AS MARGUÉRITE IN THE MET'S NEW PRODUCTION OF BERLIOZ'S DAMNATION DE FAUST, BEGINNING ON NOVEMBER 7, SUSAN GRAHAM TAKES ON HER SECOND NEW ROLE OF THE SEASON AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA, HER HOME COMPANY LA DAMNATION DE FAUST ON NOV 22 IS A MET: LIVE IN HD TRANSMISSION ON NOVEMBER 16, SUSAN GRAHAM CO-HOSTS THE FOURTH ANNUAL OPERA NEWS AWARDS AT NEW YORK'S HISTORIC PLAZA HOTEL – AND, IN NOVEMBER, SHE GRACES THE COVER NOT ONLY OF OPERA NEWS BUT ALSO OF BRITAIN'S BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE Susan Graham, who is featured on the cover of two international music magazines in November (Opera News and BBC Music), takes on her second new role of the Metropolitan Opera's 2008-09 season on November 7, when she portrays the innocent and doomed Marguérite in La damnation de Faust, Hector Berlioz's tragedy based on Goethe's Faust. The new production of this four-character "dramatic legend" is Ms. Graham's second opera and second new role in the house this season (she made her company debut as Mozart's Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni in September). She also elegantly hosted the opening night of the company's 125th anniversary season for local movie and open-air audiences in the season's first Live in HD transmission for the fall. Berlioz's Damnation de Faust has been historically considered a "dramatic legend" rather than an opera, and difficult to stage. To represent Berlioz's contemplation of good and evil, the Met's new production by Robert Lepage will take full advantage of the theater's technological capabilities. It promises to be a thrilling interactive production that "seamlessly marries art and technology," and features beautiful projections to accompany Susan Graham's musicianship as the doomed maiden destroyed by the whim of a bass and tenor. The opening night on November 7 will be followed by performances on Nov 10, 14, 18, 22, 25, 29, and December 4. The matinee performance on Saturday, Nov 22 will be transmitted worldwide as part of The Met: Live in HD. A devoted and gifted Francophone, Susan Graham knows Marguérite's arias well; she sings and speaks French with such style that she has been decorated several times by the French government, most recently as Commandeur, the highest grade in the "Ordre des Arts et des Lettres", and Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur. Last season, Ms. Graham's principal role at the Met was also French – Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride – and further French roles she has performed at the Met are Charlotte in Massenet's Werther and Ascanius in Berlioz's Troyens. Her newest solo recording, Un frisson français, just released on the Onyx label, presents two dozen French songs by almost as many composers. Ms. Graham is a Berlioz specialist in the studio as well as the opera house, having recorded Les nuits d'été, arias from Les Troyens, Benvenuto Cellini, the complete Béatrice et Bénédict, the seldom-heard "Huit scènes de Faust", and even the composer's version of the "Marseillaise", France's national anthem. Her portrayal of Dido in Les Troyens at Paris's historic Châtelet has been magnificently documented on DVD. Her performance of La mort de Cléopâtre with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle was recorded by EMI Classics for release early in the New Year.