Opening on Thursday and running until February 15, the Metropolitan Opera will be presenting the great Antonin Dvořák's Rusalka.
Even better, Renée Fleming will return to one of her signature roles--singing the emblematic "Song to the Moon" aria as only she can.
Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium in the pit, while mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick channels the forest witch and tenor Piotr Beczała as the prince.
The 1901 divine opera was based on a fairy tale about a water nymph that beseeches a witch for mortality after falling in love with a prince.
But again, this clip of Fleming singing is all ye really need know.
The Met's production, too, is poised to break records for its February 8 broadcast. Attendance is expected to top the current record of 6,524 viewers for a January 2010 broadcast of Bizet's beloved Carmen.
"It's a fascinating story...the music is so lyrical and melodic, full of tenderness, but also powerful," Fleming says of Rusalka.
Fleming captivated Met audiences with her first performance of the opera in 1990, which critics now consider one of her signature character roles.
For this revival, the performance now has a running time of three hours and 35 minutes. Tickets can be purchased via the Met's website, starting at the steal price of $27.
