Graciela Daniele, Richard Eyre, Renee Fleming, Bartlett Sher, Paolo Szot, Mary Zimmerman and More Set for Met’s 2009-2010 Season

The Metropolitan Opera has announced details for its 2009-2010 season, which will include eight new productions, four of which are company premieres, as well as 18 revivals from the company’s repertory.

Of particular interest to theatergoers, Tony Award winner Paolo Szot will make his Met debut as Kovyalov in Dmitri Shostakovich’s The Nose, directed and designed by William Kentridge, with Gordon Gietz in the title role.

Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher will direct Jacques Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, to be conducted by James Levine, and starring Rolando Villazón and Anna Netrebko. The creative team will feature Tony Award winners Michael Yeargan and Catherine Zuber. Sher’s production of Il Barbiere Di Siviglia will also be presented as part of the repertory.

Richard Eyre will direct a new production of George Bizet’s Carmen, featuring choreography by Christopher Wheeldon, set and costume design by Rob Howell, and lighting by Peter Mumford.

Renée Fleming will star in the Met’s premiere of Giachoion Rossini’s Armida, directed by Mary Zimmerman, choreographed by Graciela Daniele, and conducted by Riccardo Frizza. Fleming will also sing the role of Marschallin in Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavelier.

Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet, based on the play by Shakespeare, will be seen in a new production by Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser, conducted by Louis Langrée, and starring Simon Keenlyside in the title role and Natalie Dessay as Ophélie.

Opera legend Placido Domingo will take on the title role of Guiseppe Verdi’s Simon Bocanegra, alongside Adrianne Pieczonka, Marcello Giordani, and James Morris; Kiri Te Kanawa will play the Duchss of Krakenthorp in Gaetano Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment.

For more information, visit www.metopera.org.