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The Metropolitan Opera will be closed through 2021, but the company is still sharing free recordings of whole past productions from its storied history every night. The lineup from July 27 through August 2 includes complete operas by Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Donizetti and Dvořák. Most of the productions were recorded for release in cinemas through 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), where they usually remain viewable until 6:30pm EDT the following day. The works can also be watched on multiple devices with the Met Opera on Demand app. A full schedule for Week 20 is below.
Rusalka | Photograph: Ken Howard
This week's lineup includes two productions of Verdi classics that were recorded before the HD era: Tuesday's 1977 Rigoletto, with Cornell MacNeil, Ileana Cotrubas and Plácido Domingo; and Saturday's 1983 Ernani, with Luciano Pavarotti and Leona Mitchell. Other highlights include French soprano Natalie Dessay in Donizetti’s Scottish tragedy Lucia di Lammermoor on Monday and Wagner’s Ring Cycle epic Die Walküre on Sunday. For more information about these and other operas, consult the Met's helpful quickie guide or dive deeper into the company's articles and podcasts.
In addition to its free operas, the Met now offers pay-per-view virtual concerts every other Saturday. The inaugural edition, which features German tenor Jonas Kaufmann, is available on demand through July 30; the second, starring Met pillar Renée Fleming, will be performed live at 1pm EDT on August 1. (Friday night's stream of Dvořák’s Rusalka will only be available until this time instead of the usual 6:30pm.)
This week's Metropolitan Opera Live in HD schedule:
Monday, July 27: Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor
Starring Natalie Dessay, Joseph Calleja, Ludovic Tézier and Kwangchul Youn. Conducted by Patrick Summers. Transmitted live on March 19, 2011.
Tuesday, July 28: Puccini’s Tosca
Starring Karita Mattila, Marcelo Álvarez and George Gagnidze. Conducted by Joseph Colaneri. Transmitted live on October 10, 2009.
Wednesday, July 29: Verdi’s Rigoletto
Starring Ileana Cotrubas, Plácido Domingo and Cornell MacNeil. Conducted by James Levine. Transmitted live on November 7, 1977.
Thursday, July 30: Verdi’s Il Trovatore
Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Dolora Zajick, Marcelo Álvarez and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Conducted by Marco Armiliato. Transmitted live on April 30, 2011.
Friday, July 31: Dvořák’s Rusalka
Starring Kristine Opolais, Katarina Dalayman, Jamie Barton, Brandon Jovanovich, and Eric Owens, conducted by Mark Elder. Transmitted live on February 25, 2017.
Saturday, August 1: Verdi’s Ernani
Starring Leona Mitchell, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes and Ruggero Raimondi. Conducted by James Levine. Transmitted live on December 17, 1983.
Sunday, August 2: Wagner’s Die Walküre
Starring Christine Goerke, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Jamie Barton, Stuart Skelton, Greer Grimsley and Günther Groissböck. Conducted by Philippe Jordan. Transmitted live on March 30, 2019
RECOMMENDED: Our daily roundup of the best theater, opera and dance to stream online
Luciano Pavarotti in Ernani | Photograph: Metropolitan Opera Archives
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