Oregon Coast today., October 25, 2019, Page 15, Image 15

coast culture
The rainy season has Met its match
Newport forecast calls for arias with occasional baritone as The Met: Live in HD returns
T
he classic midnight blue tuxedo
was born of a thoroughly modern
problem. In the 1920s, men began
to complain that newfangled electric lights
were making their previously pristine black
suits appear grey or green. The solution —
midnight blue, which appeared blacker than
black under the brightest of lights, sparing
the blushes of the Gatsby crowd.
But those tuxes will shine in their true
blue glory this Saturday, Oct. 26, when The
Met: Live in HD season gets underway at
the Newport Performing Arts Center, with
all the screenings starting at 10 am — when
any self-respecting flapper should still be
sleeping off the night before.
The 2019-20 season launches with
“Manon,” Massenet’s tale of passion, excess
and their consequences, starring rising
soprano Lisette Oropesa in the effervescent
title role. Maurizio Benini conducts
Laurent Pelly’s enchanting production, with
tenor Michael Fabiano as Manon’s ardent
admirer, the Chevalier des Grieux.
Screened live in HD from the
Metropolitan Opera in New York City, the
opera is hosted locally by Dorothy Black
Crow. The screening will start at 10 am and
run for four hours and five minutes, with
two intermissions. Opera box lunches will
be available for $10 apiece, containing a
choice of salad or sandwich and a dessert.
The 2019-20 season features 10
transmissions, including five new
productions: the Met premiere of Philip
Glass’s groundbreaking 20th-Century
opera “Akhnaten,” starring Anthony Roth
Costanzo as the title pharaoh on November
23; Peter Mattei in the title role of Berg’s
“Wozzeck” in a new staging by acclaimed
visual artist and stage director William
Kentridge on January 11; a new production
of the Gershwins’ classic American opera
“Porgy and Bess,” starring Eric Owens
and Angel Blue, on February 1; a new take
on Wagner’s “Der Fliegende Holländer”
starring Sir Bryn Terfel on March 14; and
the Met premiere of Handel’s “Agrippina”
starring Joyce DiDonato in a contemporary
PAOLA KUDACKI/METROPOLITAN OPERA
Eric Owens and Angel Blue star in a new
production of the Gershwins’ classic American
opera “Porgy and Bess” • Saturday, Feb. 1
KAREN ALMOND/METROPOLITAN OPERA
Lisette Oropesa takes the title role in “Manon” • Saturday, Oct. 26
staging by Sir David McVicar on April 18.
On November 9, audiences can see the
return of Anthony Minghella’s inspired
vision of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,”
with Paulo Szot as Sharpless; followed on
December 7 by the chance to see Puccini’s
“Turandot,” starring Christine Goerke in
the title role.
Anna Netrebko will thrill audiences in
the title role of Puccini’s “Tosca” on April
11; followed on May 16 by Diana Damrau
and Jamie Barton as the dueling queens
of “Maria Stuarda,” the second opera of
Donizetti’s Tudor trilogy.
All screenings in this new season start
16 • oregoncoastTODAY.com • facebook.com/oregoncoasttoday • October 25, 2019
at 10 am at the Newport Performing Arts
Center, 777 W Olive Street.
Season tickets, $195 for adults or $165
for seniors, are available by calling 541-
265-2787. Single general-admission tickets,
$21.50 for adults, $18.50 for seniors and
$10.50 for students, are available online or
at the box office.
The season is presented by the Oregon
Coast Council for the Arts with the support
of the City of Newport and the Jeannette
B. Hofer Fund at the Oregon Community
Foundation, season benefactors Anonymous
and Bill and JoAnn Barton, local hosts and
OCCA members.
MARTY SOHL/METROPOLITAN OPERA
Christine Goerke plays the title role of the icy
princess “Turandot” • Saturday, Dec. 7