Both the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic will offer open dress rehearsals for their opening nights this year. Here are the details from their websites:
Free Tosca Open House Announced!
September 2, 2009
Don’t miss the season-opening new production of Tosca–four
days before Opening Night. On Thursday, September 17, the Met will
launch its fourth season of free Open Houses, with the final dress
rehearsal of Luc Bondy’s new staging of Puccini’s opera, starring
Karita Mattila and conducted by Music Director James Levine.Three
thousand free tickets, limited to two per person, will be available
beginning at noon on Sunday, September 13, at the Met box office only.
The rehearsal starts at 11am on September 17, with doors opening at
10:30am.Tosca is the first of three Open Houses planned for the 2009-10 season. The final dress rehearsals for Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Armida will be open later in the season.
The Open House for Tosca has been underwritten by a generous gift from Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman.
Free Dress Rehearsal
Renée FlemingLocation: Avery Fisher Hall (Directions)
Wed,
Sep 16, 2009, 9:45AMThe Philharmonic’s “Opening Day” begins with a free-to-the-public Dress Rehearsal featuring soprano Renée Fleming, Music Director Alan Gilbert and the Philharmonic as they prepare the evening’s program.
The free dress rehearsal is offered to the public, for the third
consecutive year, by the New York Philharmonic and its Global Sponsor,
Credit Suisse. General admission tickets will be handed out on a
first-come, first-served basis, starting at 8:00AM that morning, on
Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza. All attendees will receive
discount coupons to a future Philharmonic concert and have the chance
to win free concert tickets, autographed programs, and pre-loaded
iPods.
This is all-around generosity: generosity from the sponsors, obviously, but also generosity from the artists and the organizations’ staff members, who have extremely busy weeks and, in the case of the Philharmonic, a very long night ahead of them. I also like that the Philharmonic is dolling out the swag, maybe from the balcony Evita style. They will change your way of life for a concert or even two-ooo.
My intern Nate got to The Met at 11am on Sunday and snapped this photo. At that point, there were over 1,000 people in line.
Along similar lines, 19,000 people showed up at Nationals Park to see the Washington National Opera’s free Il Barbiere di Siviglia
simulcast. Meanwhile, back at the gala ranch, Simone Alberghini
(Figaro) sat next to Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Eric and I sat with another
appointed official: Miss D.C..
Agreed. It’s so generous of these organizations to arrange these open rehearsals for their city and supporters. Many music fans (this year especially) have been laid off, and just can’t afford the price points for these opening nights (if I recall, seats for the opening night of the NY Philharmonic start at $75, the same price as the cheapest seats to the Metropolitan’s opening night). So it’s a big gift to past supporters who find themselves on a budget this year. A big thanks to both the Met Opera and the Philharmonic.
Miss D.C. does a pretty good job of singing the national anthem before Nats games, BTW.