[title]
The Metropolitan Opera will be dark for at least the rest of the year, but New York's great opera house is continuing to stream full past productions from its archives for free every night. The slate from August 10 through August 16 includes favorites by Puccini, Verdi, Wagner and Bizet. Most of the recordings were created for the Met's Live in HD series. (Click here to see the Met's schedule for October 12 through October 18.)
The performances go live on the Met's website at 7:30pm EDT (12:30am BST) and usually remain there until 6:30pm EDT the following day. The operas can also be viewed using the Met Opera on Demand app. A full schedule for Week 22 is below.
La Bohème | Photograph: Evan Zimmerman
This week's lineup includes two productions of Verdi classics that were recorded before the HD period: Wednesday's 1981 Rigoletto, with Louis Quilico, Christiane Eda-Pierre and Luciano Pavarotti; and Sunday's 1979 Luisa Miller, with Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo and Sherrill Milnes. The list also includes three operas by Puccini—including a Turandot with the formidable Swedish dramatic soprano Nina Stemme—and two other widely loved works: Bizet's Carmen and Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (with local favorite Deborah Voigt). To help you decide what to watch this week, take a look at the Met's quick-reference guide or plumb the company's extensive well of articles and podcasts
In addition to its free operas, the Met s now streaming pay-per-view virtual concerts every other week. The second of these, which features Met pillar Renée Fleming, is available on demand through August 12; the third, with Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak performing live from the south of France, will premiere at 1:30pm EDT on Sunday, August 16. (To make room for it, Saturday night's stream of La Bohème will only be available until noon on Sunday instead of the usual 6:30pm.)
This week's Metropolitan Opera Live in HDschedule:
Monday, August 10: Puccini’s Manon Lescaut
Starring Karita Mattila, Marcello Giordani and Dwayne Croft. Conducted by James Levine. Transmitted live on February 16, 2008.
Tuesday, August 11: Bizet’s Carmen
Starring Clémentine Margaine, Roberto Alagna, Aleksandra Kurzak and Alexander Vinogradov. Conducted by Louis Langrée. Transmitted live on February 2, 2019.
Wednesday, August 12: Verdi’s Rigoletto
Starring Christiane Eda-Pierre, Isola Jones, Luciano Pavarotti, Louis Quilico and Ara Berberian. Conducted by James Levine. Transmitted live on December 15, 1981.
Thursday, August 13: Puccini’s Turandot
Starring Nina Stemme, Anita Hartig, Marco Berti and Alexander Tsymbalyuk. Conducted by Paolo Carignani. Transmitted live on January 30, 2016.
Friday, August 14: Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde
Starring Deborah Voigt, Michelle DeYoung, Robert Dean Smith and Matti Salminen. Conducted by James Levine. Transmitted live on March 22, 2008.
Saturday, August 15: Puccini’s La Bohème
Starring Kristine Opolais, Susanna Phillips, Vittorio Grigolo, Massimo Cavalletti, Patrick Carfizzi and Oren Gradus. Conducted by Stefano Ranzani. Transmitted live on April 5, 2014.
Sunday, August 16: Verdi’s Luisa Miller
Starring Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Bonaldo Giaiotti and James Morris. Conducted by James Levine. From January 20, 1979.
RECOMMENDED: Our daily roundup of the best theater, opera and dance to stream online
Tristan und Isolde | Photograph: Marty Sohl
Most popular on Time Out
- You can now rent a “backyard” on the waterfront at Pier 17
- The 8 rooftops now open with the best views of NYC
- Everything you need to know about the NYC quarantine checkpoints
- Free kayaking is now returning to Brooklyn Bridge Park
- A new Harlem restaurant has opened on one of the world’s smallest aircraft carriers