Gluck's 18th-century "Iphigenie en Tauride" will be co-produced next year by the Metropolitan Opera and the Seattle Opera in the first collaboration between the companies.

Stephen Wadsworth will direct, and the production will open in Seattle on Oct. 13 and in New York on Nov. 27.

The cast for the eight performances in Seattle includes soprano Nuccia Focile as Iphigenia, baritone Brett Polegato as Orestes, tenor William Burden as Pylades, Phillip Joll as Thoas and Michele Losier as the goddess Diana. Gary Thor Wedow conducts.

The New York cast will star tenor Placido Domingo as Oreste, Susan Graham as Iphigenie, Paul Groves as Pylade and William Shimell as Thoas. Louis Langree will conduct in his Met debut.

The role will be the 125th of Domingo's career, spokesman Edgar Vincent said. Domingo debuts role No. 124 this Thursday at the Met in the world premiere of Tan Dun's "The First Emperor."

"Iphigenie" has never been presented by Seattle Opera and its only previous time at the Met was five performances in German during the 1916-17 season, when it was staged as "Iphigenia auf Tauris" in a version by Richard Strauss.

While "Iphigenie" premiered in Paris on May 18, 1779, the Met said it will use a 1781 version of the score that Gluck composed with Orestes as a tenor instead of a baritone. While that version was in German and premiered in Vienna, Austria, it will be performed in French in Seattle (with English captions by Jonathan Dean) and at the Met.

Wadsworth directed Handel's "Rodelinda" at the Met in 2004 and Gluck's "Orphée et Eurydice" at Seattle in 1988. "Iphigenie" focuses the Greek myth of Iphigenia, Agamemnon's oldest daughter.

The co-production will have sets designed by Thomas Lynch and costumes by Martin Pakledinaz, who worked together on Seattle Opera's 2005 production of Wagner's "Ring" cycle.

Speight Jenkins, general director of Seattle Opera, said the company had a major success with Gluck's "Orphée et Eurydice" with Wadsworth directing in 1988, but hadn't had to opportunity to return to the composer's work until the opportunity for this co-production.

"It's a tribute to both our technical and production abilities that this partnership has emerged," Jenkins said in a statement. "Seattle Opera has done a number of co-productions, but none has been more important.

Subscriptions for the company's 2007-08 season, which includes the Gluck opera, will go on sale Jan. 9.