Brett Dean’s
Hamlet
Libretto by Matthew Jocelyn
Cast: Brenda Rae (Ophelia), Sarah Connolly (Gertrude), Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (Rosencrantz), Christopher Lowrey (Guildenstern), Allan Clayton (Hamlet), David Butt Philip (Laertes), William Burden (Polonius), Jacques Imbrailo (Horatio), Rod Gilfry (Claudius), John Relyea (Ghost)
There will be a pre-opera talk led by John Steinbrunner one hour before the performance.
When Australian composer Brett Dean’s Hamlet had its world premiere at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2017, The Guardian declared, “New opera doesn’t often get to sound this good … Shakespeare offers a gauntlet to composers that shouldn’t always be picked up, but Dean’s Hamlet rises to the challenge.” On June 4, this riveting contemporary masterpiece appears live in cinemas, with Neil Armfield, who directed the work’s premiere, bringing his acclaimed staging to the Met. Many of the original cast members have followed, including tenor Allan Clayton in the title role. Nicholas Carter makes his Met debut conducting a remarkable ensemble, which also features soprano Brenda Rae as Ophelia, mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly as Gertrude, baritone Rod Gilfry as Claudius, and legendary bass John Relyea as the ghost of Hamlet’s father.
Act I
Hamlet is deeply disturbed by his father’s untimely death and his mother’s hasty marriage to the king’s brother, Claudius. The ghost of the late king appears to Hamlet and tells him to avenge his death. Hamlet rejects Ophelia and dismisses Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He asks the players to perform a scene mimicking the murder of King Hamlet by his brother, and Claudius reacts violently. Hamlet comes upon Claudius praying but is unable to kill him. Hamlet hears a muffled cry and, thinking that Claudius is spying on him, runs his sword through a tapestry, killing the unsuspecting Polonius. His father’s ghost reappears, reminding Hamlet to avenge his death.
Act II
Laertes returns to Elsinore to avenge his father’s death. Claudius manages to allay Laertes’s violence by convincing him that Hamlet is the guilty one. Ophelia has gone mad as a result of Hamlet’s rejection and the death of her father. Hamlet and Horatio happen upon Ophelia’s funeral, and upon learning of her death, Hamlet provokes Laertes. Laertes challenges Hamlet to a duel. Hamlet accepts the challenge. Many deaths ensue.