(Posted this afternoon on the TONY Blog)
You know that the Metropolitan Opera has a major hit on its hands
when the entire run of a new show sells out before opening night. And
that's the case with director Laurent Pelly's new staging of La Fille de Régiment,
a dizzy, tuneful bel canto comedy by Donizetti. The production, which
features two of the most charismatic performers on the Met roster,
soprano Natalie Dessay and tenor Juan Diego Flórez, did boffo box
office during its previous runs in London and Vienna, creating huge
anticipation and demand here.
But before you go selling plasma (or other precious bodily fluids) in the vain hope of scoring a ticket on the plaza, consider attending the final dress rehearsal on Friday, April 18, at 11am. It's part of a free open house the Met will host from 10am to 4pm, with an onstage Q&A session following the complete morning run-through. Tickets for the event are available this Sunday, April 13, at noon; you can make reservations by calling 212-362-6000 or by visiting the Met's website. You'll then need to pick up your tickets (limited to two per customer) at the Met box office by Wednesday, April 16, at 5pm.
I saw this production in London and it is well worth seeing. I think Florez and Dessay surpass Joany and big Lucy in this one (although I may be burned for heresy, but there you go). But the production itself is great too.
I took a non-cultural friend along to it and he was completely taken with it.
N.
Posted by: NHB | April 14, 2008 at 07:23 AM
Just got back from the dress, and this is going to be a huge hit. I haven't laughed so hard at the Met in years. (This, from a guy whose interest in Donizetti is usually somewhere between "little" and "none.")
Definitely don't miss it.
Posted by: Bruce Hodges | April 18, 2008 at 03:13 PM