by Paul Pelkonen
Kathleen Kim in the Met's 2009 Les contes d'Hoffmann.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2009 The Metropolitan Opera.
Here's a list of what's offered. All titles link to full reviews on Superconductor.
June 20th: Le Comte Ory
"Mr. Flórez, now decked out in a nun's habit and wimple, sang a glorious duet with Ms. Damrau, letting their remarkable voices fly free. "
June 27th: Don Giovanni
"The servant is as lecherous as his master, played with a curiously moral core that is straight out of Beaumarchais. Mr. Pisaroni brought a raw vitality to the proceedings, and has the makings of a great Don himself. "
July 11th: Les contes d'Hoffmann
"Spalanzani's toyshop (birthplace of the doll Olympia) is now a production-line facility for anonymous men to buy their own personal female playthings, a kind of cybernetic prostitution that recalls the film Blade Runner."
July 18th: Lucia di Lammermoor
"This final act is a wild ride under an enormous cold moon, a trip through the psychological fun house that compares with a good production of Wozzeck in its relentless exploration of human madness. "
http://super-conductor.blogspot.com/2007/10/opera-review-lucia-at-met-blood.html
July 25th: Der Rosenkavalier
" In the opening scene, the erotic connection that exists between Octavian and the Marschallin is readily apparent. (In fact, I felt more like a voyeur than an opera-goer!)"