Directed by Haifaa Al-Mansour
Saudi Arabia, Germany, 2012
Young Wadjda dreams of owning a green bicycle. She wants to race a boy from the neighborhood, but the law prohibits girls from riding bikes. Just as she is losing hope, she hears about a cash prize for a Koran recitation competition at her school. Wadjda decides to earn the cash to fulfil her dream.
There will be a post screening Q&A hosted by Professor Claude Taylor with special guest speaker Prof. Saliba Sarsar.
Directed by Lukas Moodysson
Sweden, 2014
We Are the Best! is a story of three young misfit girls growing up in the early ‘80s Stockholm. Pixieish, mohawk-sporting Klara and her best friend Bobo are 13-year-old rebels looking for a cause. Despite having no instruments—or discernible musical talent—the two put all their energy into forming an all-girl punk band, recruiting their shy, classical guitar-playing schoolmate Hedwig as a third wheel. With tender affection for its young characters, We Are the Best! paints a joyous and sharply observant portrait of the rebellious spirit of youth and growing up different.
There will be a post screening Q&A hosted by Professor Mihaela Moscaliuc with special guest speaker Prof. Joe Rapolla.
Directed by Guillermo Helo
Chile, 2017
Inspired by actual events, this teenage thriller is a unique social commentary on dreams, class, and unfulfilled expectations in contemporary Chile.
Three teenage girls from a Santiago shanty town set in motion a plan to climb buildings and plunder expensive apartments. All they want is to have all the cool and trendy stuff they see advertised in TV commercials and department stores. Word spreads and soon enough they became the notorious “spider thieves.”
There will be a post screening Q&A hosted by Professor Manuel Chavez with special guest speakers Prof. Priscilla & Gustavo Gac-Artigas
In her Met debut, Asmik Grigorian tackles the demanding role of Cio-Cio-San, the trusting geisha at the heart of Puccini’s tragedy. Tenor Jonathan Tetelman is the callous American naval officer Pinkerton whose betrayal destroys her. Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong is the steadfast maid Suzuki, and baritone Lucas Meachem is the American consul Sharpless. Acclaimed maestro Xian Zhang makes her Met debut conducting Anthony Minghella’s vivid production.
Puccini’s bittersweet love story makes a rare Met appearance, with soprano Angel Blue starring as the sophisticated French courtesan Magda, opposite tenor Jonathan Tetelman in his company debut as Ruggero, an idealistic young man who offers her an alternative to her life of excess. Maestro Speranza Scappucci conducts Nicolas Joël’s Art Deco–inspired staging, which transports audiences from the heart of Parisian nightlife to a dreamy vision of the French Riviera. Soprano Emily Pogorelc and tenor Bekhzod Davronov—both making their Met debuts—complete the cast as Lisette and Prunier.
Two singers at the height of their powers—soprano Nadine Sierra and tenor Benjamin Bernheim—come together as the star crossed lovers in Gounod’s Shakespeare adaptation, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium to conduct one of the repertoire’s most romantic scores. Bartlett Sher’s staging also features baritone Will Liverman and tenor Frederick Ballentine as the archrivals Mercutio and Tybalt, mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey as the mischievous pageboy Stéphano, and bass-baritone Alfred Walker as Frère Laurent.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, with stellar soprano Lise Davidsen, following a string of recent Met triumphs, in her role debut as the noble Leonora. Director Mariusz Treliński delivers the company’s first new Forza in nearly 30 years, setting the scene in a contemporary world. The cast also features tenor Brian Jagde as Don Alvaro, baritone Igor Golovatenko as Don Carlo, mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi as Preziosilla, bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi as Fra Melitone, and bass Soloman Howard as both Leonora’s father and Padre Guardiano.
Acclaimed English director Carrie Cracknell makes her Met debut, reinvigorating the classic story of deadly passion with a staging that moves the action to the present day, amid a band of human traffickers. Mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina leads a powerhouse quartet of stars in the touchstone role of the irresistible femme fatale, alongside tenor Piotr Beczała as Carmen’s lover Don José, soprano Angel Blue as the devoted Micaëla, and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the swaggering Escamillo. Daniele Rustioni conducts Bizet’s heart-pounding score.
Ancient Babylon comes to life in a classic Met staging of biblical proportions. Baritone George Gagnidze makes his Met role debut as the imperious king Nabucco, alongside Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska reprising her thrilling turn as his vengeful daughter Abigaille. Mezzo-soprano Maria Barakova and tenor SeokJong Baek, in his company debut, are Fenena and Ismaele, and bass Dmitry Belosselskiy repeats his celebrated portrayal of the high priest Zaccaria. Daniele Callegari conducts Verdi’s early masterpiece, which features the ultimate showcase for the great Met Chorus, the moving “Va, pensiero.”
Sung in Spanish and inspired by the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez, Mexican composer Daniel Catán’s 1996 opera focuses on an opera diva, Florencia Grimaldi, who returns to her native Brazil to perform and to search for her lost lover, who has vanished into the jungle. The Met premiere stars soprano Ailyn Pérez as Florencia in a new production by Mary Zimmerman that brings the mystical realm of the Amazon to the Met stage. The distinguished ensemble of artists portraying the diva’s fellow travelers on the river boat to Manaus features Gabriella Reyes as the journalist Rosalba, bass-baritone Greer Grimsley as the ship’s captain, baritone Mattia Olivieri as his enigmatic first mate, tenor Mario Chang as the captain’s nephew Arcadio, and mezzo-soprano Nancy Fabiola Herrera and baritone Michael Chioldi as the feuding couple Paula and Álvaro, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium.
