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March 29: La Sonnambula

Jonathan Tichler
/
Metropolitan Opera

The 2013-14 Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcast season continues Saturday, March 29 at noon on KLRE Classical 90.5 with a live broadcast of Bellini’s La Sonnambula.This run marks soprano Diana Damrau's first-ever performances in the title role of the sleepwalking Amina. The broadcast also stars rising Mexican tenor Javier Camarena as Amina's fiance, Elvino, and Italian bass Michele Pertusi as Count Rodolfo, conducted by Marco Armiliato. La Sonnambula will be heard live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network at 12:00 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 29.

Diana Damrau made her Met debut in 2005 as Zerbinetta in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos. She has sung at the Met in every subsequent season: as Rosina in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia; Aithra in Strauss’s Die Ägyptische Helena; Pamina and the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte; Konstanze in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail; the title role in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor; Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto; Marie in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment; Countess Adèle in the Met premiere of Rossini’s Le Comte Ory; and Adina in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore. Last season, Damrau made an acclaimed role debut as Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata in a sold-out series of performances at the Met. Next season, she sings her first company performances of the title role in Massenet’s Manon.

Javier Camarena made his Met debut as Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia in 2011. He has sung Elvino at the Paris Opera and the Ópera de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. His other performances this season include Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Salzburg Festival; Count Almaviva at San Francisco Opera; and Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte at Zurich Opera.

Michele Pertusi sang Count Rodolfo in the 2009 premiere of Mary Zimmerman’s production. His other roles at the Met have been Alidoro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, the Tutor in Le Comte Ory, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and both Count Almaviva and the title character in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. In April, he will sing his first Met performances of Giorgio in Bellini’s I Puritani, which will be broadcast on May 3.

Marco Armiliato has conducted more than 300 Met performances in a wide variety of operatic styles, including the company premieres of Wolf-Ferrari’s Sly, Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac, and Donizetti’s Anna Bolena. Later this season, he will conduct Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Next season, he leads performances of both Verdi’s Aida and La Traviata.

The intermission will include backstage interviews with the stars.