Opera Review: Do Not Resuscitate

The Merry Widow kicks it at the Met.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Susan Graham is game in Act II of The Merry Widow at the Met.
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2017 The Metropolitan Opera.

When the Peter Gelb era at the Metropolitan Opera is examined in posterity, the recent renaissance of operetta on the stage of that institution may rank among the general manager's more questionable endeavors. This season, the company is reviving its 2014 staging of Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow in its awkward English translation by house scribe Jeremy Sams. The saving grace of this revival is that it is a vehicle for Susan Graham, in her only role at the Met this season.

Opera Review: Uncorked

A substitute soprano shines in L'Elisir d'Amore.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

A new vintage: Andriana Chuchman as Adina in L'Elisir d'Amore.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2014 The Metropolitan Opera.

The big story in the Metropolitan Opera's current revival of L'Elisir d'Amore is the absence of Anna Netrebko from the first two performances. With the Russian diva out with the flu, it fell to soprano Andriana Chuchman to step up and make an early Met debut. On Monday night, in the second of her two scheduled substitutions, Ms. Chuchman proved herself to be one of the memorable new talents taking the stage this season--and a testament to the Met's ability to have quality backups in place in case a singer becomes unavailable.

Bottle Fatigue

Anna Netrebko to miss first two performances of L'Elisir d'Amore.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Pass the hat: Anna Netrebko is ill. Andriana Chuchman will make an early Met debut as Adina in L'Elisir d'Amore.
Photo by Chia Messina for Opus 3 Artists. Photo alteration by the author.

L'Elisir d'Amore will return tonight at the Metropolitan Opera, but without Anna Netrebko. In a late-breaking story, the Russian soprano has bowed out of the first two performances of the Donizetti opera, citing illness. Tonight marks the first performance of the bel canto comedy this season.