The staging, which marks director Anthony Minghella's Met debut, is the first performance at the Met under general manager Peter Gelb, who took over from Joseph Volpe on Aug. 1. It stars Cristina Gallardo-Domas as Cio-Cio San and Marcello Giordani as Pinkerton, and features the return to the Met podium of Music Director James Levine for the first time since Jan. 29, a month before he tore his right rotator cuff when he tripped on stage at Symphony Hall in Boston.