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Great Performances at the Met: “Marnie” Premieres February 1

Posted on: Monday, January 28, 2019

Great Performances at the Met: Marnie Premieres nationwide Friday, February 1 at 9 p.m. on WOUB

James Courtney as Dr. Roman and Isabel Leonard (foreground) in the title role of Nico Muhly’s “Marnie” with Dísella Lárusdóttir (in blue), Peabody Southwell (green), Deanna Breiwick, (orange) and Rebecca Ringle Kamarei (magenta) as the Shadow Marnies.
Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera

Season 13 of Great Performances at the Met continues with a primetime broadcast of Marnie, premiering Friday, February 1 at 9 p.m. on WOUB. Nico Muhly’s new opera, based on the 1961 Winston Graham thriller that inspired the iconic Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name, stars Isabel Leonard in the title role alongside Christopher Maltman as Mark Rutland. Janis Kelly, Denyce Graves, and Iestyn Davies round out the cast. Robert Spano conducts.

Iestyn Davies as Terry Rutland in Nico Muhly’s “Marnie.”
Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera

Michael Mayer’s production, which had its U.S. debut at the Met in fall 2018, takes place in England, where the alluring Marnie pursues a life of crime and dishonesty by assuming new identities after stealing from her employers. After pulling off another heist and adapting a new look successfully, she moves on to a new job at Halcyon Printing where her new boss is widower Mark Rutland. Marnie makes an attempt to steal from the company’s safe but is caught red-handed by Mark, who blackmails her into marrying him by threatening to turn her in to the police. Now forced into a loveless marriage, Marnie must face the traumas of her childhood and past indiscretions to free herself from a vicious cycle of deception. Anthony Roth Costanzo hosts.

Marnie closes out a month long set of classical music programming from Great Performances and Great Performances at the Met, including The Cleveland Orchestra Centennial Gala (January 11), Orphée et Eurydice from Lyric Opera of Chicago (January 18), Aida (January 20), and Doubt from Minnesota Opera (January 25).

Isabel Leonard (far right) in the title role of Nico Muhly’s “Marnie” with (l. to r.) Rebecca Ringle Kamarei, Deanna Breiwick, Peabody Southwell, and Dísella Lárusdóttir as the Shadow Marnies.
Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera

Notable Talent:
• Isabel Leonard – Marnie
• Christopher Maltman – Mark Rutland
• Janis Kelly – Mrs. Rutland
• Denyce Graves – Marnie’s Mother
• Iestyn Davies – Terry Rutland
• Anthony Roth Costanzo – Host

Run time: 2.5 hours

Production Credits:
• Michael Mayer – Production
• Julian Crouch and 59 Productions – Set and Projection Designers
• Arianne Phillips – Costume Designer
• Kevin Adams – Lighting Designer
• Lynne Page – Choreographer

Isabel Leonard in the title role of Nico Muhly’s “Marnie.”
Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera

For the Met, Habib Azar directs the telecast. David Frost is Music Producer. Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park are Supervising Producers, and Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik are Producers. Peter Gelb is Executive Producer. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is Series Producer; David Horn is Executive Producer.

Underwriters:
Corporate support for Great Performances at the Met is provided by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builder®. Major funding for the Met Opera presentation is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. This Great Performances presentation is funded by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, Ellen and James S. Marcus and public television viewers.

Series Overview:
Great Performances at the Met is a presentation of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, bringing the best of the Metropolitan Opera into the homes of classical music fans across the United States.