The Metropolitan Opera is staging a production of Herman Melville's masterpiece about a white whale, ‘Moby-Dick.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 30: Rep. Byron Donalds shakes hands with former U.S. President Donald Trump during the Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors national summit at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on June 30, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The self-labeled"parental rights" summit is bringing school board hopefuls from across the country where attendees will receive training and hear from Republican presidential candidates which include former U.S. President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. The summit, which is being held in an overwhelmingly Democratic Philadelphia, has drawn protestors since the event was announced due to their pushing of book bans accusing schools of ideological overreach, including teaching about race, gender, and sexuality. Congressman Byron Donalds announces run for Florida governor with President Trump’s endorsement‘Full-on assault of immigrant communities’: Local activist groups voice concerns over proposed immigration policiesGet ready for some fabulous Insider Deals that will help you have a cozy night's sleep and elevate your style and beauty game.Shockingly affordable – This Lenovo Chromebook is a steal at 71% offThis image released by the Metropolitan Opera shows a scene from a rehearsal of the opera"Moby-Dick" at the Metropolitan Opera on Feb. 20, 2025 in New York. “Then I ran to a used bookstore and got the book,” he recalled, “and I thought: ‘Oh my God, what am I in for here?’ It’s so daunting. I didn’t panic, but I thought, ‘How do we do this?’”down to a 64-page libretto. He kept as much of Melville’s language as possible, and estimates that 40% to 50% of his libretto can be found in the original text, though he often tweaked the phrasing to make it more singable., had already decided to lop off the opening chapters, which take place on land. They set the entire opera aboard the whale-hunting ship Pequod. Another crucial change was renaming the narrator, calling him Greenhorn to reflect his status as a novice aboard the ship. Now the book’s famous opening line, “Call me Ishmael,” is transposed to the very end of the opera when the character has matured. “In the novel, Ishmael is telling a story that happened many years ago,” Scheer said. “But in the theater, you want to see it happen in real time. … We’re watching him take in all the experiences so that when he says ‘Call me Ishmael,’ he’s ready to write the book. In essence, this opera is the education of Ishmael.” Tenor Stephen Costello, who is performing the role for the fifth time and is the lone cast holdover from the Dallas premiere in 2010, sees his character as “the only one who really has an arc. “He goes on the Pequod because there was nothing for him on land,” Costello said. “So he’s either going to die at sea or figure out who he is.” In addition to Costello, the Met cast includes tenor Brandon Jovanovich as the vengeance-obsessed Captain Ahab. Pip, his cabin boy, is written as a “trousers role” and will be sung by soprano Janai Brugger. Starbuck, the first mate, will be baritone Peter Mattei, and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green will sing the part of Queequeg. Karen Kamensek conducts the eight performances through March 29. The opera, commissioned to celebrate the opening of a new opera house in Dallas, has been a success from the beginning, drawing praise from audiences and critics — and even scholars. Bob Wallace, a professor at Northern Kentucky State University and past president of the Melville Society, admired the opera so much that he wrote a book about its creation. “Scheer and Heggie did a brilliant job of shrinking the novel to make it fit the stage and yet preserve so much of the essence of it,” he said in an interview. As much as critics admired Scheer’s adaptation and Heggie’s tuneful, atmospheric and at times gripping score, they lavished special praise on the physical production, with sets by Robert Brill and projections by Elaine J. McCarthy.Perhaps the most stunning effect is the way animated projections superimposed on a climbing wall that is curved a bit like a skateboard ramp create the illusion of the crew leaving the Pequod to board three whaling boats. “A lot of the excitement and thrill of watching this is due to the work of the production team,” Scheer said. “Lenny kept saying to me, ’You imagine it the way you want it, and let me figure out how to do it.” That often involved imposing unusual physical demands on the singers. For instance, when Pip gets lost at sea, his character sings the equivalent of an operatic mad scene dangling high above the stage, with projections making it appear he’s treading water. “I said to Janai when we first rehearsed it,” Foglia recalled, “OK, you can just get mad at me now, because you have to sing your hardest aria hanging from not even a full harness, just a single wire.” In addition, Queequeg and Greenhorn climb up and down ladders to sing at the top of the mastheads. Ahab, who has lost a leg in a prior encounter with Moby-Dick, has to hobble on a wooden prosthesis. And Greenhorn — finally named Ishmael — ends the opera grabbing onto a whale hook from a passing ship that lifts him to safety. “I joke with them that everything opera singers count on in life — having both feet planted on the ground — I’ve taken away from them,” Foglia said. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Get ready for some fabulous Insider Deals that will help you have a cozy night's sleep and elevate your style and beauty game.Shockingly affordable – This Lenovo Chromebook is a steal at 71% off
Leonard Foglia Terrence Mcnally Stephen Costello Steve Smith Brandon Jovanovich Bob Wallace Herman Melville Gene Scheer Entertainment Karen Kamensek Ryan Speedo Green Jake Heggie
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Read more »