Tonight we enjoyed La Traviata with the one and only Renée Fleming and a very young-sounding Matthew Polenzani, with Marco Armiliato conducting. All of Armiliato’s performances are a special treat for us in the broadcast studio, because we have a closed-circuit camera on the conductor, and no one expresses the score with facial and body movements quite like Marco. We had conductor Steven Osgood as a guest during intermission, and this was especially interesting to us because our previous work with Steven was for last season’s world premiere of The First Emperor. It’s astounding how a musician can be equally at home in new music and core repertory, but Steven manages. He also told us a little about his ongoing work with American Opera Projects, a group specializing in developing and presenting new work from emerging composers. How’s that for “new” music?

Tonight’s performance was Die Zauberflöte, and our interviewee was a special guest—Luciana D’Intino, who is singing Amneris in Aida. D’Intino was special for several reasons: she does not sing frequently in the U.S., preferring to stay closer to home in Italy. (Her Met debut was in Don Carlo in 2005). She also freely admitted that she found New York a bit overwrought for her tastes, and was happy to come to town only occasionally. Ms. D’Intino spoke better English than she gave herself credit for, but still insisted I stay close by to translate for her. I could tell she was careful to keep her Italian vocabulary on a pretty basic level, and almost stumped me only once with the word spaesata. I guessed “homesick, exiled” and it turns out I was close (the dictionary says “lost”).

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