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The Metropolitan Opera may be closed or the next year, but the company is still delighting opera lovers around the world worldwide with free productions from its unmatched archives. The slate from October 12 through October 18 focuses exclusively on operas by the 19th-century bel canto master Gaetano Donizetti. All seven of the productions were originally recorded in high definition as part of the Met's popular Live in HD series. (Click here to see the Met's schedule for October 26 through November 1.)
Each opera becomes available on the Metropolitan Opera's website at 7:30pm EDT (12:30am BST) and stays there until 6:30pm EDT the next day. They can also be viewed on multiple devices via the Met Opera on Demand app. A full schedule for Week 31 of the Met's series is below.
Roberto Devereux | Photograph: Ken Howard
At the core of this week's slate are all three parts of Donizetti's trilogy about English queens of the Tudor era: Anna Bolena with Anna Netrebko, Maria Stuarda with Elza van den Heever and Joyce DiDonato, and Roberto Devereux with Sondra Radvanovsky. The formidable Netrebko also bookends the week as the star of Lucia di Lammermoor on Monday and Don Pasquale on Sunday; Natalie Dessay and Pretty Yende headline other Donizetti favorites in between. To help you choose among the offerings, the Met provides a handy quick-reference guide along with an assortment of more substantial articles and podcasts.
In addition to these nightly streams, the Met also offers pay-per-view virtual concerts. The fifth of these—featuring American soprano Joyce DiDonato at the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum, Germany—was streamed live last month and is available on demand through October 23.
This week's Metropolitan Opera nightly streaming schedule:
Monday, October 12: Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor
Starring Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczała, Mariusz Kwiecień and Ildar Abdrazakov. Conducted by Marco Armiliato. Transmitted live on February 7, 2009.
Tuesday, October 13: Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment
Starring Natalie Dessay, Felicity Palmer, Juan Diego Flórez and Alessandro Corbelli. Conducted by Marco Armiliato. Transmitted live on April 26, 2008.
Wednesday, October 14: Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore
Starring Pretty Yende, Matthew Polenzani, Davide Luciano and Ildebrando D'Arcangelo. Conducted by Domingo Hindoyan. Transmitted live on February 10, 2018.
Thursday, October 15: Donizetti’s Anna Bolena
Starring Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Gubanova, Tamara Mumford, Stephen Costello and Ildar Abdrazakov. Conducted by Marco Armiliato. Transmitted live on October 15, 2011.
Friday, October 16: Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda
Starring Elza van den Heever, Joyce DiDonato, Matthew Polenzani, Joshua Hopkins and Matthew Rose. Conducted by Maurizio Benini. Transmitted live on January 19, 2013.
Saturday, October 17: Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux
Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Elīna Garanča, Matthew Polenzani and Mariusz Kwiecień. Conducted by Maurizio Benini. Transmitted live on April 16, 2016.
Sunday, October 18: Donizetti’s Don Pasquale
Starring Anna Netrebko, Matthew Polenzani, Mariusz Kwiecień and John Del Carlo. Conducted by James Levine. Transmitted live on November 13, 2010.
RECOMMENDED: Our day-by-day guide to the best theater, opera and dance to stream online
Lucia di Lammermoor | Photograph: Ken Howard
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