7 days to the Iphigénie premiere!

Few singers in the history of opera have conquered a broader repertoire than Plácido Domingo. For the Met’s new Iphigénie, he adds another role to his acclaimed portrayals with the tenor version of Oreste. While he is particularly known for his interpretations of the romantic Italian and French repertoire, he has always been interested in music of all eras. Looking back forty years, he recently talked about his motivation for taking on Gluck in a piece he wrote for the Met’s Playbill: “The year 1966 brought two completely different composing styles into my young career. One was Alberto Ginastera’s contemporary opera Don Rodrigo at the New York City Opera—the other was Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie opposite Beverly Sills in Boston. Within two months I promised myself two musical ‘adventures’: that I would explore further the repertoire of contemporary and of baroque opera.” He has since created roles in new operas by composers as diverse as Gian Carlo Menotti, Deborah Drattell, and Tan Dun. “But my exploration of the baroque was sadly neglected ever since that Rameau,” the singer continues. “To make up for lost time I chose not one but two baroque operas for this season—at the Met, Iphigénie en Tauride, and in Washington Handel’s Tamerlano. I’m looking forward to having my musical curiosity doubly satisfied this season.”

Take a look at recent rehearsal photos!

Plácido Domingo as Oreste

Working on a scene with director Stephen Wadsworth and Susan Graham (Iphigénie)

Domingo in conversation with the director…

…and the prompter, Jane Klaviter

Sharing a relaxed moment with Graham and fellow tenor Paul Groves, who sings Pylade

Photos: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

This entry was posted by Philipp Brieler on Tuesday, November 20th, 2007 at 7:22 am and is filed under New Production Countdown. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.