The replacements
Second casts in Don Giovanni and Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera offer mixed blessings.
25 pieces since 2009 — in 16 roles, at 9 companies, most often at Metropolitan Opera.
7 pieces as Metropolitan Opera — stats above show all coverage for Kyle Ketelsen.
View allSecond casts in Don Giovanni and Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera offer mixed blessings.
In its first go-around in November 2022, Kevin Puts’s The Hours (libretto by Greg Pierce based on the novel by Michael Cunningham and the screenplay for the Stephen Daldry’s 2002 film was a box office bullseye for the Metropolitan Opera.
This Carmen, in other words, was somewhat less radical than its initial image suggested.
The film of The Hours failed to effectively weave together the novel’s trio of threads of interiority about suicide and secondarily literary creation. I wondered if an opera would stand a better chance at achieving that? Based on Tuesday’s diva-encrusted stage premiere of Kevin Puts and Greg Pierce’s The Hours, its creators didn’t pull it off either.
When a work is named for its lovers one might legitimately expect that pair to dominate its performance but in my experience that is never the case with Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande.
Too bad, then, that this season’s tossed flower was a bit of a wilted one.
The Metropolitan Opera’s revival of Carmen began with a bit of drama Thursday night when tenor Rafael Davila replaced Marcelo Álvarez.
Exclusive opera reviews, commentary, and top reads
delivered to your email weekly…ish.