03/16/13 – Francesca da Rimini – 1:00pm

Metropolitan Opera

 Francesca da Rimini  by Riccardo Zandonai
Libretto by  Tito Ricordi

Sung in Italian
Approximate running time: 3 hrs. 33 min., including 3 intermissions

Eva-Maria Westbroek and Marcello Giordani star in the Met’s production of Zandonai’s melodic gem, inspired by Dante’s Inferno. Marco Armiliato conducts.

Eva-Maria Westbroek “exudes warmth and intelligence in the title role” (Financial Times).

Her “dramatic soprano and fine acting” captured “Francesca’s vulnerability in the softer lyrical moment, yet her voice had enough heft to accurately cut through the swelling orchestration” (AP) of Zandonai’s rare gem.