Met include the Old Convict in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Don Ruy Gomez de Silva in Verdi’s Ernani, and Wurm in Verdi’s Luisa Miller. Later this season, he will be seen in the return of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen as Fafner in Das Rheingold and Siegfried.

German conductor Cornelius Meister makes his Met debut leading Don Giovanni. He has been chief conductor and artistic director of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra since 2010. This season, he begins his tenure as general music director of the Stuttgart State Opera. His previous engagements include Vienna State Opera, the Glyndebourne Festival, Opernhaus Zürich, Bavarian State Opera, La Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburg State Opera, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Don Giovanni

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte

 

Wednesday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 2 at 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, February 6 at 7:30 pm

Saturday, February 9 at 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 16 at 1:00 p.m.

Wednesday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m.

 

Thursday, April 4 at 8:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 9 at 8:00 p.m.

Friday, April 12 at 8:00 p.m.

Monday, April 15 at 8:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 18 at 8:00 p.m.

 

Conductor	Cornelius Meister*
Production	Michael Grandage
Set and Costume Designer	Christopher Oram
Lighting Designer	Paule Constable
Choreographer	Ben Wright
Donna Anna	Rachel Willis-Sørensen (Jan. 30; Feb 2, 6, 9, 13, 16mat)
	Jennifer Check (Feb. 20)
	Guanqun Yu (Apr. 4, 9, 12, 15, 18)
Donna Elvira	Federica Lombardi* (Jan. 30; Feb 2, 6, 9, 13, 16mat, 20)
	Susanna Philips (Apr. 4, 9, 12, 15, 18)
Zerlina	Aida Garifullina* (Jan. 30; Feb 2, 6, 9, 13, 16mat)
	Rihab Chaieb (Feb. 20)
	Serena Malfi (Apr. 4, 9, 12, 15, 18)
Don Ottavio	Stanislas de Barbeyrac* (Jan. 30; Feb 2, 6, 9, 13, 16mat, 20)
	Pavol Breslik (Apr. 4, 9, 12)
	Paul Appleby (Apr. 15, 18)
Don Giovanni	Luca Pisaroni  (Jan. 30; Feb 2, 6, 9, 13, 16mat, 20)
	Peter Mattei (Apr. 4, 9, 12, 15, 18)
Leporello	Ildar Abdrazakov (Jan. 30; Feb 2, 6, 9, 13, 16mat, 20)
	Adam Plachetka (Apr. 4, 9, 12, 15, 18)
Masetto	Brandon Cedel (Jan. 30; Feb 2, 6, 9, 13, 16mat)
	Peixin Chen (Feb. 20)
	Kihwan Sim (Apr. 4, 9, 12, 15, 18)
The Commendatore	Štefan Kocán (Jan. 30; Feb 2, 6, 9, 13, 16mat, 20)
	Dmitry Belosselskiy (Apr. 4, 9, 12, 15, 18)

 

*Met debut