Hartford Stage's Darko Tresnjak To Make His Directing Bow At The Met

Darko Tresnjak, playfully, at home in Manchester. Photo by Frank Rizzo.

Darko Tresnjak, artistic director at Hartford Stage, will be making his directing debut at Metropolitan Opera in New York City this fall with his staging of Saint-Saens’ “Samson et Dalila”

The Met’s 2018-2019 season opener will begin performances Sept. 24 and will star Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna.

Tresnjak has directed opera before, most recently for the Los Angeles Opera with “Macbeth” and “The Ghosts of Versailles,” the latter which featured Patti LuPone.

Tresjak this year will also be overseeing European tours of “Anastasia,” based on the Broadway production he directed. The show, despite mixed reviews, has had a stable audience base and is still playing after nearly a year, grossing about $1million a week. The national company of the show is also expected to be launched later this year.

Tresnjak has one more show to stage this season in Hartfprd: Athol Fugard’s “A Lesson from Aloes,” (which replaced the previously announced “Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act." The reason for the switch was "because it’s a more relevant and relatable play, according to a theater spokesman. "It’s a more topical piece of theatre.. "A Lesson From Aloes" will run May 17 to June 12.

Tresnjak received a Tony Awards for his staging of the Broadway production of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder” which had its world premiere at Hartford Stage in 2012, as did “Anastasia” in 2016.

Music director designate Yannick Nezet-Seguin assumes the title full time in the fall with “Samson et Dilia.” (Two seasons ahead of schedule because of the suspension  of music director emeritus James Levine.)