The Met’s Live in HD series returns to cinemas on October 9 with Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov followed by the historic Met premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones on October.
The 15th season of Live in HD includes nine presentations, featuring star performers Angel Blue, Javier Camarena, Lise Davidsen, Elīna Garanča, Isabel Leonard, Anna Netrebko, René Pape, Matthew Polenzani, Nadine Sierra, and Sonya Yoncheva
New York, NY (September 7, 2021)—The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of high-definition live cinema transmissions, will begin its 15th season on October with Fire Shut Up in My Bones 2021, Eurydice (December 4, 2021), Cinderella (January 1, 2022), Rigoletto (January 29, 2022), Ariadne auf Naxos (March 12, 2022), Don Carlos (March 26, 2022), Turandot (May 7, 2022), Lucia di Lammermoor (May 21, 2022), and Hamlet (June 4, 2022).
Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones—Met Premiere
Libretto by Kasi Lemmons
Live in HD: October 23, 2021, at 19:55
Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor); Angel Blue (Destiny/Loneliness/Greta), Latonia Moore (Billie), Will Liverman (Charles)
James Robinson and Camille A. Brown (Production), Allen Moyer (Set Designer), Paul Tazewell (Costume Designer), Christopher Akerlind (Lighting Designer), Greg Emetaz (Projection Designer), Camille A. Brown (Choreographer)
Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Grammy Award–winning jazz musician and composer Terence Blanchard’s adaptation of Charles M. Blow’s moving memoir. The first opera by a Black composer presented on the Met stage and featuring a libretto by filmmaker Kasi Lemmons, the opera tells a poignant and profound story about a young man’s journey to overcome a life of trauma and hardship. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown—two of the creators of the recent production of the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess—co-direct this new staging. Baritone Will Liverman, stars as Charles, alongside sopranos Angel Blue as Destiny/Loneliness/Greta and Latonia Moore as Billie.
Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice—Met Premiere
Libretto by Sarah Ruhl
Live in HD: December 4, 2021, at 19:55
Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor); Erin Morley (Eurydice), Jakub Józef Orliński (Orpheus‘s Double), Barry Banks (Hades), Joshua Hopkins (Orpheus), Nathan Berg (Father)
Mary Zimmerman (Production), Daniel Ostling (Set Designer), Ana Kuzmanic (Costume Designer), T.J. Gerckens (Lighting Designer), S. Katy Tucker (Projection Designer), Denis Jones (Choreographer), Paul Cremo (Dramaturg)
The ancient Greek myth of Orpheus, who attempts to harness the power of music to rescue his beloved Eurydice from the underworld, has inspired composers since opera’s earliest days. American composer Matthew Aucoin now carries that tradition into the 21st century with a captivating new take on the story. With a libretto by MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Sarah Ruhl, adapted from her acclaimed 2003 play, the opera reimagines the familiar tale from Eurydice’s point of view. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium, leading Aucoin’s evocative music and an immersive new staging by Mary Zimmerman. Soprano Erin Morley sings the title role, opposite baritone Joshua Hopkins as Orpheus and countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński as his otherworldly alter ego.
Massenet’s Cinderella—New abridged English-language version
English translation by Kelley Rourke
Live in HD: January 1, 2022, at 19:55
Emmanuel Villaume (Conductor); Jessica Pratt (Fairy Godmother), Isabel Leonard (Cinderella), Emily D’Angelo (Prince Charming), Stephanie Blythe (Madame de la Haltière), Laurent Naouri (Pandolfe)
Laurent Pelly (Production), Barbara de Limburg (Set Designer), Laurent Pelly (Costume Designer), Duane Schuler (Lighting Designer), Laura Scozzi (Choreographer)
Laurent Pelly’s storybook staging of Massenet’s Cendrillon is presented with an all-new English translation in an abridged 90-minute adaptation, with mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as its rags-to-riches princess. Maestro Emmanuel Villaume leads a delightful cast, which includes mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo as Cinderella’s Prince Charming, soprano Jessica Pratt as her Fairy Godmother, and mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and bass-baritone Laurent Naouri as her feuding guardians.
Verdi’s Rigoletto—New Production
Live in HD: January 29, 2022, at 19:55
Daniele Rustioni (Conductor); Rosa Feola (Gilda), Varduhi Abrahamyan (Maddalena), Piotr Beczała (Duke of Mantua), Quinn Kelsey (Rigoletto), Andrea Mastroni (Sparafucile)
Bartlett Sher (Production), Michael Yeargan (Set Designer), Catherine Zuber (Costume Designer), Donald Holder (Lighting Designer)
Tony Award–winning director Bartlett Sher creates a bold new take on Verdi’s timeless tragedy, resetting the opera’s action in 1920s Europe, with Art Deco sets by Michael Yeargan and elegant costumes by Catherine Zuber. Baritone Quinn Kelsey, a commanding artist at the height of his powers, brings his searing portrayal of the title role to the Met for the first time, starring alongside soprano Rosa Feola as Gilda and tenor Piotr Beczała as the Duke of Mantua, with Maestro Daniele Rustioni on the podium.
Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos—Revival
Live in HD: March 12, 2022, at 19:55
Marek Janowski (Conductor); Lise Davidsen (Ariadne), Brenda Rae (Zerbinetta), Isabel Leonard (Composer), Brandon Jovanovich (Bacchus), Sean Michael Plumb (Harlequin), Johannes Martin Kränzle (Music Master), Thomas Allen (Major-Domo)
Elijah Moshinsky (Production), Michael Yeargan (Set and Costume Designer), Gil Wechsler (Lighting Designer)
Soprano Lise Davidsen makes her Live in HD debut in one of her signature roles, the mythological Greek heroine of Strauss’s enchanting masterpiece. The outstanding cast also features mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as the Composer of the opera-within-an-opera around which the plot revolves, with soprano Brenda Rae as the spirited Zerbinetta and tenor Brandon Jovanovich as Ariadne’s lover, the god Bacchus. Marek Janowski conducts.
Verdi’s Don Carlos—Met Premiere
Live in HD: March 26, 2022, at 20.00
Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor); Sonya Yoncheva (Élisabeth de Valois), Elīna Garanča (Eboli), Matthew Polenzani (Don Carlos), Etienne Dupuis (Rodrigue), Eric Owens (Philippe II), John Relyea (Grand Inquisitor)
David McVicar (Production), Charles Edwards (Set Designer), Brigitte Reiffenstuel (Costume Designer), Adam Silverman (Lighting Designer), Leah Hausman (Movement Director)
For the first time in company history, the Met presents the original five-act French version of Verdi’s epic opera of doomed love among royalty, set against the backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads a starry cast, including tenor Matthew Polenzani in the title role, soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Élisabeth de Valois, and mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča as Eboli. Bass-baritones Eric Owens and John Relyea are Philippe II and the Grand Inquisitor, and baritone Étienne Dupuis rounds out the principal cast as Rodrigue. Verdi’s masterpiece receives a monumental new staging by David McVicar that marks his 11th Met production, placing him among the most prolific and popular directors in recent Met memory.
Puccini’s Turandot—Revival
Live in HD: May 7, 2022, at 19:55
Marco Armiliato (Conductor); Anna Netrebko (Turandot), Ermonela Jaho (Liù), Yonghoon Lee (Calàf), Ferruccio Furlanetto (Timur)
Franco Zeffirelli (Production), Franco Zeffirelli (Set Designer), Anna Anni and Dada Saligeri (Costume Designers), Gil Wechsler (Lighting Designer), Chiang Ching (Choreographer)
Soprano Anna Netrebko makes her long-awaited Met role debut as Puccini’s icy princess—live in cinemas on May 7. Tenor Yonghoon Lee is the bold prince determined to win Turandot’s love, alongside soprano Ermonela Jaho as the devoted servant Liù and legendary bass Ferruccio Furlanetto as the blind king Timur. Marco Armiliato conducts Puccini’s stirring opera, which takes the stage in the company’s dazzling, ever-popular production by Franco Zeffirelli.
Donizetti’s Lucia Di Lammermoor—New Production
Live in HD: May 21, 2022, at 19:55
Riccardo Frizza (Conductor); Nadine Sierra (Lucia), Javier Camarena (Edgardo), Artur Ruciński (Enrico), Matthew Rose (Raimondo)
Simon Stone (Production), Lizzie Clachan (Set Designer), Alice Babidge (Costume Designer), James Farncombe (Lighting Designer)
Soprano Nadine Sierra takes on one of the repertory’s most formidable and storied roles, the haunted heroine of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, in an electrifying new staging by Australian theater and film director Simon Stone, conducted by Riccardo Frizza. Tenor Javier Camarena adds to the bel canto fireworks as Lucia’s beloved, Edgardo, with baritone Artur Ruciński as her overbearing brother, Enrico, and bass Matthew Rose as her tutor, Raimondo.
Brett Dean’s Hamlet—Met Premiere
Libretto by Matthew Jocelyn
Live in HD: June 4, 2022, at 19:55PM
Nicholas Carter (Conductor); Brenda Rae (Ophelia), Sarah Connolly (Gertrude), Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (Rosencrantz), Christopher Lowrey (Guildenstern), Allan Clayton (Hamlet), David Butt Philip (Laertes), William Burden (Polonius), Jacques Imbrailo (Horatio), Rod Gilfry (Claudius), John Tomlinson (Ghost)
Neil Armfield (Production), Ralph Myers (Set Designer), Alice Babidge (Costume Designer), Jon Clark (Lighting Designer), Denni Sayers (Movement Director)
When Australian composer Brett Dean’s Hamlet had its world premiere at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2017, The Guardian declared, “New opera doesn’t often get to sound this good … Shakespeare offers a gauntlet to composers that shouldn’t always be picked up, but Dean’s Hamlet rises to the challenge.” On June 4, this riveting contemporary masterpiece appears live in cinemas, with Neil Armfield, who directed the work’s premiere, bringing his acclaimed staging to the Met. Many of the original cast members have followed, including tenor Allan Clayton in the title role. Nicholas Carter makes his Met debut conducting a remarkable ensemble, which also features soprano Brenda Rae as Ophelia, mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly as Gertrude, baritone Rod Gilfry as Claudius, and legendary bass John Tomlinson as the ghost of Hamlet’s father.
The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor, the Neubauer Family Foundation. Digital support of The Met: Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Met: Live in HD series is supported by Rolex. The HD Broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builder®.
