Listen Saturday, June 4th at 1pm. Program notes courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera. Click here for the upcoming Metropolitan Opera broadcast schedule.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2021-22 season of live Saturday matinee broadcasts continues with the network broadcast premiere of Hamlet, the striking new opera by Brett Dean with a libretto by Matthew Jocelyn based on Shakespeare’s towering tragedy. Tenor Allan Clayton sings the tour-de-force title role of the prince of Denmark, tormented by his father’s murder and his mother’s hasty re-marriage. He’s joined by soprano Brenda Rae as Ophelia, mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly as Gertrude, baritone Rod Gilfry as Claudius, and bass-baritone John Relyea as the ghost. The superb ensemble cast also features Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Christopher Lowrey, David Butt Philip, William Burden, and Jacques Imbrailo. Nicholas Carter conducts the Met Orchestra and Chorus in the opera’s audacious and riveting score.

Read a synopsis of the opera.

Sarah Connolly as Gertrude; Rod Gilfry as Claudius; Chad Shelton, Justin Austin, and John Relea (on floor) as Players; William Burden as Polonius; and Brenda Rae as Ophelia in Brett Dean's "Hamlet." (Karen Almond)

CONDUCTOR: Nicholas Carter

CAST:

Hamlet - Allan Clayton

Ophelia - Brenda Rae

Gertrude - Sarah Connolly

Rosencrantz - Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen

Christopher Lowrey - Guildenstern

Laertes - David Butt Philip

Polonius - William Burden

Horatio - Jacques Imbrailo

Claudius - Rod Gilfry

Ghost - John Relyea

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Want a closer look at the music of Hamlet? Stream the Aria Code episode featuring Hamlet’s "To Be or Not To Be."