New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Wagner's masterpiece Lohengrin, in a new production by internationally renowned director François Girard, transmits live to cinemas nationwide for the first time on Saturday, March 18, at 12PM ET as part of The Met: Live in HD series.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Metropolitan Opera's
Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer
Music Director, leads the critically acclaimed cast, with tenor Piotr Beczała - praised for his "shining musical performance" (The New York Times) and "natural warmth" (Financial Times) - singing the title role of the swan knight. The cast also includes much-praised soprano
Tamara Wilson as the virtuous duchess Elsa and soprano Christine Goerke as the cunning sorceress Ortrud. Distinguished bass-baritone Evgeny Nikitin is Ortrud's power-hungry husband, Telramund, and celebrated bass Günther Groissböck is King Heinrich.
Girard, creating his third Wagner production at the Met following his revelatory Parsifal, collaborates with award-winning multidisciplinary artist and designer Tim Yip—who won an Oscar for art direction on the 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and is also known for his work on the 2004 Athens Olympics closing ceremony—to create sets and costumes that convey the opera's otherworldly dimension.
Gary Halvorson directs the Live in HD presentation. Baritone
Christopher Maltman serves as the host, sharing exclusive behind-the-scenes access during intermissions.
Fathom Events will also present encores of Lohengrin on Wednesday, March 22, at 1:00PM and 6:30PM, local time. Tickets for Lohengrin are on sale through the Fathom Events website and participating theater box offices. For a complete list of theater locations, visit fathomevents.com (participating theaters are subject to change). Visit your local theater website for the most up-to-date information related to their health-and safety measures.
PRESS QUOTES:
"TREMENDOUS … [FIVE STARS]
… Full of THRILLING MOMENTS … OUTSTANDING singing and indelible images … Tenor Piotr Beczała was Lohengrin … His voice has a natural warmth … and plenty of projection and stamina …
Soprano Tamara Wilson captured Elsa's naive sincerity … Christine Goerke is perhaps the great contemporary Wagnerian soprano, and she was EXCITING TO HEAR THROUGHOUT … Oscar-winner Tim Yip's set designs are STUNNING." - Financial Times
NYT Critic's Pick
"Beczała sings with uncanny serenity and command in the title role … A SHINING MUSICAL PERFORMANCE … Superb singers … BECZAŁA PERFORMS WITH TOTAL SECURITY AND ELEGANCE … The Met's chorus, in one of the most difficult works in its repertory, was both stentorian and evocative … Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts this grand score with a sure sense for the elasticity of pace that makes Wagner's scenes breathe." - The New York Times
"Beczała's delivery was DRAMATIC, ELOQUENT and, most of all, humane … Wilson's ample soprano alternated effectively between innocent spaciness, steely resolve, and moments of radiance … The biggest, plushest voice onstage belonged to Goerke, who turned Ortrud's poisonous manipulations into the opera's main event …POWERFUL TURNS." - The Wall Street Journal
THE STARS OF LOHENGRIN:
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Montreal, Canada
Tamara Wilson, Elsa; Chicago, Illinois
Christine Goerke, Ortrud; Medford, New York
Piotr Beczała, Lohengrin; Czechowice-Dziedzice, Poland
Evgeny Nikitin, Telramund; Murmansk, Russia
Brian Mulligan, Herald; Endicott, New York
Günther Groissböck, King Heinrich; Waidhofen, Austria
