The Met celebrates the centennial of Puccini’s Il Trittico with performances beginning November 23

The Met celebrates the centennial of Puccini’s

Il Trittico with performances beginning November 23

• Puccini’s triple bill received its world premiere at the Met on December 14, 1918

• Plácido Domingo celebrates the 50th anniversary of his Met debut by singing the role of Gianni Schicchi for the first time at the Met

New York, NY (November 8, 2018)—The Metropolitan Opera marks the 100th anniversary of the world premiere of Puccini’s Il Trittico, which took place at the Met’s original opera house in 1918, with performances November 23 to December 15, 2018.  The three one-act operas of Il Trittico include the verismo-inspired Il Tabarro, featuring Amber Wagner as Giorgetta, Marcelo Álvarez as Luigi, George Gagnidze as Michele, MaryAnn McCormick as Frugola, and Maurizio Muraro as Talpa. Suor Angelica, a tale of religious redemption, features Kristine Opolais in the title role, Stephanie Blythe as La Principessa, and Maureen McKay as Suor Genovieffa. The comic Gianni Schicchi stars Plácido Domingo in a performance marking his 50th anniversary season at the Met; he makes his Met role debut in the title role. The opera also stars Kristina Mkhitaryan as Lauretta in her Met debut, Stephanie Blythe as Zita, Atalla Ayan as Rinuccio, and Maurizio Muraro as Simone. Bertrand de Billy conducts Jack O’Brien’s massive production.

For the performance on December 12, Tatiana Melnychenko is Giorgetta, Lucio Gallo is Michele, and Elena Stikhina is Suor Angelica in her Met debut.

Il Trittico Radio and Online Broadcasts

The November 23 and December 8 performances of Il Trittico will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 75. The December 8 performance of Il Trittico will be broadcast over the Toll Brothers–Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network, and the November 23 performance will also be streamed live on the Met’s web site, metopera.org.

Il Trittico Artist Biographies

American soprano Amber Wagner adds a new role to her Met repertory as Giorgetta. She first came to prominence as a winner of the Met’s National Council Auditions in 2007, a process that was detailed in the award-winning documentary film The Audition.She made her company debut in 2011 as Anna in Verdi’s Nabucco,followed by Amelia in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera and Senta in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer.Her upcoming performances include the title role of Puccini’s Turandot at Opera Australia and Sieglinde in Wagner’s Die Walküre at Oper Frankfurt.

Argentine tenor Marcelo Álvarez makes his role debut as Luigi. He has sung in 141 Met performances in 16 roles, most recently last season as Calàf in Puccini’s Turandot. Other roles with the company include his role debut as des Grieux in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut,the lead tenor roles in the double bill of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, the title role in Giordano’s Andrea Chénier, and Radamès in Verdi’s Aida. Following Il Trittico,he will sing Don José in Bizet’s Carmen at Hamburg State Opera, des Grieux in Manon Lescaut at La Scala, and Turiddu in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana at Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy.

Georgian baritone George Gagnidze makes his role debut as Michele. He made his Met debut in the title role of Verdi’s Rigoletto in 2009, a role he will reprise later this season with the company. His other Met performances have included Amonasro in Verdi’s Aida, Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca, the title role in Verdi’s Macbeth, Shaklovity in Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina, and Tonio in Pagliacci. Later this season, he will sing Iago in Verdi’s Otello at Paris Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin.

American mezzo-soprano MaryAnn McCormick makes her Met role debut as Frugola. Since making her Met debut in 1991 in the company premiere of John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, she has sung in more than 100 performances at the Met, including Giovanna in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Marcellina in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and Giovanna in Verdi’s Ernani. This season, she will sing the Second Lady in performances of Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the Met, and earlier this season she was Wowkle in Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West, which seen around the world as a part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Italian bass Maurizio Muraro makes his Met role debut as Talpa and Simone. He made his Met debut in 2005 as Dr. Bartolo in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. He has sung more than 100 performances with the company in roles including Dr. Bartolo in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Bailiff in Massenet’s Werther, and Sulpice in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment. Other performances this season at the Met include the Prince of Bouillon in the new production of Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur and Sulpice, both of which will be seen as a part of The Met: Live in HD series.

 Kristine Opolais makes her role debut in the title role of Suor Angelica. She made her Met debut in 2013 as Magda in Puccini’s La Rondine.She has recently sung the title role in the Met’s new production of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut,the title role in Dvořák’s Rusalka,Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, and in the Met’s 50 Years at Lincoln Center gala.In 2014, she filled in as Mimì for a sick colleague as a last-minute replacement for the HD performance and live radio broadcast of Puccini’s La Bohème.Performances this season include the title role in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and Hamburg State Opera, as well as the title role in Puccini’s Tosca at Vienna State Opera and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

American mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe reprises her much-admired portrayals La Principessa in Suor Angelica and Zita in Gianni Schicchi, which she also performed in the production’s premiere in 2007 and its first revival in 2009. She has given more than 225 Met performances in a varied repertory that includes 27 different roles, which in recent seasons have included Mistress Quickly in Verdi’s Falstaff, Fricka in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, Ulrica in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, Amneris in Verdi’s Aida,and Eduige in Handel’s Rodelinda. She is a graduate of the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Later this season, she will be seen as the Marquise of Berkenfield in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment, which will be seen as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

American soprano Maureen McKay makes her role debut as Suor Genovieffa. She made her Met debut last season as Gretel in the Met’s holiday production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Recent performances include Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff at San Diego Opera, and Leïla in Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles at Seattle Opera. This season, she will be seen as Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte at Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at Opera Colorado.

Russian soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan makes her Met debut as Lauretta. She is currently a studio artist at the Bolshoi Theatre, which she joined after singing at the Galina Vishnevskaya Theatre Studio, also in Moscow. She made her debut last season at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen. This season, she makes her company debut at Bavarian State Opera as Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata, a role which she will reprise at Palm Beach Opera and Teatro Massimo in Palermo, followed by Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto at Hamburg State Opera and a return to Covent Garden to reprise Micaëla.

Brazilian tenor Atalla Ayan makes his company role debut as Rinuccio. In 2011 he debuted for the Met as part of the Summer Recitals series at Central Park SummerStage, followed by performances in 2017 as Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata and Christian in Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac. Other recent credits include Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème at Paris Opera, Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata at San Francisco Opera, and des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon at Cologne Opera. Later this season, he will sing Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème at Canadian Opera Company and Bavarian State Opera.

Plácido Domingo makes his Met role debut in the title role of Gianni Schicchi. After singing this role at LA Opera in 2015, he celebrated the incredible feat of having sung the principal male role in every Puccini opera. After making his company debut in 1966 as Maurizio in Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur,he has sung 694 performances with the company to date, in addition to conducting more than 166 performances. In recent seasons, he has moved into the baritone repertory, performing roles such as Miller in Verdi’s Luisa Miller, Don Carlo in Verdi’s Ernani,Neptune in the baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island,and the title role in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra. Later this season, he conducts Verdi’s Aida at the Met and also sings Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata.

French conductor Bertrand de Billy made his Met debut in 1998 leading Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. His other Met performances include Puccini’s Tosca, Verdi’s Luisa Miller, Massenet’s Cendrillon, Bizet’s Carmen, Verdi’s La Traviata, and Puccini’s Turandot. Other recent credits include leading Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera at Paris Opera, Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at the Bavarian State Opera, and Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and Verdi’s Don Carlo at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He is currently the principal guest conductor at the Dresden Philharmonic.

For More Information

For further details on Il Trittico, including casting by date, please click here.

Il Trittico

Music by Giacomo Puccini

Librettoby Giuseppe Adami and Giovacchino Forzano

Friday, November 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Monday, November 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, November 30 at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, December 8 at 12:30 p.m.

Wednesday, December 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, December 15 at 8:30 p.m.

*Met debut

Production a gift of Karen and Kevin Kennedy

Additional funding from the Gramma Fisher Foundation, Marshalltown, Iowa,

The Annenberg Foundation, Hermione Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. William R. Miller,

and M. Beverly and Robert G. Bartner

For prices and ticket information, please call (212) 362-6000 or visit metopera.org.

Special rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling (212) 341-5410 or visiting metopera.org/groups.