Met Live In HD 2019 - 2020 Season
Live opera broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York
Featuring a stellar line-up of some of the world’s finest opera productions, including a brand new production of the Gershwins’ classic American opera Porgy and Bess, the Met premiere of Handel’s Agrippina and the return of Anthony Minghella’s inspired vision of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly - this season promises to continue to deliver the same stunning level of production and performance that have been delighting cinema goers for so many years.
Turandot by Giacomo Puccini Franco Zeffirelli’s spectacular production returns to cinemas with powerhouse soprano Christine Goerke taking on the titular role of the sharp Princess, sworn never to be possessed by a man. Calaf, an unknown suitor played by tenor Roberto Aronica, who sings the famed aria “Nessun dorma”, becomes lovestruck with the icy Princess, vowing to risk his life in attempting to answer the challenging three riddles that promise to unlock her heart. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Met’s Music Director, conducts this powerful production of love, loss and loyalty.
Sunday 13 October 3pm (pre-recorded) Estimated run time: 3hrs 2mins (including 2 intervals)
Manon by Jules Massenet Laurent Pelly’s enchanting production, starring exhilarating soprano Lisette Oropesa in the effervescent title role, explores the devastating consequences when excess and passion collide. Maurizio Benini conducts Massenet’s sensual score with tenor Michael Fabiano as the besotted Chevalier des Grieux, whose desperate love for Manon proves to be the undoing of these unfortunate lovers.
Sunday 27 October 3pm (pre-recorded) Estimated run time: 3hrs 52mins (including 2 intervals)
Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini Anthony Minghella’s vividly cinematic staging of Puccini’s tale of unrequited love returns to our screens featuring soprano Hui He in the devastating title role. One of the most frequently staged operas of our generation, Madama Butterfly follows the story of a young Japanese girl, Cio-Cio San, who falls in love with Pinkerton, an American naval officer. Tragedy unfolds in this sweeping production, which is a perennial audience favourite.
Saturday 9 November 5.55pm Thursday 14 November 2pm (encore) Estimated run time: 3hrs 12mins (including 2 intervals)
Akhnaten by Philip Glass Star countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo headlines as the revolutionary Pharaoh who transformed ancient Egypt. Director Phelim McDermott, whose productions include the hugely successful Satyagraha by Philip Glass, returns to the Met to bring this contemporary production to life, with a virtuosic company and dramatic staging that features acrobatics and juggling. The striking soprano J’Nai Bridges makes her Met debut as Nefertiti with Karen Kamensek conducting Glass’s ritualistic and hypnotic score.
Saturday 23 November 5.55pm Estimated run time: 3hrs 31 mins (including 2 intervals)
Wozzeck by Alban Berg After wowing audiences with his astounding production of Lulu in 2015, South African artist William Kentridge now focuses his extraordinary visual imagination on Berg’s other operatic masterpiece, set in an apocalyptic pre–World War I environment. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin is on the podium for this important event, with baritone Peter Mattei making his highly anticipated role debut as the title character. Soprano Elza van den Heever is Wozzeck’s unfaithful mate.
Saturday 11 January 5.55pm Estimated run time: 1hr 32mins (no interval)
Porgy and Bess by The Gershwins The Gershwins’ modern American masterpiece has its first Met performances in almost three decades, starring bass-baritone Eric Owens and soprano Angel Blue in the title roles. The final stage work of George Gershwin, Porgy and Bess is largely regarded as one of the greatest American operas of the 20th Century.
Saturday 1 February 5.55pm Tuesday 4 February 2pm (encore) Estimated run time: 3hrs 15mins (including 1 interval)
Agrippina by George Frideric Handel Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato leads as the imperious title empress in the Met’s first-ever performance of this tale of deception and deceit. Set in Ancient Rome, Agrippina plots the downfall of Emperor Claudius to secure the throne for her son Nero, in Handel’s first operatic triumph. Harry Bicket conducts Sir David McVicar’s wry new production, which gives this Baroque black comedy a politically charged, modern updating.
Saturday 29 February 5.55pm Estimated run time: 3hrs 45mins (including 1 interval)
Der Fliegende Hollander by Wagner Award-winning, Sir Bryn Terfel CBE, returns to the Met for the first time since 2012, as the mysterious seafarer searching for salvation in this co-production with L’Opéra de Québec and Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam. Director François Girard returns to stage Wagner’s eerie early masterwork. Inspired by the legend of the Flying Dutchman, the Captain of a ghostly ship who has been condemned to sail the seas for eternity, is offered a chance of redemption by true love.
Sunday 15 March 4pm (pre-recorded) Estimated run time: 2hrs 19mins (no interval)
Tosca by Giacomo Puccini Superstar soprano Anna Netrebko returns in the title role as the explosive diva in Puccini’s best-loved operatic thriller. Based in Rome during the Napoleonic wars, this tragic tale of passion, murder, lust and love, set against a famously romantic score, is an enduring classic. Bertrand de Billy conducts Sir David McVicar’s evocative production, with tenor Brian Jagde as Tosca’s impassioned lover, Cavaradossi, and baritone Michael Volle as the sinister Scarpia.
Saturday 11 April 5.55pm Thursday 16 April 2pm (encore) Estimated run time: 2hrs 57mins (including 2 intervals)
Maria Stuarda by Gaetano Donizetti Set in 16th Century Britain, Donizetti’s historical drama follows Mary, Queen of Scots and her bitter rivalry with the cousin responsible for imprisoning her, Queen Elizabeth I, and thrills with intense stand-offs and impressive vocal displays. Soprano Diana Damrau and mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton square off as two of history’s most formidable monarchs, with Maurizio Benini conducting.
Saturday 9 May 5.55pm Estimated run time: 2hrs 46mins (including 1 interval)
Prices
How To Book
Full price: £22 Concessions: £20 16-25s: £17 Multibuy 3+: £17 per opera
To book over the phone, please call Box Office on 01684 295074. You can book operas separately or as part of the Multibuy deal online at www.rosestheatre.org. Each opera’s event page on the website includes a link to the Multibuy deal. All run times are provisional and information has been provided by the Met Opera. We will update our website with up-to-date information.
Click here to go straight to the Multibuy deal booking page