Medea

Why it is worth going

Cherubini's Medea, first given in Paris in 1797, is rarely staged; the Met brings back David McVicar's production for seven nights, Sonya Yoncheva singing Medea on six of them and Chiara Isotton on the last, 21 November.¹ Michael Spyres sings Giasone, the husband she takes her revenge on, with Elena Villalón as Glauce, Victoria Karkacheva as Neris and Alexandros Stavrakakis as Creonte; Carlo Rizzi conducts every night.¹ The weight of the evening is on the title role: the confrontation with Giasone and their duet that close Act I, and her final scene in Act III.¹ It runs 2 hours 50 minutes with one 30-minute interval, is sung in Italian with Met Titles in English, German and Spanish, and is not for anyone who would rather not watch the killing of children: the Met suggests it for ages 13 and up.¹ For a box rather than a seat, the Met's VIP concierge arranges the evening from USD 1,100 a person, with at least two weeks' notice, which rules out the opening night.²