Musetta vs. Maureen: Nine Moments From the Metropolitan Opera's New Season & Their Broadway Equivalent

There may only be seven basic plots out there, but whether on the musical theater or opera stage, we have myriad ways to tell them. The Metropolitan Opera's season launches on September 21 with a new staging of Verdi's Otello from Tony winner Bartlett Sher. The subsequent lineup features 24 additional operas, including five more debuting productions. Several moments and arias from this season's picks gave us show tune déjà vu as certain tropes echoed both in belt and head voice. Take a look below at some side-by-side comparisons; you might just find your new go-to revenge tune or "f*ck everything" anthem.


Ill-Conceived Revenge Plots
Rigoletto / Sweeney Todd
Let’s hear it for the dads who’ll stop at nothing to avenge their daughter’s honor. Unfortunately, neither Rigoletto nor Sweeney’s plans quite work out. Rigoletto promises revenge (“Si, vendetta”) after the Duke and his men kidnap Gilda; Gilda winds up dead. Sweeney vows to slit any throat that gets in the way of saving Johanna from Judge Turpin (“Epiphany”); Sweeney winds up dead.

Tony winner Michael Mayer's production returns to the Met this October after premiering in 2013. The director brings the action to '60s Las Vegas. There's a lot of neon.


"I Can't Help It That I'm So Popular"
La Bohème / Rent
It’s common knowledge that Rent modernizes the romance and heartbreak of Puccini’s masterpiece; the soprano staple “Quando M’en Vo” even gets name checked in “La Vie Boheme.” Bits of “Take Me Or Leave Me” are almost direct translations of Musetta’s waltz. But while the doormat Alcindoro falls for Musetta’s ploys, Joanne isn’t afraid to belt right back in Maureen’s face. Thank God.

La Bohème is the most frequently performed opera at the Met, and Franco Zeffirelli's lavish production has been a mainstay since 1981. That snow will fall 17 more times this season.


Men Are the Actual Worst
Le Nozze di Figaro / A Little Night Music
In tragic opera, infidelity—or the mere idea of it—results in murder. In comedies, they usually work it out. In Mozart’s opera, for instance, Countess Almaviva laments her straying husband (“Dove sono”) and concocts a plan to catch him. In Sondheim’s romance, the sardonic Countess Charlotte is well aware of her husband’s affair (“Every Day a Little Death”), and during a particularly tuneful weekend in the country, manipulates him into returning to her. In both, all is forgiven in the end, but none of us forget that men are idiots.

Olivier winner Richard Eyre's production returns to the Met stage after kicking off the 2014-15 season. It's sexier than you'd expect.


Put On a Happy Face?
Pagliacci / Hedwig & the Angry Inch
Whether you’re a cuckolded clown or an internationally ignored song stylist, life blows. Canio’s ubiquitous “Vesti la giubba”—the exemplary sad clown tune—is an aria of defeat as he’s sentenced to become the clown even when it hits too close to home. Hedwig, on the other hand, pulls the “Wig in a Box” down from the shelf after a divorce, reinventing herself as a punk rock goddess. Yes, it’s more triumphant, but playing dress-up is still a bandage (“I laugh, because I will cry if I don’t.”).

This Pagliacci, paired with Cavalleria Rusticana, is set in 1949. David McVicar's staging of the double bill first debuted in the spring and plays an encore in January 2016.


If You're Evil & You Know It...
Tosca (or Otello) / Peter Pan
There are a handful of ways to detect the bad guy in opera. Listen for the deep voice. Or for the one who won’t stop singing about being evil. Subtlety isn’t exactly opera villains’ forte. In Tosca, the Baron Scarpia has three distinct arias dedicated to his trickery. In Otello, Iago delivers a literal credo about the cruel God who created him. There’s also no shortage of bad guys in musicals, but few are as card-carrying as the swiniest swine in the world: Captain Hook.

Four sopranos take on the title role of the ill-fated Tosca this year. Opera legend Plácido Domingo will take to the pit to conduct select performances.


Stop Beating Yourself Up!
Maria Stuarda / Wicked
“What Is This Feeling” is no match for Donizetti’s confrontation duet between Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I; once your cousin signs your death warrant, there’s no hope for a makeover sequence. However, Mary Queen of Scots and Elphaba both have moments of hesitation regarding their charity and martyrdom (“Son di tutti la sventura io sola,” “I bring misfortune to everyone near me”/”No Good Deed”). Though innocent, Mary marches toward death, and Elphaba, after the losing Nessa, Dr. Dillamond and Fiyero (Fiyeerrooooo!), embraces the titular descriptor.

Sondra Radvanovsky embarks on Donizetti's "Tudor trilogy" this season, starring in not only Maria Stuarda, but also Anna Bolena and a new production of Roberto Devereux as Queen Elizabeth I.


He's Coming, I Swear!
Madama Butterfly / Miss Saigon
In the sweeping, perennial aria “Un bel dì," Cio-Cio San vividly imagines a returning ship as she clings to a promise that the American Lieutenant Pinkerton is too much of a wimp to uphold. In Boublil and Schönberg's Vietnam War-set adaptation, Kim and Ellen sing from separate beds their devotion to Chris, because love triangles transcend centuries and countries. And in both Puccini’s opera and the musical, it’s the heroine who pays the price.

The popular staging by the late Anthony Minghella incorporates elements from traditional Japanese storytelling for a minimalist approach, and perhaps to bring enlightenment to the problematic appropriation of the piece itself. Catch it in 2016.


The Wily Servant (or Barber)
The Barber of Seville / A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Both Rossini’s opera buffa and Sondheim’s comedy riff on Commedia dell’Arte, and front and center are their respective Harlequins: barber Figaro (Figaro, Figaro) and sharp-tonged slave Pseudolus. They’re far from the crème de la crème, but what they lack in social status they make up for in confidence. Figaro’s quick to tell you he runs this town (“Largo al factotum”), and Pseudolus promises courtesans, eunuchs and of course, a “Comedy Tonight.” It’s their hijinks that unite the lovers and humiliate the olds.

The super fun staging by Tony winner Bartlett Sher is this season's holiday presentation. The condensed version is performed in English, and there's no experience like seeing kids transfixed by opera.


Lovable Hero, Questionable Tactics
L'Elisir d'Amore / Little Shop of Horrors
Nemorino and Seymour are both guys we’d like to hug. Donizetti’s protagonist—whose name translates to Little No One—is in love with Adina, who won’t be tied down. The adorable Seymour’s got it bad for Audrey, who’s trapped in an abusive relationship. It all seemingly works out for both guys, provided you gloss over Nemorino's use of a love potion (just kidding; it’s a placebo) and Seymour getting his way via a carnivorous plant that eats, well, the entire planet.

Sher's production opened the Met's 2012-13 season; this marks its second return to the house.

The complete 2015-16 season is as follows:
Otello, beginning September 21*
Turandot, beginning September 23
Il Trovatore, beginning September 25
Anna Bolena, beginning September 26
Tannhäuser, beginning October 8
Tosca, beginning October 16
Rigoletto, beginning October 20
Lulu, beginning November 5*
La Bohème, beginning November 23
Die Fledermaus, beginning November 4
La Donna del Lago, beginning December 11
The Barber of Seville, beginning December 16
Les Pêcheurs de Perles, beginning December 31*
Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci, beginning January 21, 2016
Maria Stuarda, beginning January 29
Manon Lescaut, beginning February 12*
Madama Butterfly, beginning February 19
Le Nozze di Figaro, beginning February 25
Don Pasquale, beginning March 4
L’Elisir d’Amaroe, beginning March 10
Roberto Devereux, beginning March 24*
Simon Boccanegra, beginning April 1
Elektra, beginning April 14*
Die Entführung aus dem Serail, beginning April 22

*New production