FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Great Barrington, Mass.—The Metropolitan Opera’s 2022-23 “Live in HD” season will open Saturday, October 22 at 1 p.m. with Cherubini’s Medea. The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will broadcast the production — and subsequent operas — on its big screen with state-of-the-art audio and visual technology.
“Medea, a new production directed and designed by David McVicar, will be a great launch to the season, with the soaring sounds and heart-stopping moments that opera does so well,” says Mahaiwe Executive Director Janis Martinson.
Having triumphed at the Met in some of the repertory’s fiercest soprano roles, Sondra Radvanovsky stars as the mythic sorceress who will stop at nothing in her quest for vengeance. Joining Radvanovsky in the Met-premiere production of Cherubini’s rarely performed masterpiece is tenor Matthew Polenzani as Medea’s Argonaut husband, Giasone; soprano Janai Brugger as her rival for his love, Glauce; bass Michele Pertusi as Medea’s father, Creonte, the King of Corinth; and mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova as Medea’s confidante, Neris.
Preceding Saturday’s broadcast is a free, virtual talk with Mahaiwe’s resident opera lecturer Scott Eyerly on Thursday, October 20 at 5:30 p.m. Eyerly’s fresh approach to opera and classical music has attracted a growing audience through his popular lecture series at the Mahaiwe and his sold-out courses at The Juilliard School’s Evening Division. Eyerly’s lectures are held over Zoom; see mahaiwe.org to join.
Broadcast tickets are $25 each or $10 for ages 21 and under. Tickets are available at mahaiwe.org and the Mahaiwe Box Office (413-528-0100) during open hours: Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., plus three hours before showtimes. Events are masked; see mahaiwe.org/update for more information on current safety guidelines.
Following Medea, the Met’s season proceeds with Verdi’s La Traviata on November 5 at 1 p.m.; Kevin Puts’s The Hours on December 10 at 1 p.m.; Giordano’s Fedora on January 14 at 1 p.m.; Wagner’s Lohengrin on March 18 at 12 p.m.; Verdi’s Falstaff on April 1 at 12:30 p.m.; Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier on April 15 at 12 p.m.; Terence Blanchard’s Champion on April 29 at 1 p.m.; Mozart’s Don Giovanni on May 20 at 1 p.m.; and Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte on June 10 at 1 p.m. Scott Eyerly’s free opera talks are held over Zoom, Thursdays at 5:30 p.m., the week of each Saturday broadcast.
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. The HD Broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builder.
About the Mahaiwe
Located in downtown Great Barrington, Mass., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center is the year-round presenter of world-class music, dance, theater, classic films, Live in HD broadcasts, and arts education programs for the southern Berkshires and neighboring regions. The intimate jewel box of a theater opened in 1905. Since 2005, the performing arts center has hosted over 1,500 events and welcomed over half a million people through its doors. More than 22,000 students from 73 different schools have benefited from the Mahaiwe’s school-time performances and residencies. For more information, see mahaiwe.org.
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