Ep 19. at the Met - Medea

At the Met: Medea is a riveting production by the Metropolitan Opera that is part of the Great Performances series. This episode marks the fiftieth season of Great Performances, and fittingly, it features a timeless and powerful opera based on the ancient Greek legend of Medea.

Composed by charismatic painter-turned-composer Luigi Cherubini in the late 18th century, Medea tells the story of a woman’s betrayal by her husband, Jason, and her violent revenge on him and their children. This breathtakingly tragic tale has been adapted in various forms over the centuries, making its way through literature, theater, and cinema, but Cherubini’s opera remains the most celebrated and haunting of them all.

At the Met: Medea is a production of this opera at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, under the direction of the acclaimed French opera director, Pierre Audi. The staging by Audi, featuring set designs by Tom Pye, brings the ancient world of the Greco-Roman gods and mortals to life, with its grandiose architecture, arches, and columns. The costumes by Robby Duiveman evoke a timeless elegance, as the chorus and performers come to the stage in flowing robes and intricately crafted armor.

Leading the performance is the acclaimed and seasoned mezzo-soprano Sonya Yoncheva, whose portrayal of the legendary sorceress Medea is nothing short of mesmerizing. Yoncheva’s breathtaking singing and acting abilities come into play as she conveys the complete spectrum of emotions ranging from love to hate, from tenderness to fury, from vengefulness to desperation. She brings passion and pathos to the role, creating a character both unforgettable and terrifying. In this particular performance, Yoncheva is joined by an outstanding cast, including tenor Charles Castronovo as Jason, and mezzo-sopranos Alla Kravchuk as Neris and Ildar Abdrazakov as Creon.

Cherubini’s music, conducted for this production by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, is not only captivating but also challenging. The opera’s score is full of contrasts, ranging from lyrical and tender to explosive and tempestuous, with complex vocal harmonies and intricate orchestral passages. Nézet-Séguin and the Met orchestra rise to the occasion, delivering a performance that is both sensitive to the nuances of the music and strong enough to carry the weight of the drama.

One of the unique features of the Met’s production of Medea is the use of puppets, created by designer and puppeteer Basil Twist. These puppets, symbolizing the children of Medea and Jason, are eerily realistic with their lifelike movements and expressions. The puppets, operated by skilled puppeteers but voiced by the children’s choir, add an extra dimension of horror and pathos to the story.

At the Met: Medea is a thrilling and gut-wrenching experience that showcases the timeless power of opera to move, inspire, and provoke. The production is a tour de force of creative talent, from the direction to the set design, the costumes, the music, and the puppetry. The opera’s themes of betrayal, revenge, and the price of love are as relevant today as they were in ancient Greece, and the Met’s production does justice to Cherubini’s masterpiece. This is an unforgettable episode of Great Performances that celebrates fifty seasons of excellence by showcasing one of the most extraordinary operas ever composed.