What is on the stage at an opera is supposed to be grand. Save the personal chat for the Intermission.
But the Met Simulcast production of Il Trovatore blurred that boundary when Dmitri Hvorostovsky came on stage at the Met this past October.
The audience clapped and cheered until Dmitri finally broke from his villainous baritone role of Count di Luna, and let his sexy grin slip through. The celebration was over his presence on stage while undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. The curtain call on the production was also fabulous with flowers pelting the stage for Dmitri.
The intermissions brought added touches of the personal when Anna Nebrebko introduced her adorable son (who was asking his mom when were they going home.)
Dolora Zajick, whose her first appearance as Azucena was 25 years, with Pavarotti as Manrico, was asked what was that like? She answered, “I lived.”
So it continues— these spots in a Met Simulcast, that go behind the scenes during intermission, opera notes enhancing for newbies and enchanting the diehard fans.
I know a review of an opera should be about the performance itself. How did it measure up as a work of art and its production execution? While details of the set and stage are certainly worth noting, what Met Simulcast does is take you behind the scenes during the intermission and show you what is involved, sometimes with the director or costume
designer or set crew being interviewed.
It is one thing to read a review that it is all pretty impressive. But if you believe that writers should “show not tell’ — It is possible for you to see for yourself during these Intermission highlights.
So that said, what do you talk about in intermission?
WANT TO KNOW MORE -DATES FOR 2016:
Bizet Les Pêcheurs de Perles (January 16)
Puccini Turandot (January 30)
Puccini Manon Lescaut (March 5)
Puccini Madama Butterfly (April 2)
Donizetti Roberto Devereux (April 16)
Strauss Elektra (April 30)
All live events take place on Saturdays. Starting times vary with each performance but are usually between noon and 12;55. In addition to the live events, “Encore” (rerun) broadcasts maybe be added at later dates.
Tickets available online via FathomEvents.com or at the participating theater box office,