Led by Met Music Director Yannick
Nézet-Séguin, the majority Latinx cast stars soprano Ailyn
Pérez as Florencia Grimaldi,
alongside soprano Gabriella Reyes,
mezzo-soprano Nancy Fabiola Herrera,
tenor Mario Chang, baritones
Mattia Olivieri and Michael Chioldi, and bass-baritone
Greer Grimsley
The historic Live in HD transmission to
be hosted by critically acclaimed Mexican tenor and theater
director Rolando Villazón
DENVER, Dec. 5, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- The Metropolitan Opera's 2023–24 Live in
HD season continues with the live transmission of Daniel
Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas, the first
Spanish-language opera to be performed at the Met in nearly a
century, on Saturday, December 9, at
12:55PM ET. This is also the first
opera by a Mexican composer to be presented by the company. With a
majority Latinx cast led by celebrated Mexican-American
soprano Ailyn Pérez, the premiere of
Florencia marks an unprecedented Latin American
cultural and artistic moment for the Met.
Fathom Events will also present two encores of
Daniel Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas on
Wednesday, December 13, at
1:00PM and 6:30PM local time.
Tickets for Florencia en el Amazonas
are on sale through the Fathom Events website and
participating theater box offices. For a complete list of theater
locations, visit FathomEvents.com (participating theaters
are subject to change).
Inspired by the magical realism of novelist Gabriel García
Márquez, with a libretto by Mexican writer Marcela
Fuentes-Berain, Catán's 1996 opera follows Florencia Grimaldi, a South American opera diva
who returns to her homeland to perform at the legendary opera house
of Manaus and to search for her lost lover, who has vanished into
the jungle. Led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Met's Jeanette
Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, the cast stars Pérez in the title
role and features a distinguished ensemble of singers portraying
the diva's fellow travelers on the riverboat to Manaus—soprano
Gabriella Reyes as the
journalist Rosalba, bass-baritone Greer
Grimsley as the ship's captain, baritone
Mattia Olivieri as his
enigmatic first mate, tenor Mario
Chang as the captain's nephew Arcadio, and
mezzo-soprano Nancy Fabiola
Herrera and baritone Michael Chioldi as the feuding couple
Paula and Alvaro.
The new production by award-winning
director Mary Zimmerman
brings the mysterious and magical realm of the Amazon to the Met
stage. The creative team includes Havana-born, Buenos Aires–raised set designer
Riccardo Hernández in his Met debut, with costume designer
Ana Kuzmanić, lighting designer T.J. Gerckens,
projection designer S. Katy
Tucker, and choreographer Alex Sanchez.+
Gary Halvorson will direct the Live in
HD presentation for cinemas, with critically acclaimed
Mexican tenor, theater director, and artistic director Rolando
Villazón serving as host. He will provide exclusive
behind-the-scenes access and conduct interviews with the cast and
creative team during intermission.
The Stars of Florencia en el
Amazonas
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor;
Montreal, Canada
Ailyn Pérez, Florencia
Grimaldi; Chicago,
Illinois
Gabriella Reyes, Rosalba;
Meriden, Connecticut
Nancy Fabiola Herrera, Paula;
Canary Islands, Spain
Mario Chang, Arcadio;
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Mattia Olivieri, Riolobo;
Sassuolo, Italy
Michael Chioldi, Alvaro;
Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Greer Grimsley, Captain;
New Orleans, Louisiana
Press Quotes
"Worth a century's wait … Vivid romanticism … Lyrical,
colorful, with great vitality … An excellent Ailyn Pérez …
her sound lustrous, full and elegant … The orchestra sounds
fantastic … An involving production with lots of pleasures.
It flows like a river and adds to the sense of renewal through
contemporary works at the Met this fall. ★ ★ ★ ★"
—Financial Times
"Magic made real … Visually stunning and emotionally
affecting … A perfect choice to bring Spanish-language opera into
the mainstream … A riotous rainbow of color … Jaw-dropping
costumes … a feast for the eyes." —Observer
"Played with smooth polish at the Met under Yannick
Nézet-Séguin … Pérez is, appropriately, the uncontested
star: wistful, tender and sincere … A tribute to opera."
—The New York Times
"The Met's fine orchestra vibrates with intensity,
and Pérez has no trouble in the role of a famous soprano whose
singing just might turn back time." —New York Magazine
"A fine showcase for Pérez … Her ecstatic vocal
expression was flawless … Lush orchestration, ear-pleasing
vocal lines, a romantic story … All-out romantic exuberance"
—The Wall Street Journal
"An audience favorite. High time the Metropolitan Opera
came aboard—and it's doing so in grand style." —Air
Mail
"An opera of surpassing loveliness" —The New
Yorker
More Information
Click here and enter the
password MetOpera2020 for photos of Florencia en el
Amazonas.
For further details on Florencia en el Amazonas,
please click here.
The 2023–24 Live in HD season continues with
Nabucco (live on January 6,
with encores on January 10),
Carmen (live on January 27,
with encores on January 31), La
Forza del Destino (live on March
9, with encores on March 13),
Roméo et Juliette (live on March
23, with encores on March 27),
La Rondine (live on April 20,
with encores on April 24), and
Madama Butterfly (live on May
11, with encores on May 15).
All performances will be Saturday matinees transmitted live from
the Met stage.
About Fathom Events
Fathom is a recognized leader in
the entertainment industry as one of the top distributors of
content to movie theaters in North
America. Owned by AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC);
Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK); and Regal, a subsidiary of the
Cineworld Group (LSE: CINE.L), Fathom operates the largest cinema
distribution network, delivering a wide variety of programming and
experiences to cinema audiences in all of the top U.S. markets and
to more than 45 countries. For more information, visit
FathomEvents.com.
The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a
generous grant from its founding sponsor, the Neubauer Family
Foundation. Digital support of The Met: Live in HD is
provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Met: Live in HD
series is supported by Rolex.
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