04/19/14 – Arabella – 1:00pm

Metropolitan Opera

Arabella by Richard Strauss
Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Sung in German

Approximate running time 3 hrs. 31 min.

Swedish soprano Malin Byström stars in the title role of Strauss’s nostalgic romance that explores the fleeting charms of youth, opposite Michael Volle and Juliane Banse. Philippe Auguin conducts.

In the title role, Malin Byström, “elegant in both looks and tone, and sounding full and flexible, is uncannily reminiscent of Kiri Te Kanawa… her voice has silvery plush…”

Michael Volle “made his Met debut with an assured, intelligent performance as Mandryka… he acts with his vocal instrument, capturing both the cultivated and the rough, boisterous qualities” of the character.

Conductor Phillipe Auguin “keep[s] things lithe and light-textured in the pit.”

—New York Times

Cast/Crew