See The Met Opera's MEDEA at The Ridgefield Playhouse Next Month

The highly anticipated 2022-2023 Live in HD season of the Met Opera in HD starts with an encore screening of Cherubini's Medea on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 at 2pm at The Ridgefield Playhouse.

Medea is a rarely performed opera, appearing at the Met for the first time this season. It is an operatic adaption of the Greek myth of Medea, a sorceress known for taking the lives of her own children in an act of revenge against her unfaithful lover. Having triumphed at the Met in some of the repertory's fiercest soprano roles, Sondra Radvanovsky stars as the mythic sorceress who will stop at nothing in her quest for vengeance. Joining Radvanovsky is tenor Matthew Polenzani as Medea's Argonaut husband, Giasone; soprano Janai Brugger as her rival for his love, Glauce; bass Michele Pertusi as Medea's father, Creonte, the King of Corinth; and mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova as Medea's confidante, Neris. With Carlo Rizzi on the podium, The Met premiere of Medea marks Radvanovsky's fourth new production with director David McVicar, who also designed the sets for this vivid, atmospheric staging, simultaneously classical, updated, and timeless. Medea is tour-de-force role made famous by opera's ultimate diva, Maria Callas. Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato will host the transmission. Come to the Playhouse and see what all the buzz is about! Observer calls it "Both timeless and utterly modern ... Radvanovsky was ... a revelation ... emotional intensity and depth." The Wall Street Journal declares, "Sondra Radvanovsky has the vocal goods and stage presence for the role of the revenge-crazed sorceress ... eye-catching new production directed and designed by David McVicar." The Met Opera is presented as part of the Ridgefield Playhouse's FirstLight Home Care Classical Series, Underwritten by Liz & Steven Goldstone, and with Support from Whistle Stop Bakery. Discount tickets are available to members, seniors, college students, AAA members and Ridgefield Library card holders, with free tickets for all students 18 & under!

Cherubin's Medea had its world premiere in 1797 in Paris at Théâtre Feydeau. Cherubini composed the opera at the tail end of the French Revolution, and as such, it fills a musical and dramatic gap between the noble gravitas of 18th-Century Theater and the more visceral beauty of later Romantic operas. The opera is set in the Greek city of Corinth, a wealthy and sophisticated locale already ancient by the time of the events in the opera. Medea herself is a foreigner from Colchis, a land thought by Greeks to be wealthy but primitive and which was associated with overly empowered women. Beyond its obvious dramatic power, the score of Medea shows Cherubini's abilities in vocal, choral, and instrumental writing. The overture demonstrates the orchestral mastery that was so admired by Beethoven, and the vocal writing is magnificent for the entire cast in both ensembles and solos. It is the lead role, of course, that reigns supreme-from her confrontation aria with Giasone in Act I and their duet at the end of that act to her poignant moment of pity for her children in Act III and her final scene of unalloyed fury.

Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) was an Italian-born composer who lived most of his adult life in Paris. He skillfully navigated the radically changing tastes in music and politics in those years and in his day, was greatly admired by Haydn, Beethoven, Rossini, and Chopin. François-Benoît Hoffman (1760-1828), a playwright who later gained fame as a journalist covering topics ranging from music to medicine, provided the opera's original French libretto. Bolognese poet, librettist, and early film director Carlo Zangarini (1874-1943) provided the Italian translation.

For more information or to purchase touchless print at home tickets ($25, Members & Seniors $20, Students $15, Children 18 & under FREE; $12.50), go online at www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org or visit or call the box office at (203) 438-5795. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge Road, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT and is committed to keeping the arts alive and available to all.

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