Originally Posted by Derek Reaban

In an exciting TV preview of what promises to be an unforgettable evening of music and theater, five stars from the Met's new production of Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) will perform a scene on the Late Show with David Letterman. Under the baton of conductor Maurizio Benini, Met stars Juan Diego Flórez, Diana Damrau, Peter Mattei, John Del Carlo, and Samuel Ramey will perform the stirring Act I finale of director Bartlett Sher's innovative new production of the comic favorite. A 16–member chorus and 22 members of the Met orchestra will also appear.

The broadcast is on Wednesday, November 8, 2006, at 11:35 p.m., ET, on CBS.

The Letterman performance provides an enticing first glimpse of the highly anticipated production, which premieres Friday, November 10. The Met's first new production of Barber in 25 years has been created by Sher and his Tony Award®–winning artistic dream team behind the Broadway hit The Light in the Piazza.


The Letterman appearance offers just a taste of Sher's groundbreaking new Barber. Tickets for all performances, plus behind–the–scene stories, are available at www.metopera.org. The November 10 premiere will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio (channel 85 on SIRIUS Satellite Radio) and streamed live on the Met website at www.metopera.org. The production will be broadcast live into movie theaters in high definition in spring 2007.