**
The doors will open at 10:30 AM for an 11 AM dress rehearsal on Thursday, Sept. 17. An onstage question-and-answer session will follow the run-through.
Three thousand free tickets, limited to two per person, will be available beginning at noon on Sunday, Sept. 13, at the Met Box office only.
Mattila sings the title role in Tosca for the first time outside her native Finland, joined by Marcelo êlvarez as Cavaradossi and Juha Uusitalo as Scarpia. The sets are designed by Richard Peduzzi, in his company debut, with costumes by Oscar-winning designer Milena Canonero, and lighting designed by Max Keller. James Levine mans the podium.
Tosca opens on Sept. 21 and runs through Oct. 17, returning in the spring for eight performances starting April 14. The opera will be transmitted live to hundreds of movie theaters around the world to start up this season's The Met: Live in HD series on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 1 PM.
*
Tosca is the first of three Final Dress Rehearsals/Open Houses offered in the 2009-10 season.
The second Open House will be held Monday, Nov. 30 for Bartlett Sher's new production of Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, conducted by James Levine, starring Joseph Calleja in the title role, with Anna Netrebko and Alan Held; the third Open House will be on Friday, April 9 for Mary Zimmerman's new production of Rossini's Armida, starring Ren_e Fleming. More details and ticket distribution information will be available at a later date.
Visit the Metropolitan Opera for more information.