“More Special Than Ever:”
The Met Welcomes Its 125th Anniversary Season
Posted by Caroline Cooper on 9/24/2008
As the theater darkened for the beginning of the Metropolitan Opera’s Opening Night Gala last Monday, the packed house fell to a hush as Ramón Vargas, singing the role of Alfredo in Act II of La Traviata, chased a demure Renée Fleming across the stage in her role as Violetta, and then sang of his profound love for her. The evening, offering up selections from La Traviata, Manon and Capriccio, would push the opera stars, orchestra and set changes to the limit as a lavish home gave way to a decadent ball, a grand street carnival, and an austere cathedral, before the evening closed with another dramatic domestic scene. Watching the Met in full swing, it was not hard to imagine the 1,100 shipping containers stashed in a New Jersey storage facility where the Met houses it set designs, costumes, and all the trappings of a full production.
“You’ve got to love Zeffirelli,” commented Rebecca Culley, a New York attorney and frequent patron of the Met, as the stage bubbled over with the famed set designer’s vision of a ball. “He leaves nothing to chance,” she added as a group of rabbit-headed masquerade-goers took the stage. “This is what I’m talking about.”
Conductor James Levine, fully recovered from his recent surgery, conducted the first selection, his fingers in full splay carving through the air. “It’s wonderful to be here,” he later said over dinner. “I’m happy to feel good and to be back. I love seeing the company, and this year is more special than ever.”
As the evening progressed, punctuated by intermissions between selections that had Barbara Walters rubbing shoulders with John Turturro, the talk among audience members strayed to Wall Street troubles.
“They want us to save them?,” one visitor asked a small group over flutes of intermission champagne. “These guys are criminals.” But even the sour mood of the world’s financial markets could not bring down the jovial atmosphere of the evening, where patrons had come largely to forget about, not dwell upon, the challenges of the day.
As the third act of Manon was revealed in the second selection of the night, the stage became home to a profusion of tightrope walkers, explosive wizards, acrobats, and one well groomed and well behaved pooch to capture Massenet’s take on the carnival. “The poodle stole the show,” couture designer Zac Posen would later say.
Others, however, may argue that the diva stole the show. Fleming moved from Traviata to Manon to Capriccio, conquering three very different roles that exhibited her range and powers as one of the world’s preeminent sopranos. Befitting the grandeur of the evening, Fleming was decked in flowing creations from designers Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, and John Galliano. Zac Posen weighed in on the frocks from his seat at a center table at the evening’s dinner, singling out Galliano’s creation as “really elegant.”
As audience members retired to the Met’s tented Opening Night party, where strands of crystals offset gigantic bowls of dangling greenery and tables were decked with heaving fruit arrangements, tenor Ramón Vargas could be found in a contemplative mood. “Today is special for me,” he said. “A few days ago my father passed away. He should have seen this in the HD transmission in Mexico, but of course he could not. It was a very special night for me. It started well and it ended well.” Vargas glanced around the opulent tent. “It is what the Met can do. The quality is a pleasure.”
For all the stars, the night will likely be remembered as a career highlight. As the evening wound down and the tent slowly emptied, Fleming could be found at the center, surrounded by well wishers, slowly moving towards the door.
“I’m on another planet right now. I don’t even know my name anymore,” she said as we inched along. “Walk with me to the door or I’ll never get out of here.” I asked her how she felt at the end of it all. “It was a historic night,” she said. “Of course, for me, it was….” But Fleming was cut off as Roger Friedman of Fox News took her gloved hand. “I wouldn’t have missed this,” Friedman bellowed. “Opera stars have never looked like this,” he added, gazing at Fleming. “The change is a good thing.”