Lyric Opera has announced the repertoire and major castings for its 1998-99 season at the Civic Opera House. The company’s 44th season will consist of 81 performances of eight operas, beginning Sept. 26, 1998, and concluding March 14, 1999.
– Ponchielli’s “La Gioconda” will open the season in a production starring Jane Eaglen, Johan Botha (debut), Robynne Redmon, Nancy Maultsby, Nikolai Putilin and Eric Halfvarson. Bruno Bartoletti, in his final season as Lyric artistic director, will conduct. Staging is by John Copley.
– Composer Marvin David Levy’s heavily revised version of his “Mourning Becomes Electra” will be the season’s American entry. Based on the Eugene O’Neill drama, the work will have a new production staged by Liviu Ciulei and conducted by Richard Buckley. The cast includes Cynthia Lawrence, Lauren Flanigan, Jason Howard, Kevin Langan and Randolph Locke. The Levy work was commissioned for the Metropolitan Opera’s first season at Lincoln Center and had its premiere there in 1967. It has not had a major revival since then.
– A new production of Richard Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos” will be directed by John Cox in Robert Perdziola’s designs. The cast includes Deborah Voigt, Frederic Kalt/Jon Villars, Susan Graham and Victor Braun. Casting for the part of Zerbinetta has yet to be announced. Robert Spano (debut) will conduct.
– Another new production will be the Kurt Weill-Bertolt Brecht “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny,” sung in Michael Feingold’s English translation. Catherine Malfitano, Kim Begley, Felicity Palmer, John Duykers and Timothy Nolen head the cast. Sylvain Cambreling will make his Lyric podium debut.
– Verdi’s “La Traviata” will return to Lyric with two trios of principal singers. Singing the first six performances will be Andrea Rost, Vincenzo La Scola and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Heading the second cast will be Ruth Ann Swenson, Frank Lopardo and Carlos Alvarez, in his Lyric debut. Maurizio Benini and Edoardo Muller will share conducting duties. Harry Silverstein is the stage director.
– Samuel Ramey will reprise his devilish starring role in Boito’s “Mefistofele,” last heard in Chicago in 1991. Daniela Dessi (Lyric debut), Richard Margison and Elizabeth Byrne will round out the cast. Gyorgy Gyorivanyi Rath is the conductor, Peter McClintock the stage director.
– Husband and wife offstage, Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu will make their Lyric debuts as the star-crossed lovers of Gounod’s “Romeo et Juliette.” Taking over their roles in later performances will be Giuseppe Sabbatini and Elizabeth Futral. Other cast members include Patricia Risley, Brian Montgomery, William Burden, Rene Pape and Jeffrey Wells. Conductor John Nelson and director Nicolas Joel complete the artistic team.
– Concluding the season will be Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg,” absent from the repertoire for 12 years. Jan-Hendrik Rootering will sing the cobbler-poet Hans Sachs. Other featured artists include Nancy Gustafson as Eva, Wolfgang Schmidt and Gosta Winbergh sharing the role of Walther, Eike Wilm Schulte as Beckmesser, Robynne Redmon as Magdalene and Michael Schade as David. Christian Thielemann (debut) will conduct. Kurt Horres is the stage director.
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