The Metropolitan Opera: The Exterminating Angel
After the acclaimed Met premiere of Thomas Adès's "The Tempest" in 2012, the composer returned with another masterpiece, this time inspired by filmmaker Luis Buñuel's seminal surrealist classic "El Ángel Exterminador", during the 2017–18 season. As the opera opens, a group of elegant socialites gather for a lavish dinner party, but when it is time to leave for the night, no one is able to escape. Soon, their behavior becomes increasingly erratic and savage. The large ensemble cast tackles both the vocal and dramatic demands of Adès's opera with one riveting performance after another. Tom Cairns, who also penned the work's libretto, directs an engrossing and inventive production, using a towering wooden archway to trap the characters onstage. And Adès himself takes the podium to conduct the frenzied score, which features a host of unconventional instruments, including the eerie electronic ondes Martenot.
Genres
Cast
Joseph Kaiser
Amanda Echalaz
Audrey Luna
Alice Coote
Sally Matthews
Iestyn Davies
Christine Rice
Rodney Gilfry
Sophie Bevan
Frédéric Antoun
David Portillo
David Adam Moore
Kevin Burdette
John Tomlinson
Christian van Horn
John Irvin
Ian Koziara
Paul Corona
Mary Dunleavy
Catherine Cook
Andrea Coleman
Marc Persing
Jeff Mattsey
Lucas Mann
Susan Graham
MET Orchestra
