The Metropolitan Opera The Exterminating Angel (2017)

After the acclaimed Met premiere of Thomas Adèss The Tempest in 2012 the composer returned with another masterpiece this time inspired by filmmaker Luis Buñuels seminal surrealist classic El Ángel Exterminador during the 201718 season As the opera opens a group of elegant socialites gather for a lavish dinner party but when it is time to leave for the night no one is able to escape Soon their behavior becomes increasingly erratic and savage The large ensemble cast tackles both the vocal and dramatic demands of Adèss opera with one riveting performance after another Tom Cairns who also penned the works libretto directs an engrossing and inventive production using a towering wooden archway to trap the characters onstage And Adès himself takes the podium to conduct the frenzied score which features a host of unconventional instruments including the eerie electronic ondes Martenot