[Posted this afternoon on The Volume]

With
the economy in the state it's in, it comes as no surprise that the
Metropolitan Opera will not be returning to its former practice of
touring complete opera performances out to the five boroughs and New
Jersey this summer. But the good news is that the company is offering
considerably more than last summer's one-off schmooze-fest with the
"love couple" of Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu.

Moments ago, the Met announced its Summer Recital Series, a run of
six concerts in five boroughs, presented in collaboration with the City
Parks Foundation, as well as a Summer HD Festival of opera video
screenings on the Lincoln Center Plaza, starting with Il Barbiere di Siviglia (with Joyce DiDonato and Juan Diego Flórez) on August 29.

The first recital, scheduled for July 13 at Central Park
SummerStage, features tres hot baritone Paolo Szot with two of the
company's best young prospects, soprano Lisette Oropesa and tenor Alek
Shrader, all accompanied by pianist Vlad Iftinca. Szot, as many of you
already know, will be starring in the Met's fantastical new production
of Shostakovich's The Nose next season. All six recitals will be
presented free of charge, but you'll need tickets for the SummerStage
event; they'll be available via the Met website starting June 1.

After the break, the complete schedule of recitals and screenings.

Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series

Monday, July 13 at 8pm:  Central Park SummerStage
Paulo Szot, baritone
Lisette Oropesa, soprano
Alek Shrader, tenor
Vlad Iftinca, pianist

Friday, July 17 at 7pm:  Crotona Park (Bronx)
John Moore, baritone
Ashley Emerson, soprano
Vlad Iftinca, pianist
Damon Gupton, host

Friday, July 24 at 7pm:  Queensbridge Park (Queens)
John Moore, baritone
Ashley Emerson, soprano
Vlad Iftinca, pianist
Damon Gupton, host

Friday, July 31 at 7pm:  East River Park (Manhattan)
Joyce El-Khoury, soprano
Keith Miller, bass
Vlad Iftinca, pianist

Friday, August 7 at 7pm:  Tappan Park (Staten Island)
Joyce El-Khoury, soprano
Keith Miller, bass
Vlad Iftinca, pianist
Damon Gupton, host

Friday, August 14 at 7pm:  Coffey Park (Brooklyn)
Joyce El-Khoury, soprano
Keith Miller, bass
Vlad Iftinca, pianist
Damon Gupton, host

Metropolitan Opera Summer HD Festival

All screenings are at 8pm (except for Roméo et Juliette at 7:30pm on Aug 30) between 7:30pm and 8pm, with these times to be confirmed soon

Aug 29 Il barbiere di Siviglia – Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia,
in a production by Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher, features
Joyce DiDonato as Rosina, Juan Diego Flórez as Count Almaviva, Peter
Mattei as Figaro, John Del Carlo as Dr. Bartolo, John Relyea as Don
Basilio and Claudia Waite as Berta.  Maurizio Benini conducts.

Aug 30 Roméo et Juliette – Plácido Domingo conducts Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette
starring Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna as the star-crossed lovers,
Isabel Leonard as Stéphano, Nathan Gunn as Mercutio and Robert Lloyd as
Frère Laurent.

Aug 31 Eugene Onegin – Valery Gergiev conducts Tchaikovsky’s most beloved opera, Eugene Onegin,
with Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky in the title role opposite
Renée Fleming as Tatiana, with tenor Ramón Vargas as Lenski.

Sept 1 Macbeth – Met Music Director James Levine conducts Verdi’s Macbeth, featuring Maria Guleghina as Lady Macbeth, Željko Lučić as Macbeth, Dimitri Pittas as Macduff and John Relyea as Banquo.

Sept 2 La Fille du Régiment – Donizetti’s comic opera La Fille du Régiment
stars Natalie Dessay as Marie, Juan Diego Flórez as Tonio, Felicity
Palmer as the Marquise of Berkenfield, Alessandro Corbelli as Sulpice,
Donald Maxwell as Hortensius and Marian Seldes in the speaking role of
the Duchess of Krakenthorp.  Marco Armiliato conducts.

Sept 3 Peter Grimes – Anthony Dean Griffey sings the title role of Britten’s Peter Grimes, with Patricia Racette as Ellen Orford and Anthony Michaels-Moore as Balstrode.  Donald Runnicles conducts.

Sept 4 La Bohème – Franco Zeffirelli’s production of Puccini’s La Bohème
features Angela Gheorghiu as Mimì, Ramón Vargas as Rodolfo, Ainhoa
Arteta as Musetta, Ludovic Tézier as Marcello, Quinn Kelsey as
Schaunard, Oren Gradus as Colline, and Paul Plishka in the dual roles
of Benoit and Alcindoro.  Nicola Luisotti conducts.

Sept 5 Orfeo ed Euridice – Mark Morris’s production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice stars Stephanie Blythe as Orfeo with Danielle de Niese as Euridice.  Heidi Grant Murphy is Amor.  James Levine conducts.

Sept 6 Il Trittico – James Levine conducts Tony Award-winning director Jack O’Brien’s production of Puccini’s Il Trittico, which consists of three one-act operas:  Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. In Il Tabarro,
the three principal characters caught in a deadly love triangle are
portrayed by Maria Guleghina, Salvatore Licitra and Juan Pons. Barbara
Frittoli is the young nun Angelica, with Stephanie Blythe as the
Princess in Suor Angelica, and the comedy Gianni Schicchi features Alessandro Corbelli in the title role.

Sept 7 Madama Butterfly – Academy Award-winning film director Anthony Minghella’s production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly
stars Patricia Racette as Cio-Cio-San, Marcello Giordani as Pinkerton,
Dwayne Croft as Sharpless, and Maria Zifchak as Suzuki.  Patrick
Summers conducts.