Arts & Culture

Stravinsky’s Provocative ‘The Rake’s Progress’ Makes a Brief Return to the Met

Stravinsky’s Provocative ‘The Rake’s Progress’ Makes a Brief Return to the Met
Nick Shadow (Gerald Finley) leads Tom Rakewell (Paul Appleby) on a journey of moral corruption, bankruptcy, and finally insanity. Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera
Barry Bassis
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Igor Stravinsky’s opera, “The Rake’s Progress,” gets more respect than love from opera houses. The good news at the Metropolitan Opera is that the stunning Jonathan Miller production is back. The bad news is that it is running for only three performances and closes May 9.

The opera, which has a libretto by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, was inspired by a series of paintings by William Hogarth (1697–1764). Like the paintings, the opera presents the rise and fall of a weak-willed young man.

Layla Claire, Paul Appleby, and Gerald Finley appear in "The Rake's Progress." (Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera)
Layla Claire, Paul Appleby, and Gerald Finley appear in "The Rake's Progress." Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera
Barry Bassis
Barry Bassis
Author
Barry has been a music, theater, and travel writer for over a decade for various publications, including Epoch Times. He is a voting member of the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle, two organizations of theater critics that give awards at the end of each season. He has also been a member of NATJA (North American Travel Journalists Association)