Ever since he was a little boy, Yannick Nézet-Séguin knew he wanted to be a conductor. He likens the feeling to something "almost like a religious call."
"Making music in the group is what animates me," he says.
On Tuesday, a New York State Supreme Court judge dismissed most of conductor James Levine's claims in a defamation suit the former music director of the Metropolitan Opera filed against his former employer and its general manager, Peter Gelb.
Bring on the dancing. The Metropolitan Opera has a hot new production of Camille Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila (Samson and Delilah) complete with bacchanal.
The Metropolitan Opera's Live in HD presentations, beamed into cinemas worldwide, begins a new season Saturday, Oct. 6. Anna Netrebko stars in the title role of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida.
Two of the country's oldest and most venerated music institutions, the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera, are beginning their seasons with a change in artistic leadership. Both organizations are grappling with 21st century issues of bringing new audiences in and convincing them that centuries-old music forms are central to their lives today.
The Metropolitan Opera presents a new production of Jules Massenet's Cendrillon, screened live in HD at movie theaters worldwide at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 28.
In 1983, the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto tried a grand experiment. While the singers performed Elektra in German onstage, simultaneous translations in English were projected above the stage. These "supertitles," as they've come to be known, were quickly adopted at opera houses and are now an expected part of the opera-going experience.
