Luisi leads Voigt and Graham in Met’s “Troyens” (Dec 13–Jan 5)

Francesca Zambello’s new staging of Les Troyens was given its premiere to rave reviews at the Metropolitan Opera in 2003, when the New York Times called it “a visually stunning, seamlessly flowing, and emotionally involving realization of Berlioz’s inspired…retelling of Virgil’s Aeneid.” Now, almost a decade later, the French composer’s monumental Trojan War epic returns to the Met for its first revival, opening on December 13 for seven performances. Led by Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi, the revival boasts grand-scale musical forces and a stellar cast headed by soprano Deborah Voigt, reprising her star turn as Trojan prophetess Cassandra, the role in which she triumphed in the production’s opening run; mezzo Susan Graham singing her first Met performances as Berlioz’s Dido, doomed queen of Carthage; and tenor Marcello Giordani making his house role debut as her lover, Aeneas of Troy. The December 23 and 26 performances will be streamed live on the Met’s website, www.metopera.org, and January 5, the closing night, will be transmitted live to movie theaters in the Met’s Live in HD series, now seen in almost 2,000 cinemas in 64 countries around the world.
 
Berlioz himself considered Les Troyens (“The Trojans,” 1858) “a great work, greater and nobler than anything done hitherto,” but almost a full century would pass before the opera was staged in its entirety. As one of his biographers reports, it was all too often dismissed as “a great sprawling white elephant,…beautiful in patches but…quite unstageable…because of its length.” The triumph of Zambello’s production was in helping to put this negative assessment to rest. Praising “its lush melodies, nervous rhythms, and heroic marches” the Associated Press judged Les Troyens “an enthralling,…amazing work.” In the New York Times, Anthony Tommasini confessed: “All the contrary strands of Berlioz’s work come together miraculously in this music. … In this production and this performance, it seemed an inexorable work of genius.”
 
Despite the excellence of the original Met/Zambello cast, Deborah Voigt’s performance as the cursed visionary Cassandra was repeatedly singled out for praise. “Voigt used her dramatic soprano with great artistry, unleashing fearsome torrents of sound in her hysterical outbursts, yet reining in her voice during her few tender moments,” observed the Associated Press. The Baltimore Sun added: “Voigt’s gleaming soprano made Cassandra sympathetic and arresting,” while the New York Times concluded: “Ms. Voigt brought her customary blend of burnished power and pliant lyricism to her work. And Zambello has emboldened her to give a physically rigorous and emotionally unfettered performance.”
 
Grammy Award-winner Susan Graham has been described as “unbeatable in French repertoire” (Time Out New York), and according to the Associated Press, she “has the ideal voice for Berlioz.” Like Voigt, the mezzo is no stranger to the role she will inhabit in the Met’s revival, having already been celebrated for her portrayal of Berlioz’s Dido at the Paris Châtelet, where it was recorded live. Gramophone named the resulting release its “DVD of the Month,” in large part because of the mezzo’s own performance, which the magazine found “moving and intense, … strongly acted, and magnificently sung.” Gramophone also had this to say about her performance as Dido:
 
“Susan Graham…needs no caveats: a radiant Dido, queenly yet youthful, lyrical and lighter-toned than Janet Baker but in her final despair no less tragically moving – and there’s no higher praise.”
 
Opera News agreed:
 
“Part II belonged to Graham’s Didon (Dido). … No one was prepared for the power she brought to the final act, when she seemed to find new reserves of tone and dramatic commitment, stretching the long lines of ‘Adieu, fière cité’ to overwhelming effect.”
 
Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi is only the fourth conductor in the company’s history to tackle the five-act tragedy, following in the footsteps of Rafael Kubelik, John Nelson, and Met Music Director James Levine, and the upcoming revival marks his house conducting debut. In his tenure with the company, Luisi has however already made his mark in French opera, having recently led the Met’s new Laurent Pelly production of Massenet’s Manon with superstar soprano Anna Netrebko. After the gala opening, the New York Times reported: “Mr. Luisi conducts a stylish, crisp performance of the score, allowing singers ample time to linger over arias, yet keeping things lithe and moving,” while the Wall Street Journal concluded: “It worked…especially with conductor Fabio Luisi giving the score a fleet, frothy energy.” As the New York Times observes, “Mr. Luisi’s work again showed why the Met had chosen wisely.” The Met’s recent new “Ring” cycle, featuring both Luisi on the podium and Voigt as Brünnhilde, was released by Deutsche Grammophon on Blu-ray DVD earlier this season and has just received a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Opera Recording.
 
As in the original Zambello production, the Met’s upcoming revival features the late Maria Bjornson’s set design, and costumes by Anita Yavich. A full cast list follows, and additional information may be found at the Met’s web site: www.metoperafamily.org/opera/troyens-berlioz-tickets.
 
 
The Metropolitan Opera presents
Les Troyens by Berlioz
Dec 13, 17, 21, 26, & 29; Jan 1 & 5m (“Live in HD”)
 
Conductor: Fabio Luisi
Cassandra: Deborah Voigt
Dido: Susan Graham
Anna: Karen Cargill
Aeneas: Marcello Giordani
Iopas: Eric Cutler
Chorèbe: Dwayne Croft
Narbal: Kwangchul Youn
 
 
More information about Deborah Voigt is available at:
deborahvoigt.com
facebook.com/DeborahVoigt
twitter.com/debvoigt
 
More information about Susan Graham is available at:
susangraham.com
facebook.com/MezzoGraham
twitter.com/mezzograham
 
More information about Fabio Luisi is available at:
fabioluisi.net
facebook.com/FabioLuisiConductor
      twitter.com/FabLuisi