**METROPOLITAN OPERA RADIO BROADCAST ALERT**

Vittorio Grigolo and Isabel Leonard Star in the

Met’s Radio Broadcast of Massenet’s Werther

Edward Gardner conducts the performance, which also features

Anna Christy, David Bizic, and Maurizio Muraro

Saturday, March 4 at 1:00 p.m. ET

The 2016-17 Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcast season continues with a live broadcast of Massenet’s Werther starring tenor Vittorio Grigolo in the title role of the tortured young poet opposite mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as the beautiful but unobtainable Charlotte. Edward Gardner leads the cast that also features Anna Christy as Charlotte’s younger sister Sophie, with David Bizic reprising the role of Albert and Maurizio Muraro as Le Bailli. Werther will be heard live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network at 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 4.

Vittorio Grigolo has sung the role of Werther to acclaim at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and in concert with Deutsche Oper Berlin. He made his Met debut in 2010 as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème followed by performances as the Duke in Verdi’s Rigoletto, the title character in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, and des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon. Earlier this season, he starred as Roméo in the Met’s new production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and in May, he will return as a soloist in the Met’s 50th Anniversary at Lincoln Center Gala. Next season, he will reprise the title role in Les Contes d’Hoffmann and make a company role debut as Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.

Isabel Leonard adds a new role to her Met repertory as Charlotte, having performed it previously at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Her 2007 company debut as Stéphano in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette was followed by appearances as Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Rosina in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Miranda in Thomas Adès’s The Tempest, and Blanche de la Force in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites. Later this season, she will reprise the role of Zerlina in Don Giovanni with the company and sing in the Met’s 50th Anniversary at Lincoln Center Gala. She will return next season to reprise the role of Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro.

Soprano Anna Christy made her Met debut in 2004 as Papagena in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. She has returned as Hortense in the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy, Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and Lisette in Puccini’s La Rondine. Later this season, she will sing the title role of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at Opera Colorado and Morgana in Handel’s Alcina at the Santa Fe Opera.

Baritone David Bizic made his Met debut in 2014 as Albert, a role he has also sung at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. Earlier this season, he sang Marcello in La Bohème at the Met. His recent credits with other companies include Leporello in Don Giovanni at the Vienna State Opera and Los Angeles Opera; the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Opéra National de Bordeaux and Opéra de Monte Carlo; and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte at the Paris Opera. He will sing Nadir in Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles at the Opéra National de Bordeaux later this year, and next season he returns to the Met as Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

Bass-baritone Maurizio Muraro makes his role debut as Le Bailli. His Met repertory also includes Sulpice in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, and Dr. Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro. Earlier this season, he sang Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Met (a role he also performed in 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2012), and he will reprise the role of Dr. Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro next season.

Edward Gardner made his Met debut in 2010 conducting Bizet’s Carmen. Since then, he has also led Don Giovanni and Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier with the company. He has conducted at opera houses around the world including La Scala, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Paris Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. For eight years, the British maestro was Music Director of the English National Opera, and since 2015, he has been Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Later this season, he will conduct Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at the Paris Opera and Britten’s Peter Grimes at the Bergen National Opera.

The single intermission will include artist interviews.

THE STARS OF WERTHER

PHOTOS

Click here to download photos and videos from Werther.

About the Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcasts

The Metropolitan Opera celebrates its 86th season of Saturday Afternoon Radio Broadcasts—the longest-running classical music series in American broadcast history. Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcasts have brought opera into millions of homes and enriched the lives of many, playing a vital and unparalleled role in the development and appreciation of opera in this country. Mary Jo Heath hosts, joined each week in the broadcast booth by commentator Ira Siff.

The broadcasts are heard worldwide, reaching millions of opera lovers in more than 35 countries. Listeners can visit www.Metopera.org/SaturdayMatineeBroadcasts for a wealth of information about the Met broadcasts. For details about all Met performances this season, as well as ticket information, visit the Met’s website at www.metopera.org.

# # #

Contact: Silja Tobin

Metropolitan Opera

(212) 870-7457