Among the singers scheduled to appear are Freni, Frederica von Stade, Marcello Giordani, Salvatore Licitra, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Robert Lloyd, and James Morris. The program will include arias and ensembles from operas by Cila, Thomas, Ponchielli, Boito, Giordano, and Alfano, as well as the complete third act of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. James Levine conducts.
Freni was born in Modena, Italy, in 1935 and made her debut there as MicaêŠla in Carmen in 1965. She made her Met debut in 1965 as MimÐ in La Bohme, and has since sung 13 roles in a total of 138 performances with the company.
