BY KAREN BOSSICK
The legendary Placido Domingo will perform in this Saturday’s Live from the NY Met in HD.
Domingo will appear in Guiseppe Verdi’s rarely performed “Luisa Miller” in the screening, which starts at 10:30 a.m. at the Big Wood 4 Cinemas in Hailey.
Doors open at 9:30 a.m. and former Caritas Chorale Director Dick Brown will offer a pre-opera lecture at 10 a.m.
The opera, which lasts 3.5 hours with two 30-minute intermissions, hinges on the bond between a father and daughter as they stand together against a hostile world. The intermissions, of course, will take viewers backstage at The Met.
As the opera opens, Luisa has fallen in love with a young man she met in the village but her father worries about her new found love, as the young man is a stranger. Meanwhile, a courtier asks for her hand, but Luisa’s father says he will never make a decision against his daughter’s will.
The courtier reveal’s Carlos’ true identity and the fireworks begin.
Sonya Yoncheva will sing the title role opposite Piotr Beczala, with Bertrand de Billy conducting.
The original opera was set during the first half of the 17th century in the Tyrolean Alps, reflecting an interest in Northern Europe that was a hallmark of the Romantics during the early 19th century.Tthis production updates the setting to rural England.
The world premiere of “Luisa Miller” took place in Naples in 1849. It signaled the maturation of Verdi’s career, as it reflected the transition from the youthful vitality that had made him an international sensation to the dramaturgical discipline and sophistication of his middle period.
It contains much of the dramatic and psychological acumen that would define the mature Verdi, full of genuine virtues rather than superficial flashiness.