conductor James Levine

production

David Alden

set designer Paul Steinberg

costume designer Brigitte Reiffenstuel

lighting designer Adam Silverman

choreographer

Maxine Braham

GIUSEPPE VERDIun ballo in maschera

general manager Peter Gelb

music director James Levine

principal conductor Fabio Luisi

Opera in three acts

Libretto by Antonio Somma

Saturday, May 2, 2015 1:004:20 pm

The production of Un Ballo in Maschera was made possible by a generous gift from the Betsy and Edward Cohen / Aret Foundation Fund for New Productions and Revivals, and Daisy and Paul Soros

Additional funding was received from

The Gilbert S. Kahn & John J. Noffo Kahn

Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. William R. Miller

The revival of this production is made possible

by a gift from the Metropolitan Opera Club

and the Estate of Francine Berry

The 300th Metropolitan Opera performance of

Saturday, May 2, 2015, 1:004:20PM

GIUSEPPE VERDIS

un ballo in mascheraconductor

James Levine

This performance is being broadcast live over The Toll BrothersMetropolitan Opera International Radio Network, sponsored by Toll Brothers, Americas luxury homebuilder, with generous long-term support from The Annenberg Foundation, The Neubauer Family Foundation, the Vincent A. Stabile Endowment for Broadcast Media, and contributions from listeners worldwide.

Visit List Hall at the second intermission for the Toll BrothersMetropolitan Opera Quiz.

This performance is also being broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SiriusXM channel 74.

in order of vocal appearance

count ribbingKeith Miller

count hornDavid Crawford

oscar, the kings pageHeidi Stober

gustavo iii, king of swedenPiotr Beczala

count anckarstrmDmitri Hvorostovsky

judge

Mark Schowalter

madame ulrica arvidsson, a fortune tellerDolora Zajick

cristiano

Trevor Scheunemann

amelias servantScott Scully

amelia, count anckarstrms wifeSondra Radvanovsky*

* Graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program

Yamaha is the Official Piano of the Metropolitan Opera.

Latecomers will not be admitted during the performance.

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Met TitlesTo activate, press the red button to the right of the screen in front of your seat and follow the instructions provided. To turn off the display, press the red button once again. If you have questions please ask an usher at intermission.

Chorus Master Donald PalumboFight Director B.H. BarryMusical Preparation John Keenan, Robert Morrison,

Carol Isaac, and Nimrod David PfefferAssistant Stage Directors Jonathon Loy and

Kathleen Smith BelcherStage Band Conductor Gregory BuchalterItalian Coach Hemdi KfirPrompter Carol IsaacMet Titles Cori EllisonAssistant to the Set Designer Michael V. MooreAssistants to the Costume Designer Irene Bohan and

Carolyn HoffmannScenery, properties, and electrical props constructed and

painted in Metropolitan Opera ShopsCostumes executed by Andrew Capetanos, London; Classic

Cuts, London; Das Gewand, Dsseldorf, Germany; Marian Jean Hose, New York; Seams Unlimited, Racine, Wisconsin; and Metropolitan Opera Costume Department

Wigs and Makeup executed by Metropolitan Opera Wig and Makeup Department

This performance is made possible in part by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts.

Before the performance begins, please switch off cell phones and other electronic devices.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Count Anckarstrm and Sondra Radvanovsky as Amelia in Verdis Un Ballo in Maschera

KEN HOWARD/M

ETROPOLITA

N O

PERA

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Act Iscene 1 Reception room in the royal palace in Stockholmscene 2 Madame Arvidssons den

Intermission (aT APPROXIMATELY 1:50 PM)

Act IIAn abandoned warehouse

Intermission (aT APPROXIMATELY 2:55 PM)

Act IIIscene 1 Count Anckarstrms house

Pause

scene 2 The kings studyscene 3 The ballroom in the royal palace

Synopsis

Act IStockholm, Sweden. Courtiers await an audience with King Gustavo III, including a group of conspirators led by Counts Horn and Ribbing. The king enters. He notices the name of Amelia, wife of his secretary and friend, Count Anckarstrm, on the guest list for a masked ball, and thinks about his secret love for her. Left alone with Gustavo, Anckarstrm warns the king of a conspiracy against him, but Gustavo ignores the threat. The young page Oscar tells the king about the fortuneteller Madame Ulrica Arvidsson, who has been accused of witchcraft and is to be banished. Deciding to see for himself, the king arranges for his court to pay her an incognito visit.

In a building by the port, Madame Arvidsson invokes prophetic spirits and tells the sailor Cristiano that he will soon become wealthy and receive a promotion. The king, who has arrived in disguise, slips money and papers into Cristianos pockets. When the sailor discovers his good fortune, everybody praises Madame Arvidssons abilities. Gustavo hides as she sends her visitors away to admit Amelia, who is tormented by her love for the king and asks for help. Madame Arvidsson tells her that she must gather a magic herb after dark. When Amelia leaves, Gustavo decides to follow her that night. Oscar and members of the court enter, and the king asks Madame Arvidsson to read his palm. She tells him that he will die by the hand of a friend. Gustavo laughs at the prophecy and demands to know the name of the assassin. Madame Arvidsson replies that it will be the first person that shakes his hand. When Anckarstrm rushes in Gustavo

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Synopsis CONTINUED

clasps his hand saying that the oracle has been disproved since Anckarstrm is his most loyal friend. Recognizing their king, the crowd cheers him as the conspirators grumble their discontent.

Act IIThat night in an abandoned warehouse, Amelia, who has followed Madame Arvidssons advice to find the herb, expresses her hope that she will be freed of her love for the king. When Gustavo appears, she asks him to leave, but ultimately they admit their love for each other. Amelia hides her face when Anckarstrm suddenly appears, warning the king that assassins are nearby. Gustavo makes Anckarstrm promise to escort the woman back to the city without lifting her veil, then escapes. Finding Anckarstrm instead of their intended victim, the conspirators make ironic remarks about his veiled companion. When Amelia realizes that her husband will fight rather than break his promise to Gustavo, she drops her veil to save him. The conspirators are amused and make fun of Anckarstrm for his embarrassing situation. Anckarstrm, shocked by the kings betrayal and his wifes seeming infidelity, asks Horn and Ribbing to come to his house the next morning.

Act IIIIn his apartment, Anckarstrm threatens to kill Amelia. She asks to see their young son before she dies. After she has left, Anckarstrm declares that is it the king he should seek vengeance on, not Amelia. Horn and Ribbing arrive, and Anckarstrm tells them that he will join the conspirators. The men decide to draw lots to determine who will kill the king, and Anckarstrm forces his wife to choose from the slips of paper. When his own name comes up he is overjoyed. Oscar enters, bringing an invitation to the masked ball. As the assassins welcome this chance to execute their plan, Amelia decides to warn the king.

Gustavo, alone in his study, resolves to renounce his love and to send Amelia and Anckarstrm to Finland. Oscar brings an anonymous letter warning him of the murder plot, but the king refuses to be intimidated and leaves for the masquerade. In the ballroom, Anckarstrm tries to learn from Oscar what costume the king is wearing. The page answers evasively but finally reveals Gustavos disguise. Amelia and the king meet, and she repeats her warning. Refusing to leave, he declares his love one more time and tells her that he is sending her away with her husband. As the lovers say goodbye, Anckarstrm stabs the king. The dying Gustavo forgives his murderer and admits that he loved Amelia but assures Anckarstrm that his wife is innocent. The crowd praises the kings goodness and generosity.

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Giuseppe Verdi

Un Ballo in Maschera

In Focus

Premiere: Teatro Apollo, Rome, 1859Un Ballo in Maschera, one of Verdis mature operas written between the trilogy of Rigoletto, La Traviata, and Il Trovatore and his final works, is a superb drama about the fatal intersection of love and politics. The central story element is plain and direct. A king is in love with his best friends wife. The husband suspects that his wife has been unfaithful and he decides to kill the king at a masked ball. The story came from historySwedens King Gustav III met his death at the hands of a political enemy during a masked ball at the Stockholm Opera House in 1792. French dramatist Eugne Scribe (who also provided the libretto to Verdis Les Vpres Siciliennes) had written the first operatic version of this historical event for composer Franois Auber, whose work, Gustave III, had been given in Paris in 1833. Scribes version added the twist of a love triangle, and despite his poetic license with the facts, a number of curious details from the historical story made their way into the libretto: a medium named Ulrica Arvidsson (or Arfvidsson) warned the king about an assassination; he received an anonymous note alerting him of a plot on his life; and the conspirators identified the king by a pink ribbon on the cape of his costume.

The CreatorsGiuseppe Verdi (18131901) created 28 operas in a remarkable career spanning six decades in the theater. His role in Italys cultural and political development has made him an icon in his native country. Antonio Somma (18091864) was a lawyer, playwright, and theater manager. Verdi did not write another opera with him, although he kept Somma busy working on a libretto based on King Lear, a project that was never completed.

The SettingThis opera suffered from the interference of censors of the Kingdom of Naples, who objected to the depiction of a royal assassination on the stage. Somma offered a revised libretto, moving the action to colonial Boston. When the censors demanded still more changes, Verdi abandoned his contract with the theater and took the piece to Rome (just ahead of the police and a lawsuit), where he managed to have the opera produced with Sommas revisions. The Boston setting, despite its odd incongruities, became the operas standard version well into the second half of the 20th century. In recent years, the original Swedish setting has often been restored, as in the previous and the current Met productions.

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The MusicThe score of Ballo is remarkable for its economy and beautiful melodic expression. In addition to supporting the singers, the orchestra adds its own commentary: the repeating chords in the ballroom scene that ends the opera are a masterpiece of tension mounting beneath an elegant veneer. All of the leading roles have solos that are among Verdis best. Among them are the sopranos haunting Morr, ma prima in grazia in the first scene of Act III, followed by the great baritone aria Eri tu. The tenor has several spotlight solos, ranging in tone from the deliberately showy Di tu, se fedele in Act I to the introspection of the extended study scene in Act III. This opera also features two voice types infrequently used by Verdi, a contralto for the fortuneteller Madame Arvidsson and a coloratura soprano as the page Oscar (in what is also unusual for Verdi, a trouser role). Some of the most remarkable passages of the score, however, are given to multiple voices: the love duet in Act II is perhaps Verdis most overtly passionate; the Act I ensemble, E scherzo od follia, is built on contrasting layers of eeriness, fear, and nonchalance. The unforgettable, subdued laughing chorus at the end of Act II drips with sneering disdain. Act IIIs ingenious opening scene builds from a solo narrative to a quintet in which the various emotions of the protagonistsguilt, revenge, and giddy anticipation of the upcoming masked ballmerge into a single extraordinary stream of music.

Un Ballo in Maschera at the MetThe opera was first heard at the Met in 1889, sung in German and starring Lilli Lehmann. Arturo Toscanini conducted a new production in 1913 with the unbeatable trio of Emmy Destinn, Enrico Caruso, and Pasquale Amato. Another production was unveiled on opening night 1940, featuring Zinka Milanov (who performed the role of Amelia 30 times through 1956) and Jussi Bjrling. Marian Anderson sang Ulrica eight times in 1955 and 1956, effectively ending the color barrier for African-American singers at the Met. A new production in 1962 marked the company debut of Nello Santi, conducting Leonie Rysanek, Carlo Bergonzi (33 performances as Riccardo/Gustavo through 1983), and Robert Merrill (56 performances as Renato/Anckarstrm from 1955 to 1976). In 1980, Giuseppe Patan conducted a new staging by Elijah Moshinsky, with the leading roles sung by Katia Ricciarelli, Luciano Pavarotti (31 performances as Riccardo/Gustavo through 1997), and Louis Quilico. Pavarotti also starred in the 1990 premiere of Piero Faggionis production, opposite Aprile Millo, Elena Obraztsova, and Juan Pons, with James Levine on the podium. Other notable appearances over the past decades include sopranos Martina Arroyo, Montserrat Caball, Leontyne Price, and Deborah Voigt; mezzo-soprano Florence Quivar; tenors Jan Peerce, Richard Tucker, and Plcido Domingo; and baritones Sherrill Milnes and Leo Nucci. David Aldens production, conducted by Fabio Luisi, opened in November 2012, with Sondra Radvanovsky, Dolora Zajick, Marcelo lvarez, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky leading the cast.

In Focus CONTINUED

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One of Giuseppe Verdis favorite projects during the 1850sand indeed through most of the rest of his lifewas an operatic adaptation of Shakespeares King Lear. It was an idea the composer had long cherished, butpragmatic man that he was, and wise in the ways of the Italian theaterhe knew it would not be an easy opera to cast, and he was prepared to wait for the unusual, ideal occasion. Perhaps not surprisingly, it never came. In the meantime, in the spring of 1855, Verdi wrote to Antonio Somma, the lawyerplaywright who had been working on the Lear libretto, and asked him for suggestions for a less demanding and ambitious project: Could you find another story for me, which you would then write at your leisure? A story that is beautiful, original, interesting, with beautiful situations, and impassioned: passions above all!

Somma first suggested Matthew Lewiss then-famous novel The Monk, but Verdi rejected it: I want a story of feelings, not a spectacle. And before the librettist could find anything suitable, Verdi himself settled on a story: the assassination of the Swedish king Gustav III. Beautiful, interesting, impassioned, yes; but hardly original. Eugne Scribe had written the first operatic version of the historical event for Franois Auber, whose work, Gustave III, had been given in Paris in 1833. Ten years later the same story had served Saverio Mercadante for Il Reggente, the libretto considerably refashioned by the Neapolitan Salvatore Cammarano, Verdis respected collaborator for Luisa Miller and Il Trovatore.

Somma obediently set to work, though he asked one favor of Verdi: If you dont mind, I would like to remain anonymous. Thus I will write with greater freedom. The poet at that time wanted to keep out of the public eye; a few years before, in 184849, he had participated actively in the rebellion against the Austrians in Venice, and he was under police surveillance. Naturally, he wanted to avoid putting his name on a libretto involving the killing of a monarch.

When he learned that Verdi was going to compose the opera for Naples, Somma may well have foreseen that the subject would encounter difficulties with the stern censors of the Bourbon regime there. As, in fact, it did. In October of 1857, when work had been in progress for some weeks, Verdi sent an outline of the libretto to Vincenzo Torelli, the San Carlo secretary, for submission to the authorities. Early in November the subject was firmly rejected. Verdi had come up against censorship almost from the outset of his career, and some of his most enduring worksamong them Nabucco, Rigoletto, and La Traviatahad come into being only after bouts, even pitched battles, with the political authorities.

At first Verdi did not take the rejection seriously. He imagined a few concessions on his part would resolve the problem, and he wrote to Torelli: It wont be difficult to transfer the setting elsewhere and change the names. Too bad! To have to renounce the elegance of a court like that of Gustave III Poor poets and poor composers!

So he began by altering the operas title, calling it La Vendetta in Domino (or, Revenge in [a Domino] Disguise). This, however, was not enough. In

Program Note

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factas the San Carlo management carefully refrained from telling Verdithe authorities were opposed to the subject in any form. Finally, as a special favor to the composer, they sent him a list of required, indispensable changes. Verdi responded in an angry letter to Somma: Im in a sea of troubles! He went on to list the demands the authorities had made if the opera was to be saved at all: the king had to be a private gentleman, not a sovereign of any kind; the wife of Count Anckarstrm was to become his sister; there would be no ball; there would be no drawing of lots for the privilege of killing the protagonist; and there would be no murder on stage.

Its hard to imagine what the opera we know as Un Ballo in Maschera might have been if Verdi had been made of less stern stuff. But worse was to come. When Verdi rejected these demands, the Neapolitans found a poet of their own, who confected a new libretto to fit Verdis music. Titled Adelia degli Adimari, it was a cumbersome tale of Guelphs and Ghibellines, in which Oscar was not a page but a warrior, and Gustavo disguised himself not as a fisherman but as a hunter, making his barcarole completely incongruous.

In the end, Verdiwho had arrived in Naples as his contract stipulatedwas threatened with jail. He managed to get out of the city, with his score in his suitcase, only by promising to come back the following year. Actually, it was not until 1872 that he returned to the city.

Instead, the next season, he was in Rome, where the censors were a bit more accommodating: the papal authorities worried less about regicide and more about other immoralities. After further discussions and revisions, the opera was allowed, but as Verdi wrote the taxed Somma, The locale should be moved outside of Europe. What would you say to North America at the time of the English domination?

And so Gustavo became Riccardo, and the brilliant royal court was moved from Stockholm to Boston. In all this, Verdi was able to save what most mattered to him: the sparkling atmosphere around the fun-loving, romantic ruler, including the pert page; the undercurrent of superstition and fatalism that acts as contrast to the superficial frivolity; the baritones intense private drama as friendship turns to hate and jealousy to murderous vengeance. And, central to all, the thwarted love, culminating in the tormented duet, where expressions of total devotion are punctuated by urgent pleas for renunciation, all in a context of guilt and mortal fear. (The current Met production restores both the original setting and the historical names.)

The late Massimo Mila, one of Italys most acute and original music critics, in his book on the composer refers to Un Ballo in Maschera as Verdis great love poem and actually mentions it in the same breath with Wagners Tristan. Certainly, to the modern unprejudiced listener, the two operas are on the same plane of greatness; and there is no doubt that both are focused on love. But the intense obsessiveness of the Wagnerian pairtrapped, enclosed in their passionis in interesting contrast with the love of Gustavo and Amelia, which is only rarely seen

Program Note CONTINUED

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divorced from its social context. This is a love between responsible people. And it prompted one of Verdis richest and most varied scores. The surge of passion begins to swell with Gustavos first aria (an aside, it must be remembered; a confidence to the audience, as the ruler ignores his court). After the conflict of the duet, there are two inner conflicts of the two lovers, the paired renunciations. And for every nuance of emotion the composer finds one of his musical hues, those tinte that were his essential ingredients.

The bigger musical picture sets chorus against principals, basso conspiracy against the coloratura loyalty of the page. The minor charactersthe faithful sailor, the half-crazed but honest and concerned soothsayerare secondary only in the length of their music, not in their significance. And the real mariner, Cristiano, makes another contrast with the feigned seaman of Gustavo himself.

Somma, whose successfully performed plays demonstrate a real theatrical gift, in this assignment was little more than the versifier of the composers ideas, like Piave before and after him and like most Verdi librettists until Boito. But Somma had at least one idea of his own. In a letter written fairly early in their collaboration, he suggested to Verdi that the sopranos part be enhanced. She should have a whole scene to herself, he wrote: I would shift [after the opening scene] to her boudoir. Thus the audience would make her acquaintance there, before the witchs kitchen. This boudoir, if you like, hasat the back a loggia open over a vast horizon. Amelia, seated on the loggia, is playing her harp and singing a song that refers generically to the desires of a loving heart.

The librettist had a more conventional mind than Verdi, who sensibly rejected this pedestrian idea; and so our introduction to Amelia happens as the composer envisioned it: rapid, essential. Ameliaand the operacome straight to the point. Still, there is nothing in the whole opera that is not essential. Verdi is not single-minded. The focal conflict is given a three-dimensional context: power inspires Anckarstrms loyal devotion as subject as well as friend. But it also inspires envy and hatred. And the sweet, silvery line of Oscars adolescent affection is balanced by the dark, bass interjections of the conspirators. There is also laughter in the opera: the heros incredulous chuckles at the dire prophecies of the soothsayer, and the conspirators cruel hilarity at the predicament of Anckarstrm and Amelia. In his correspondence with his librettists, Verdi frequently asked them to introduce some humorblack, bitter humorinto the starkest, most relentless scenes.

In Ballo the situations the characters find themselves in can shift abruptly; and the characters themselves can change. This is an opera of transformations, and perhaps, after all the various versions of the title, the final one is the best, for the opera is a dance of death. The players twice in the course of the story are required to don fancy disguises. They are all used to masks, and when they put them aside, or when a veil falls and reveals a truth, reality proves to be unbearable.

William Weaver

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The Cast

met history Since his 1971 debut conducting Tosca, he has appeared with the Met in 2,500 performances, concerts, and recitalsmore than any other conductor in the companys history. Of the 85 operas he has led at the Met, 13 were company premieres (including Stiffelio, I Lombardi, I Vespri Siciliani, La Cenerentola, Benvenuto Cellini, Porgy and Bess, Erwartung, Moses und Aron, Idomeneo, and La Clemenza di Tito). He also led the world premieres of Coriglianos The Ghosts of Versailles and Harbisons The Great Gatsby.this season In his 44th season at the Met he conducts the new production of Le Nozze di Figaro and revivals of Ernani, Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg, Les Contes d Hoffmann, Un Ballo in Maschera, and The Rakes Progress; three concerts with the MET Orchestra at Carnegie Hall with soloists Maurizio Pollini, Anna Netrebko, and Yefim Bronfman; and two chamber concerts with the MET Chamber Ensemble at Carnegies Weill and Zankel Halls.

this season Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera at the Met, and the title roles of Anna Bolena at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Aida with the Vienna State Opera, and Norma with the San Francisco Opera, Munichs Bavarian State Opera, and in Barcelona.met appearances More than 150 performances of 24 roles, including Norma, Tosca, Aida, Luisa Miller, Leonora in Il Trovatore, Elvira in Ernani, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Musetta in La Bohme, Antonia in Les Contes dHoffmann, Micala in Carmen, and Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto (debut, 1996).career highlights Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux with the Canadian Opera Company, the title role of Suor Angelica in Los Angeles, Donizettis Lucrezia Borgia in Washington, Hlne in Les Vpres Siciliennes and Elisabeth in Don Carlos with the Paris Opera, Elena in I Vespri Siciliani and Manon Lescaut at the Vienna State Opera, and Roxane in Alfanos Cyrano de Bergerac at La Scala. She has also sung Roxane and Leonora at Covent Garden and Aida, Amelia, Elvira, and the title role of Carlisle Floyds Susannah in Chicago. She is a graduate of the Mets Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

James Levinemusic director and conductor (cincinnati, ohio)

Sondra Radvanovskysoprano (berwyn, illinois)

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The Cast CONTINUED

this season Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, and a Celestial Voice in Don Carlo at the Met, Oscar with the San Francisco Opera, Sandrina in La Finta Giardiniera with the Santa Fe Opera, Ada in Theodore Morrisons Oscar for her debut with Opera Philadelphia, and Adina in LElisir dAmore, Ninette in Prokofievs LAmour des Trois Oranges, Pamina, and Gretel with Deutsche Oper Berlin. met appearances Pamina in The Magic Flute and Gretel (debut, 2011).career highlights She has been a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin since 2008 where she has sung a number of roles including Micala in Carmen, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Nannetta in Falstaff. Recent performances include Magnolia in Jerome Kerns Show Boat and Nannetta with San Francisco Opera, Ada in the world premiere of Oscar with the Santa Fe Opera, and Musetta in La Bohme with the Houston Grand Opera. Additional performances include Atalanta in Handels Serse and Sophie in Werther with San Francisco Opera, and Blondchen in Die Entfhrung aus dem Serail, Drusilla in LIncoronazione di Poppea, and Norina in Don Pasquale with Houston Grand Opera.

this season Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera at the Met and San Francisco Opera and her first performances as Madame de Croissy in Dialogues des Carmlites with Washington National Opera.met appearances Over 200 performances including Jeibaba in Rusalka, Eboli in Don Carlo, Azucena in Il Trovatore (debut, 1988), Amneris in Aida, the Countess in The Queen of Spades, Adalgisa in Norma, Marfa in Khovanshchina, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, and Elvira Griffiths in the world premiere of Pickers An American Tragedy.career highlights Recent engagements include Ortrud in Lohengrin in Madrid, the Princess in Suor Angelica in Barcelona, Santuzza in Seville, Adalgisa in Washington, and Azucena with Houston Grand Opera. She has also sung Santuzza at the Vienna State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Houston Grand Opera, the Princess in Adriana Lecouvreur in Barcelona, Amneris at the Arena di Verona, Eboli with the Vienna State Opera and Los Angeles Opera, Eboli and Jocasta in Oedipus Rex at La Scala, and the title roles of Massenets Hrodiade and Tchaikovskys The Maid of Orleans in San Francisco.

Heidi Stobersoprano (waukesha, wisconsin)

Dolora Zajickmezzo-soprano (salem, oregon)

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this season Vaudmont in Iolanta and Gustavo in Un Ballo in Maschera at the Met, the Prince in Rusalka and the Duke in Rigoletto at the Vienna State Opera, the title role of Faust at the Paris Opera, and Rodolfo in La Bohme at Covent Garden.met appearances Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Lenski in Eugene Onegin, des Grieux in Manon, Romo in Romo et Juliette, the Prince, Faust, Rodolfo, and the Duke (debut, 2006).career highlights Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, the Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier, Vaudmont, and the Prince at the Salzburg Festival, the Duke at Covent Garden and La Scala, the title role of Werther in Frankfurt and Munich, Faust and the title role of Les Contes dHoffmann at the Vienna State Opera, and Alfredo in La Traviata in Milan, Munich, and Berlin. He has also sung Tamino in Die Zauberflte and Romo in Vienna, Berlin, and Paris, Jenk in The Bartered Bride with the Paris Opera, Vaudmont in Vienna and Moscow, and Lenski at Pariss Bastille Opera and for his 2004 U.S. debut with the San Francisco Opera.

Piotr Beczalatenor (czechowice-dziedzice, poland)

this season Anckarstrm in Un Ballo in Maschera and Rodrigo in Don Carlo at the Met, Rodrigo with the Vienna State Opera, Anckarstrm at Covent Garden, Germont in La Traviata at the Paris Opera, and the title role of Rubinsteins The Demon in concert in Moscowmet appearances The title roles Rigoletto, Don Giovanni, Eugene Onegin, and Simon Boccanegra, Don Carlo in Ernani, Germont, Count di Luna in Il Trovatore, Yeletsky in The Queen of Spades (debut, 1995), Valentin in Faust, Belcore in LElisir dAmore, and Prince Andrei in War and Peace.career highlights He appears regularly at major opera houses throughout the world, including Covent Garden, Munichs Bavarian State Opera, La Scala, Vienna State Opera, Buenos Airess Teatro Coln, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Mariinsky Theatre. Among his most notable roles are Eugene Onegin, Don Giovanni, Rodrigo, Germont, Rigoletto, Anckarstrm, and Francesco in I Masnadieri. He has also been heard in concert with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and Rotterdam Philharmonic, among others.

Dmitri Hvorostovskybaritone (krasnoyarsk, russia)

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CHECK ROOM On Concourse level (Founders Hall).

FIRST AID Doctor in attendance during performances; contact an usher for assistance.

LECTURE SERIES Opera-related courses, pre-performance lectures, master classes, and more are held throughout the Met performance season at the Opera Learning Center. For tickets and information, call 212-769-7028.

LOST AND FOUND Security office at Stage Door. MondayFriday, 2pm4pm; 212-799-3100, ext. 2499.

MET OPERA SHOP The Met Opera Shop is adjacent to the North Box Office, 212-580-4090. Open MondaySaturday, 10amfinal intermission; Sunday, noon6pm.

PUBLIC TELEPHONES Telephones with volume controls and TTY Public Telephone located in Founders Hall on the Concourse level.

RESTAURANT AND REFRESHMENT FACILITIES The Grand Tier Restaurant at the Metropolitan Opera features creative contemporary American cuisine, and the Revlon Bar offers panini, crostini, and a full service bar. Both are now open two hours prior to the Metropolitan Opera curtain time to any Lincoln Center ticket holder for pre-curtain dining. Pre-ordered intermission dining is also available for Metropolitan Opera ticket holders. For reservations please call 212-799-3400.

RESTROOMS Wheelchair-accessible restrooms are located on the Dress Circle, Grand Tier, Parterre, and Founders Hall levels.

SEAT CUSHIONS Available in the South Check Room. Major credit card or drivers license required for deposit.

SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS For information contact the Metropolitan Opera Guild Education Department, 212-769-7022.

SCORE-DESK TICKET PROGRAM Tickets for score desk seats in the Family Circle boxes may be purchased by calling the Metropolitan Opera Guild at 212-769-7028. These no-view seats provide an affordable way for music students to study an operas score during a live performance.

TOUR GUIDE SERVICE Backstage tours of the Opera House are held during the Met performance season on most weekdays at 3:15pm, and on select Sundays at 10:30am and/or 1:30pm. For tickets and information, call 212-769-7028. Tours of Lincoln Center daily; call 212-875-5351 for availability.

WEBSITE www.metopera.org

WHEELCHAIR ACCOMMODATIONS Telephone 212-799-3100, ext. 2204. Wheelchair entrance at Concourse level.

The exits indicated by a red light and the sign nearest the seat you occupy are the shortest routes to the street. In the event of fire or other emergency, please do not runwalk to that exit.

In compliance with New York City Department of Health regulations, smoking is prohibited in all areas of this theater.

Patrons are reminded that in deference to the performing artists and the seated audience, those who leave the auditorium during the performance will not be readmitted while the performance is in progress.

The photographing or sound recording of any performance, or the possession of any device for such photographing or sound recording inside this theater, without the written permission of the management, is prohibited by law. Offenders may be ejected and liable for damages and other lawful remedies.

Use of cellular telephones and electronic devices for any purpose, including email and texting, is prohibited in the auditorium at all times. Please be sure to turn off all devices before entering the auditorium.

Facilities and Services