Hunky tenor Roberto Alagna should heat things up in “Andrea Chénier.” (J.M. Lubrano)
Jonas Kaufmann will seek the Holy Grail in an eagerly awaited “Parsifal.” (Micaela Rossato/Metropolitan Opera)
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The holidays are over, the weather’s dreary and the temperature’s hovering around freezing. And yet, never before has opera been such a hot ticket!
From Lincoln Center to SoHo, BAM and The Bronx, companies large and small promise shows bright and beautiful during the darkest days of the year. Let’s take events more or less chronologically.
One quick way to warm up: Watching tenor heartthrob Roberto Alagna, who’ll swing into town Sunday for a concert performance of Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier” with Opera Orchestra of New York. In this French Revolution epic, Alagna plays an idealistic poet who belts out a few hit arias before joining his beloved Maddalena (soprano Kristin Lewis) on the guillotine. Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, $35 to $165; 212-721-6500, operaorchestrany.org.
For something new and funky, consider the inaugural PROTOTYPE: Opera/Theatre/Now festival. Running Wednesday to Jan. 18 in three SoHo venues (at HERE, 3LD and the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts), it promises an eclectic lineup of chamber pieces, including the NYC premiere of David T. Little’s “Soldier Songs,” with a libretto adapted from recorded interviews with veterans of five wars. And to think, tickets are just $15 to $20; 212-352-3101, prototypefestival.org.
Bronx Opera unearths Rossini’s “La Gazza Ladra” (“The Thieving Magpie”) for performances Jan. 12 to 20. The best-known selection from this 1817 comedy is the bubbly overture, snare-drum rolls and all.
Sound familiar? It’s been used on movie soundtracks in everything from “A Clockwork Orange” to “Once Upon a Time in America.” Lovinger Theatre, Lehman College, The Bronx, $15 to $30; 718-365-4209, bronxopera.org.
As everyone knows, Puccini’s “La Bohème” is the perfect first-date opera. But if the relationship is ready to move on to the next level, try the composer’s lesser-known tear-jerker “La Rondine.” The bittersweet tale returns to the Met Jan. 11 to 26 with soprano Kristine Opolais, in her company debut, as the jaded courtesan Magda, who’s looking for love with the naïve Ruggero, sung by the poetic tenor Giuseppe Filianoti.
Another Met revival is Rossini’s “Le Comte Ory,” a sexy farce starring two of opera’s dreamiest hunks, tenor Juan Diego Flórez and baritone Nathan Gunn, in the tale of a randy nobleman during the Crusades. Performances are Jan. 17 to Feb. 5.
Later, the company stages new productions of the classics, including “Rigoletto.” Tonywinning director Michael Mayer (“Spring Awakening”) helms Verdi’s tragedy about a serial womanizer and the hunchback’s daughter he seduces — this time, though, it’s set in Rat Pack-era Las Vegas. With a cast boasting soprano Diana Damrau and tenor Piotr Beczala, the melodrama runs Jan. 28 through May 1.
But the hottest ticket of the season, hands down, is Wagner’s “Parsifal.” Its superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann’s first time in the title role, that of an ignorant youth who grows up to become a Knight of the Holy Grail. The eerie imagery of François Girard’s new staging includes a lake of blood spanning the vast Met stage. Performances run Feb. 15 to March 8 at the Met, Lincoln Center, $20 to $430; 212-362-6000, metopera.org.
Finally, the New York City Opera returns for the opening of its spring season with Thomas Adès’ shocker “Powder Her Face” Feb. 15 to 23. The eclectic score — by the composer of the Met’s recent “The Tempest” — tells the tawdry tale of a scandalous divorce trial among British aristocracy in the swinging 1960s. That should raise the temperature! Brooklyn Academy of Music, $25 to $250; 718-636-4100, nycopera.com.