A few weeks ago I took a look at the Met’s upcoming season. But while the Met is the 800-pound gorilla of New York opera, it’s hardly the only option. Here’s a survey of some of the most interesting other operatic and vocal events of the season.

While few companies can compete with the Met for big, expensive, starry staged opera, other groups have some unique and even really offbeat stuff planned, much of which would never work in a giant space. For me, the winner is Gotham Chamber Opera, who have planned a spectacularly original and varied group of productions.

This listing is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather a selection of what I think sounds most intriguing for reasons of repertoire, casting, and production. It was assembled with the help of Parterre Box’s invaluable New York Opera calendar, which contains many more operatic and vocal events for your perusal. Note that the Opera Orchestra of New York hasn’t announced yet, but hopefully will. Big name singers with pet projects are probably applying now.

One note: buying tickets for these can be tricky. Some of these events will sell out weeks or even months ahead of time. Many won’t. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out which is which. Support small companies and buy in advance!

You can find a list of links to the companies’ websites with full ticket information at the end of this post. 

September
Monteverdi, The Return of Ulysses (Opera Omnia): this occasional company has previously produced Poppea and Giasone at Le poisson rouge, this time they’re at the Baryshnikov Center. This is a gorgeous opera and their previous efforts have been musically solid.

Turnage, Anna Nicole (New York City Opera and BAM co-production): The American premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s opera, to be seen in Richard Jones’s original production with Sarah Joy Miller (an actual American) in the title role along with some Broadway folks like James Barbour and Mary Testa. I wrote about the London production here. Let’s see how it does on this side of the pond.

Wagner, Parsifal, Act 2 and Saint-Saëns, Samson et Dalila, Act 2 in concert (New York Opera Forum at the NYPL Performing Arts) I know nothing about the New York Opera Forum but wished to recognize this bold programing. Also, some of the only Wagner you’ll hear in New York this whole season.

Verdi, Nabucco (Opera Philadelphia): OK, it’s in Philadelphia. But it’s a Thaddeus Strassberger production, which is interesting! Points to Philadelphia, who have been stepping up their game in the last few years, as well as losing the clunky “Company of” in the middle of their name.

October
Baden Baden 1927 (Gotham Chamber Opera at John Jay): One of the most exciting events of the season, a quadruple bill of short operas replicates the titular music festival: Weill’s Mahagonny Singspiel, Hindemith’s Hin und zurück (a palindromic opera!), Milhaud’s L’enlèvement d’Europe, and Toch’s Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse. The first will feature a rare US appearance by the legendary and timeless diva Helen Donath. Paul Curran is the director.

Handel, Aci, Galatea, e Polifermo (in concert, Le Concert d’Astrée, Lincoln Center-Alice Tully/Great Performers). Emmanuelle Haïm brings her historical group to Lincoln Center for this dramatic cantata with Lydia Teuscher, Delphine Galou, and Laurent Nouri.

November
Boito, Mefistofele (6, Carnegie): The Collegiate Chorale’s annual opera is Arrigo Boito’s Faustian tale, which is a very popular work among opera connoisseurs but is only performed now and then. Cast includes Eric Owens and Julianna Di Giacomo.

Recital: Anna Caterina Antonacci Era la notte (13 and 14, Great Performers). Another rare US appearance, this one by the wonderful Italian soprano, presumably replicating her excellent CD of the same title featuring Monteverdi, Strozzi, and more. How it fits into the White Nights Festival beats me, but we’re lucky to have her.

Mark Morris Dance Group: L’allegro, il penseroso, e il moderato (Lincoln Center Great Performers). The 1988 ballet opera classic revived again.

December
Strauss, Feuersnot (15, American Symphony Orchestra in concert, Carnegie). Leon Botstein continues to storm his way through obscure early twentieth-century scores. This early Strauss opera is a total hoot: full of Wagner jokes and a whole lot shorter than Meistersinger.

January
Charpentier, La descente d’Orphée aux Enfers (Gotham, Trinity Church Wall Street) After last season’s David et Jonathas, it’s nice to have another Charpentier opera in NYC already. You probably know the story of this one.

Recital: Anne Sofie von Otter/Emmanuel Ax (28, Carnegie main): Brahms/Nico Muhly.

February: short month, lots of singing
Handel, Theodora (2, in concert, Carnegie main): The English Concert conducted by Harry Bicket, cast includes Dorothea Röschmann, Sarah Connolly, and David Daniels. Along with Aci and L’allegro, one of the only Handel events of the season.

Recital: Gerald Finley/Julius Drake (13, Carnegie, Zankel): Winterreise

Recital: Jonas Kaufmann/Helmut Deutsch (20, Carnegie, main): Program TBA

J. C. Bach, Endimione (City Opera, El Museo del Barrio) When I say Endimione, you say, “you mean that beautiful scene in Cavalli’s La Calisto, right?” But I don’t! Similar story, but we’re dealing with J.C. Bach here. Yeah, it will be news to me too. Michael Counts, who did last season’s Mosè en Egitto, directs.

Double Bill: Monteverdi, Il Combattimento/Lembit Beecher, I Have No Stories to Tell You (Gotham Chamber Opera, Met Museum). An intriguing pairing of Monteverdi’s dramatic madrigal and a new opera on a libretto by Hannah Moscovitch. The first deals with war (and will be performed in the Arms and Armor gallery!), the second on its traumatic aftereffects (to be performed in the Medieval Sculpture Hall). Robin Guarino directs.

Philippe Jaroussky and the Venice Baroque Orchestra (25, Met Museum) Jaroussky is one of the best countertenors around and rarely performs in New York. He sings Vivaldi, Porpora, and Geminani.

Berg, Wozzeck (28, Wiener Staatsoper in concert, Carnegie). The Wiener Staatsoper is bringing two unstaged operas to Carnegie Hall (part of a much larger Philharmoniker residency). The first is Wozzeck, New York’s most popular opera at present (wir arme Leut’). It’s conducted by Daniele Gatti with a cast that includes Matthias Goerne, a rare US appearance by cult favorite Evelyn Herlitzius, and, as the Captain, the steam whistle tenor of Herwig Peccoraro.

Bartók, Bluebeard’s Castle (City Opera, St. Anne’s Warehouse) On the same night as Wozzeck, the City Opera premieres its new production of Bartók’s underperformed horror opera in the creepy venue of St. Anne’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. Viktoria Vizin and Gidon Saks sing, and Daniel Kramer directs. Note that this opera is often done as part of a double bill but is the only thing on the program here.

March
Strauss, Salome (1, Wiener Staatsoper in concert, Carnegie). The Wiener Staatsoper’s second performance is promising: Andris Nelsons conducts Salome. The orchestra can really play this score. Soprano Gun-Brit Barkmin is an unknown quantity to me, however. Anyone care to enlighten?

Sondheim, Sweeney Todd (NY Phil). OK, it’s not quite an opera, but it does star Bryn Terfel as the titular demon barber. He’ll sound a lot better than Johnny Depp. The announcement that Nadja Michael is singing Mrs. Lovett is only a matter of time, right?

April
Rameau, Platée (2, Alice Tully) Unfortunately Les Arts Florissants is not bringing a full staged opera to the Brooklyn Academy of Music this season, but they are performing Platée in concert. By French Baroque standards, this is something of a golden oldie but is always delightful. The cast includes Marcel Beekman in the title role and the inimitable Simone Kermes in the role she was born to play, La Folie.

Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro (City Opera, City Center). To be directed by Christopher Alden, completing his Da Ponte trilogy for City Opera. I missed the Don, but the Così was really good. Cast includes Simone Osborne as Susannah, Keri Alkema as the Countess, Rod Gilfry as the Count, and, as of yet, no announced Figaro.

Recital: Iestyn Davies/Thomas Dunford, lute (10, Carnegie Weill): Johnson, Danyel, Dowland, Nico Muhly

May
Hosokawa, The Raven (Gotham Chamber Opera). Part of the NY Biennial, this opera is a “monodrama for mezzo and twelve instrumentalists” based on the Poe. The mezzo will be Fredrika Brillemberg, and she will be joined by dancer Alessandra Ferri. I loved Hosokawa’s Matsukaze at this summer’s Lincoln Center Festival, and am glad he’s getting another New York performance so soon.

H.K. Gruber, Gloria: A Pigtale (Juilliard Opera): at the Met Museum. Part of the NY Biennial, details TBA. The opera sounds like Animal Farm for the Michael Pollan set.

LINKS:
New York City Opera
Gotham Chamber Opera
Carnegie Hall
Great Performers 
New York Philharmonic
American Symphony Orchestra
Collegiate Chorale
New York Opera Forum
Opera Omnia 
Met Museum 
Juilliard
Opera Philadelphia

Onegin is pictured in Act 3 while Tatiana is in Act 1.

Single tickets for the Met’s 2013-14 season go on sale on August 11 (and sooner for donors), so I thought it was time to write my annual preview. It’s a promising schedule, with a good amount that I noted down as must-sees right away. You can admire the online brochure here. Here are my remarks.

It’s also a season that is seemingly split between stuff for the novice and connoisseur, with an unusual assortment of rarities like the The Nose, Prince Igor, and Arabella balanced out by a dozen performances each of Tosca, Butterfly, and Bohème.  To some extent it’s always like this, but it’s particularly pronounced this year. What gets pushed out seems to be the middle–there is no Wagner at all, and the only Mozart is Così and the kid-targeted abridged Flute. And while I’m not whining about the lack of early Verdi myself (it’s not my favorite), the Met usually features at least one pre-Rigoletto work.

I also noticed that with the exception of Prince Igor all the productions have either already been produced by a London house or are directed by someone British. I realize that Britain probably has the operatic culture most similar to the US’s, but this seems excessively narrow in focus. 

Nonetheless there is much to look forward to: the Met debut of Dmitri Tcherniakov, James Levine’s return, and 14 performances of La Bohème. OK, maybe not so much on that last one.

This year I’ll be writing a second preview covering groups such as the Gotham Chamber Opera, New York City Opera, and visiting groups such as Les Arts Florissants. Stay tuned.

You can find specific dates and details for each production on this page.

New Productions
Chaikovsky, Eugene Onegin (premiere September 23): This Deborah Warner production received mixed (at best) reviews at the English National Opera, and there has been general consternation that it is replacing the popular current Robert Carsen production at the Met. I can see the point: the Carsen has had a good enough run, but the Warner really doesn’t sound exciting. But it stars Netrebko (her third Met opening night in a row–I love ya, Trebs, but really?), so it had to be new, it seems. Mariusz Kwiecien sings Onegin and Piotr Beczala sings Lensky. Note that the second cast features the fabulous Onegin of Peter Mattei, but also Marina Poplovskaya as Tatiana and Rolando Villazon as Lensky, so it may be a matter of taste.

Two out of two Met Onegin sets agree: Onegin is about dead trees

Nico Muhly, Two Boys (October and November): Our new production theme seems to be things borrowed from the English National Opera. This one also received mixed reviews, and since I wasn’t nuts about Muhly’s Dark Sisters, I am somewhat ambivalent. But it’s great that the Met is producing new opera at all, I suppose. The internet theme means, as some slogan will surely remind us, that opera can be Contemporary! I never would have guessed. Cast includes Alice Coote, Paul Appleby, Jennifer Zetlan, and Caitlin Lynch (the latter two were in Dark Sisters).

Verdi, Falstaff (December and January): Oops, this one isn’t from the ENO, it’s from Covent Garden. Since we’re losing one Carsen production in Onegin, it’s nice we’re at least gaining another in this Falstaff, particularly because it sounds fairly good. Ambrogio Maestri, last year’s Dulcamara, sings Falstaff, Angela Meade is Alice Ford, and Lisette Oropesa should be beautiful as Nannetta. No word on whether Rupert the Horse is coming over from London.

Falstaff

J. Strauss II, Die Fledermaus (December, January, February): This one is an original, but it’s directed by British polymath Jeremy Sams, who is doing a new translation. I remind you that he brought us Enchanted Island. Douglas Carter Beane is doing the dialogue. Susanna Philips and Christopher Maltman sing the Eisensteins.

Borodin, Prince Igor (February and March). The only new production this season that neither comes from London nor is directed by a British person. The director is Dmitri Tcherniakov, who is one of the top Regie suspects in Europe and has had great success with Russian works like Ruslan and Lydmila, Khovanshchina, and, er, Onegin, and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with for this one. The cast is also very Slavic, and includes Ildar Abdrazakov and Anita Rachvelishvili.

Massenet, Werther (February and March). This mopey opera exists primarily as a tenor vehicle, in this case the tenor is Jonas Kaufmann. The production is by (British) Richard Eyre, who did the Met’s Carmen that everyone always forgets is actually only a few years old. Elina Garanca brings her distant charms to the repressed Charlotte. I’ve seen Garanca and Kaufmann independently in this opera in Vienna, and they both managed to make me not dislike Massenet, which is something. Also, Lisette Oropesa!

Repertoire
Mozart, Così fan tutte (September and April): James Levine’s big comeback! Isabel Leonard and Matthew Polenzani will be elegant, and last year’s best surprise, Guanqun Yu, returns to sing one performance of Fiordiligi. And Danielle De Niese is Despina, so, er.

Shostakovich, The Nose (September and October): This is a fantastic production of a very fun opera. Go see it, particularly if you missed it the first time around. Here’s what I wrote about its premiere.

Bellini, Norma (October): Has Anyone Except Callas Sung Norma Well Since 1650? I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to talk about that for the month before and after this one! It features a Sondra Radvonovsky/Kate Aldrich option and an Angela Meade/Jamie “Awesome” Barton option. Aleksandrs Atonenko sings Pollione, which, well, that’s gonna be loud.

Britten, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (October): An opera I have never seen! (*Looks slightly embarrassed.*) I better go see it. Cast includes Kathleen Kim, Erin Wall, and Iestyn Davies, conducted by James Conlon.

Puccini, Tosca (October, November, December). This production, I can’t even. Tosce include Racette, Radvanovsky, and Matos; Marii Alagna, Giordani, and one Ricardo Tamura.

Strauss, Die Frau ohne Schatten (November). Now we’re talking! This Herbert Wernicke production is said to be fantastic, this is its first revival since its premiere a decade ago, and I’m really looking forward to seeing it. Vladimir Jurowski conducts and the cast includes Anne Schwanewilms (who sang it in Salzburg), Christine Goerke, Torsten Kerl, and Johan Reuter.

Rigoletto

Verdi, Rigoletto (November). We all remember this one from last season. (If you don’t, here.) This year we get Aleksandra Kurzak as Gilda, who should be excellent, Hvorostovsky as the hunchback (which judging by past results will not be good), and Polenzani as the Duca. Reputedly fantastic conductor Pablo Heras-Casado debuts.

Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier (Novemeber and December). Martina Serafin should bring a real Viennese touch to the Marschallin, and Garanca’s Octavian is something to look forward to–while perhaps not the perfect personality match of Charlotte, she should certainly sound great. Unfortunately Mojca Erdmann will be singing Sophie. The second cast includes Serafin with Daniela Sindram as Octavian and Erin Morley as Sophie. Edward Gardner conducts, which, ?

Mozart, The Magic Flute (December and January): This is the English-language abridged version. Cast includes Eric Owens and Nathan Gunn.

Donizetti, L’Elisir d’amore (January): Same as last year, same Trebs. This time with Ramon Vargas, whose Nemorino is quite sweet.

Puccini, La Bohème (January, March, April): It wouldn’t be the Met without 14, count ‘em, 14 performances of Zeffirelli’s ode to the opulence of starving and freezing in a Parisian garret. 14 nights when I will plan to be somewhere else. Rotating cast includes Calleja and Grigolo as Rodolfo.

Puccini, Madama Butterfly (January, February, April, May). How does one pay for one’s Prince Igors, Noses, and Shadowless Ladies? With 14 Bohèmes and 14 Butterflies. Kristine Opolais alert in the second cast. No fewer than four Pinkertons in this one.

Dvorak, Rusalka (January, February). We got rid of the dusty greenery of Schenk’s Ring, but we still have the dusty greenery of Schenk’s Rusalka. Like the last revival, this one has Fleming and Zajick, unlike the last one it also has Beczala and, as the Foreign Princess, Emily Magee.

The aria “Are you having fun yet” (sung to “Myself I shall adore”)

The Enchanted Island (February and March): Did we have to revive this? Did we really have to?

Berg, Wozzeck (March): Levine conducts again, in what has to be the single most often performed “rarity” around. (This will be its third outing in New York in two seasons, which is more than most standard rep.) Hampson sings Wozzeck, which will be something.

Bellini, La Sonnambula (March): This is a Mary Zimmerman production that landed in 2009 with a metatheatrical thump, and I don’t think many expected it to be revived. Anyway, Diana Damrau is singing it this time.

Giordano, Andrea Chénier (March and April): Libertà, egalité, and cheese! Or something like that. Álvarez, Racette, Lucic.

Strauss, Arabella (April): A true rarity in the US, this is another musty Schenk production but it will be nice to see this opera. This was reportedly planned for our favorite cancellation-prone German soprano, and has very strong casting in, well, everything except the title role. While we’re getting Malin Byström as Arabella, the great Genia Kühmeier sings Zdenka, and Michael Volle should be an unusually good Mandryka.

Bellini, I Puritani (April, May): When last seen with Trebs, this Thanksgiving pilgram-like production looks like the unironic version of the last scene of Zimmerman’s Sonnambula. But Olga Peretyatko, singing Elvira, is reportedly good.

Rossini, La Cenerentola (April, May): DiDonato/Flórez vehicle. It’ll be LIKABLE! It’ll remind you frequently how likable it is!

Mystery Event
Vittorio Grigolo in recital (March 9): I thought the Kaufmann recital of a few years ago showed us that this (a recital in the Met) is a difficult thing to pull off even if you’re an experienced recitalist with a large voice. Grigolo is neither experienced nor does he have a big voice. Why is this happening?

Start marking your calendars, folks. (Not for the Grigolo recital. Well, I guess, if you want. I shouldn’t judge. But….)

Photo credits:
Onegin: ENO
Falstaff: Catherine Ashmore/ROH
Rigoletto, Nose, Island: Met