Metropolitan Opera Preview: The Enchanted Island

It's time to go back to the Island as the Met revives its baroque pastiche.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Underwater love: Danielle de Niese (in drysuit) and Plácido Domingo (with trident)
in a scene from Act I of The Enchanted Island.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera.

(Editor's note: As this is the Met's revival of a pastiche, this preview is largely built from the January 5 Superconductor review of The Enchanted Island "Down With the Ship (Slight Return.)" You've got to have your fun when you can get it. )

"Pastiche, the art of pasting together songs by different composers to make a new, playable work of art, has a long history, from the Shakesperean masques of Henry Purcell to Baz Luhrmann's film Moulin Rouge!. By combining Shakespeare's The Tempest with characters from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Mr. Sams and Mr. Gelb (working with baroque conductor William Christie) created a sampler platter of the genre.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: The Tempest

(Reposted from the 2012-13 Metropolitan Opera Preview.)
The Met goes back to the...um..."ensorcelled atoll."
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Simon Keenlyside is Prospero, out for revenge--starting with his tattooist.
Promotional image for The Tempest. Photo by Anne Deniau © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Met unveils its first ever production of Thomas Ádes' Shakespearean opera, with the composer himself conducting. Simon Keenlyside sings the key role of Prospero, with talented young singers (Isabel Leonard, Iestyn Davies, Audrey Elizabeth Luna) filling out the cast.

The Tempest marks the return of Robert Lepage to the Met. The French-Canadian director may still be smarting over the critical backlash received by his staging of Wagner's Ring. According to the Met website, this staging "recreates the interior of 18th-century La Scala, including the hidden workings underneath the stage, where Prospero, the banished Duke of Milan, practices his otherworldly arts."

This is the second new opera at the Met this year to be based on William Shakespeare's final play. The Tempest (with a libretto by Meredith Oakes) is a far more serious take on the story of Prospero, the sorcerer who creates a brave new world on a mysterious, enchanted island. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

The Tempest will have its New York premiere on Oct. 23.

And now...Pigoletto!

Five minutes of Verdi, for my friend's birthday.

A young hopeful sings her first Aida at the Muppet Theater.
Image © 1980 Jim Henson Productions/CBS.

For your musical edification (and for the entertainment of a dear friend who is having her birthday today) we are proud to present The Muppetropolitan Opera's production of Pigoletto, a pastiche of Verdi, Wagner, and Bizet that's even more fun than The Enchanted Island.

Pigoletto stars Beverly Sills as Violetta. Her grace and good humor do credit to those of us who aspire to a higher art than spoon hanging.

Enjoy.

Footage from The Muppet Show: "Beverly Sills." © 1980 Jim Henson Productions/CBS.