Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin may be most famous for introducing “Here Comes the Bride” to the world, but the storytelling is all about the nature of power – what it is, who has it, and who decides. Weaving together several medieval German myths, as well as the Arthurian Grail mythology, Lohengrin serves up passion, betrayal, vengeance, and redemption in hearty portions with timely-themed side orders of war and trusting in blind faith.
A deeply human comedy, Giuseppe Verdi’s last opera Falstaff is an Italian classic. The story is a blend of scenes from Shakespeare, primarily drawn from the comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor. It centers on the remarkable personality of Sir John Falstaff, a buffoon nobleman whose arrogance and ego delusionally lead him to scheme for the affections of two married Windsor wives. With a supremely well-crafted score, it is among the greatest operatic comedies of all time.
Der Rosenkavalier has been called Richard Strauss’s most popular and lushest German opera. The story concerns wise woman Marschallin and her much younger lover Octavian. Ultimately forced to accept the laws of time, Marschallin must give up Octavian to a pretty young heiress, all amidst waltzes, fantastic arias, humor, and a darker social commentary that simmers beneath all that Viennese charm. Der Rosenkavalier has been called a “whipped cream-covered, liqueur-soaked confection emerging as the glorious piece of escapism its creators always intended.”
Six-time Grammy Award–winning composer Terence Blanchard brings his first opera to the Met. A groundbreaking work combining the disciplines of opera and jazz, Champion tells the real-life story of world champion boxer Emile Griffith, a man haunted by memories of his past who struggled to reconcile his sexuality in a hyper-macho world. Champion’s visually stunning production and soulful score illuminates Griffith’s triumphs and struggles that are still powerfully relevant today.
Downright deceit, charm, wronged women determined to avenge, a raging storm – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Italian opera about pathological liar Don Giovanni could hardly seem more contemporary. Often considered the greatest opera ever composed, Mozart’s masterpiece combines comedy, drama, and supernatural elements to capture the downfall of a serial womanizer. From its thrilling overture to its breathtaking final scene, Don Giovanni explores issues of amorality, power, and justice that are just as relevant to today as to Mozart’s time.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s German-sung Die Zauberflöte follows Tamino, a prince lost in a foreign land, on his quest to save Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night. With the gift of a magical flute, Tamino discovers that nothing, not even day and night, are quite as they first appear. Die Zauberflöte is technically not an opera at all, but a singspiel play that features spoken dialogue as well as traditional operatic singing—much like American musical theater. One of Mozart’s most celebrated pieces of music, it is a sublime fairy tale about the search for goodness, honesty, enlightenment, and truth.