Ricardo Muti Conducts Atilla on Met's Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Ricardo Muti by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera
Ricardo Muti conducts Verdi's Attila on the Saturday matinee broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera. Ildar Abdrazakov sings the title role, joined by Violeta Urmana, Ramón Vargas, and Giovanni Meoni. Classic 99.1 KFUO-FM will carry the broadcast beginning at 12:00 noon (CT). Approximate running time 2 hours, 35 minutes.

From the Met's web site:

Champion of the Verdian tradition Riccardo Muti makes his Met debut with one of the composer’s rousing early operas. This story of civilization’s encounter with barbarism is explored in a new production by director Pierre Audi. Some of the brightest lights in contemporary design, including Miuccia Prada and the architecture team of Jacques Herzog & Pierre de Meuron (the 2008 Beijing Olympics "Bird’s Nest" stadium), have created the costumes and scenery. "Our approach is to stay very close to the descriptions supported by Verdi: destruction, rubble, lagoon, forest, darkness -- all in a very naturalistic way," explain Herzog & de Meuron.

From Peter G. Davis' February 17 New York Times story:

When Riccardo Muti ruled Teatro alla Scala in Milan from 1986 to 2005, a telephone caller to the opera house’s business offices was greeted in style: the first sound on the line was a gorgeously arching melody played by the full orchestra. Opera fans could probably identify the composer -- Giuseppe Verdi — but they might have had trouble placing the tune. It comes from the brief prelude to his seldom performed opera Attila, which finally receives its Metropolitan Opera premiere on Tuesday.