The Hours Met Talk

Met Radio Host Debra Lew Harder speaks with members of the cast and creative team of The Hours ahead of its world-premiere production, including composer Kevin Puts and librettist Greg Pierce, Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, director Phelim McDermott, and the opera's three stars, sopranos Renée Fleming and Kelli O'Hara and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. 2022-23 season.

[@theogoldberg8919]

So grateful for this . Team of geniuses. I respect each and every one of them in the room . Maestro Yannick is as always a wonder of humanity and intelligence

[@edgarfranceschi8338]

Very curious- in this panel( and all the publicity connected to this opera) it's never made clear that the three women are queer! I thought the time had come to openly talk about that.

[@Perrosiutico]

Why would you assume that the three women are "queer"?

[@lucillecraig9150]

It is interesting that no one asks if someone is heterosexual, so why should it be de rigeur to ask - or emphasise one's homsexuality? Curious - or a sign of the times....

[@SandViolet]

@@Perrosiutico Have you read the book or seen the movie?

[@SandViolet]

@@lucillecraig9150 Agree.

[@SaulRaw]

I saw the final dress rehearsal and found it almost incomprehensible. I think that it will be for many unless you read the book and see the movie beforehand. Wish I had looked at this before seeing it. The NYT review made no mention of the difficulty in following all of this, which I found astonishing.

[@swarzeoz2550]

The people behind me did not know the book or the movie. They had NO problem knowing exactly what was going on, and truly gasped when they realized that Laura Brown was Richard's mother.

[@SaulRaw]

@@swarzeoz2550 They are clearly more intelligent and astute than I am.

[@noejimenez4406]

Lástima, no hablo inglés.

[@eldaabouffartiqueroyer3790]

I love all three women. I just lost all respect for the met. I will not even give it a capital M.

[@evans54]

why

[@johnpickford4222]

Elsa’s Bouffartique Royer: If you are critical to state that you lost all respect for the MET then you should be professional enough to explain why. Otherwise you come across, as you have, as an idiot.

[@eldaabouffartiqueroyer3790]

Lol 🤣

[@swarzeoz2550]

WHY?

[@eldaabouffartiqueroyer3790]

When they let go of Anna Netrebko..... Complete moronic decision

[@victorgrauer5834]

It's pretty off-putting, all this shameless self-promotion, gushing mutual praise and false modesty, stemming from what is fundamentally the hyping of yet another opera by yet another American composer that will in all likelihood be utterly forgotten in 5 years time.

[@evans54]

how do you know

[@evans54]

are you living in the 19th century

[@victorgrauer5834]

@@evans54 I know from experience. How many American operas still being regularly performed in leading opera houses can you name?

[@evans54]

@@victorgrauer5834 I know a few like Nixon in China , Dead Men Walking . These people are marketing an opera they believe in and your assessment of what they are doing by promoting it was disrespectful and belittling. Lots of works don’t stand the test of time, including much of the work even in the grand eras of opera. Does that mean people should stop composing and producing new works? In the 1930’s who would have thought Porgy and Bess would be remembered or in the 1950’s Dialogue of the Carmelites ? You don’t know so stop putting down an effort to create something. New . You haven’t even experienced the work to be able to have an assessment of its worth.

[@victorgrauer5834]

@@evans54 Actually I've been following the many excerpts presented via youtube and my reservations are influenced by what I've been hearing so far. I happen to be an enthusiastic fan of new music, and have no problem with what I've heard so far of Kevin Puts' instrumental works. My problem with what I've heard of his opera stems from a long-time impatience with so many American-made operas that rely far too much on boring recitative to the point that they all tend to sound alike. There seems to be some sort of rule of thumb based on the belief that opera in English must be based as much as possible on conversational speech patterns, as though the English language doesn't lend itself to the sort of lyrical expressions that have made so many Italian, German and Russian operas so popular. And yes, there are some outstanding exceptions, such as Porgy and Bess and the best of Menotti -- and Nixon in China, which is in a class of its own.