The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of live high-definition cinema simulcasts, will begin its 14th season on October 12, with the Met’s production of Puccini’s Turandot, starring Christine Goerke in the title role, led by the Met’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

The 2019–20 Live in HD season features ten transmissions, including five new productions: the Met premiere of Philip Glass’s groundbreaking 20th-century opera Akhnaten, starring Anthony Roth Costanzo as the title pharaoh, conducted by Karen Kamensek; Peter Mattei in the title role of Berg’s Wozzeck, in a new staging by acclaimed visual artist and stage director William Kentridge, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin; a new production of the Gershwins’ classic American opera Porgy and Bess, last performed at the Met in 1990, starring Eric Owens and Angel Blue, directed by James Robinson and conducted by David Robertson; the Met premiere of Handel’s Agrippina, starring Joyce DiDonato in a contemporary staging by Sir David McVicar that promises to resonate with modern audiences; and a new take on Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer, starring Sir Bryn Terfel in the title role.

 In addition to Turandot and the five new productions, Live in HD audiences will have the chance to see Massenet’s lush French masterpiece Manon; the return of Anthony Minghella’s inspired vision of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, with Plácido Domingo as Sharpless; Anna Netrebko in the title role of Puccini’s Tosca; and Diana Damrau and Jamie Barton as the dueling queens of Maria Stuarda, the second opera of Donizetti’s Tudor trilogy.

Select cinemas will also offer a special holiday encore of The Magic Flute, the company’s first-ever Live in HD transmission from 2006. The abridged, English-language version of Mozart’s classic fable features a winning ensemble, including Matthew Polenzani as Tamino, Nathan Gunn as Papageno, and René Pape as Sarastro. Julie Taymor’s cherished production will be shown on December 7 in the U.S. and Canada, with dates varying internationally.

The Met: Live in HD is the largest provider of alternative cinema content in the world, with more than 26 million tickets sold since the inception of the series in 2006. The series brings live Met performances to more than 2,200 movie theaters and performing arts centers in more than 70 countries.

Complete details, including casting, are available below.

2019–20 Live in HD Season at a Glance:

             The Live in HD season will begin on Saturday, October 12, with Turandot. Future transmissions are as follows: Manon (October 26); Madama Butterfly (November 9); Akhnaten (November 23); Wozzeck (January 11); Porgy and Bess (February 1); Agrippina (February 29); Der Fliegende Holländer   (March 14); Tosca (April 11); and Maria Stuarda (May 9). All ten operas will be Saturday matinee performances, transmitted live from the Met stage at 12:55PM Eastern Time. Please check local listings for rebroadcast dates and times.

The Met: Live in HD 2019–20 Schedule

Turandot (Giacomo Puccini)                                                                                   REVIVAL

October 12, 2019, at 12:55PM ET

Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Production: Franco Zeffirelli

Set Designer: Franco Zeffirelli

Costume Designer: Anna Anni and Dada Saligeri

Lighting Designer: Gil Wechsler

Choreographer: Chiang Ching

Cast: Christine Goerke (Turandot), Eleonora Buratto (Liù), Roberto Aronica (Calàf), James Morris (Timur)

Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Franco Zeffirelli’s celebrated production of Turandot, which stars Christine Goerke in the title role of the icy Chinese princess who has renounced all men. Roberto Aronica sings Calàf, the suitor who risks his head for her hand and sings the famed aria “Nessun dorma.” Eleonora Buratto is the slave girl Liù, and James Morris is Calàf’s long-lost father, Timur.

Manon (Jules Massenet)                                                                                           REVIVAL

October 26, 2019, at 12:55PM ET

Conductor: Maurizio Benini

Production: Laurent Pelly

Set Designer: Chantal Thomas

Costume Designer: Laurent Pelly

Lighting Designer: Joël Adam

Choreographer: Lionel Hoche

Cast: Lisette Oropesa (Manon), Michael Fabiano (Chevalier des Grieux), Carlo Bosi (Guillot de Morfontaine), Artur Ruciński (Lescaut), Brett Polegato (de Brétigny), Kwangchul Youn (Comte des Grieux)

Manon’s story—from innocent country girl to celebrated courtesan to destitute prisoner—is one of the great tragic tales in literature and music. Lisette Oropesa stars as the irresistible title character, the tragic beauty who yearns for the finer things in life, in Laurent Pelly’s revealing production. Michael Fabiano is the besotted Chevalier des Grieux, whose desperate love for Manon proves their undoing. Maurizio Benini conducts Massenet’s sensual score.

Madama Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini)                                                                    REVIVAL 

November 9, 2019, at 12:55PM ET

Conductor: Pier Giorgio Morandi

Production: Anthony Minghella

Set Designer: Michael Levine

Costume Designer: Han Feng

Lighting Designer: Peter Mumford

Choreographer: Carolyn Choa

Cast: Hui He (Cio-Cio-San), Elizabeth DeShong (Suzuki), Andrea Carè (Pinkerton), Plácido Domingo (Sharpless)

Hui He stars as Cio-Cio-San, the devoted geisha who gives everything for the American naval officer Pinkerton, sung by Andrea Carè. Elizabeth DeShong is her devoted companion Suzuki, and Plácido Domingo adds another role to his remarkable repertoire, singing Sharpless for the first time. Pier Giorgio Morandi conducts Anthony Minghella’s beautiful, atmospheric production.

Akhnaten (Philip Glass)                                         MET PREMIERE /FIRST TIME IN HD 

November 23, 2019, at 12:55PM ET

Conductor: Karen Kamensek

Production: Phelim McDermott

Set Designer: Tom Pye

Costume Designer: Kevin Pollard

Lighting Designer: Bruno Poet

Choreographer: Sean Gandini

Cast: Dísella Lárusdóttir (Queen Tye), J’Nai Bridges (Nefertiti), Anthony Roth Costanzo (Akhnaten), Aaron Blake (High Priest of Amon), Will Liverman (Horemhab), Richard Bernstein (Aye), Zachary James (Amenhotep)

Phelim McDermott, whose productions include the hugely successful Satyagraha by Philip Glass, returns to the Met with a new staging of Glass’s Akhnaten, conducted by Karen Kamensek in her Met debut. Anthony Roth Costanzo sings the title role of the Egyptian pharaoh who attempted to inspire his people to adopt a new religion, abandoning the worship of the old gods for that of a single deity. In her Met debut, J’Nai Bridges sings the role of Nefertiti, Akhnaten’s bride, and Dísella Lárusdóttir is Queen Tye, the pharaoh’s mother. One of the staging’s distinctive visual features is provided by the Gandini Juggling Company, whose movements are perfectly choreographed with the orchestral score. This production of Akhnaten was originally created by LA Opera, Improbable, and English National Opera, where it premiered, winning the 2017 Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production.

Wozzeck (Alban Berg)                                     NEW PRODUCTION /FIRST TIME IN HD             

January 11, 2020, at 12:55PM ET

Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Production: William Kentridge

Co-Director: Luc De Wit

Projection Designer: Catherine Meyburgh                  

Set Designer: Sabine Theunissen

Costume Designer: Greta Goiris

Lighting Designer: Urs Schönebaum

Cast: Elza van den Heever (Marie), Tamara Mumford (Margret), Christopher Ventris (The Drum-Major), Gerhard Siegel (The Captain), Andrew Staples (Andres), Peter Mattei (Wozzeck), Christian Van Horn (Doctor)

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts William Kentridge’s new production of Alban Berg’s expressionistic masterpiece Wozzeck, regarded for its intense emotional power and brilliant score as one of the most significant operas of the 20th century. Composed during and in the aftermath of World War I, Berg’s dark exploration of a soldier besieged by the evils of society, is staged by Kentridge in a ramshackle warren of stairs, ramps, discarded furniture, and debris. His own theatrically animated charcoal drawings, along with other projected drawings, maps, and film clips, evoke a nightmarish world of crashed planes, searchlights, ghostly gas masks, and battlefields. Peter Mattei makes his role debut as Wozzeck opposite Elza van den Heever as Marie, the mother of his child. Singing the roles of Wozzeck’s tormentors are Christopher Ventris as the Drum-Major, Gerhard Siegel as the Captain, and Christian Van Horn as the Doctor. Andrew Staples makes his Met debut as Andres. Kentridge, who previously directed Berg’s Lulu and Shostakovich’s The Nose at the Met, unveiled the new production at the 2017 Salzburg Festival, where it received critical acclaim. Kentridge’s production is a co-production of the Met, Canadian Opera Company, Opera Australia, and Salzburg Festival.

The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess                     NEW PRODUCTION /FIRST TIME IN HD 

By George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin

February 1, 2020, at 12:55PM ET

Conductor: David Robertson

Production: James Robinson

Set Designer: Michael Yeargan

Costume Designer: Catherine Zuber

Lighting Designer: Donald Holder

Projection Designer: Luke Halls

Cast: David Robertson; Angel Blue (Bess), Golda Schultz (Clara), Latonia Moore (Serena), Denyce Graves (Maria), Frederick Ballentine (Sportin’ Life), Eric Owens (Porgy), Alfred Walker (Crown), Donovan Singletary (Jake)

The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess returns to the Met for the first time since 1990, in a new production directed by James Robinson in his company debut. America’s “folk opera,” as the 1935 creators described it, tells the story of disabled beggar Porgy, sung by Eric Owens, and his love for the drug-addicted Bess, portrayed by Angel Blue. David Robertson conducts a stellar cast that also includes Donovan Singletary as fisherman Jake, Golda Schultz as his wife Clara, Latonia Moore as the bereaved widow Serena, Frederick Ballentine as drug dealer Sportin’ Life, Alfred Walker as the brutal stevedore Crown, and Denyce Graves as Maria, town matriarch and operator of the local cook-shop. Infused with the timeless melodies of the much-loved classics “Summertime,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin,” and “My Man’s Gone Now,” the new co-production with English National Opera and Dutch National Opera was hailed as a triumph at its premiere in London earlier this year.

Agrippina (George Frideric Handel)                    MET PREMIERE /FIRST TIME IN HD

February 29, 2020, at 12:55PM ET

Conductor: Harry Bicket

Production: Sir David McVicar

Set and Costume Designer: John Macfarlane

Lighting Designer: Paule Constable

Choreographer: Andrew George

Cast: Brenda Rae (Poppea), Joyce DiDonato (Agrippina), Kate Lindsey (Nerone), Iestyn Davies (Ottone), Duncan Rock (Pallante), Matthew Rose (Claudio)

In the Met’s first-ever performances of Agrippina, Handel’s satire of sex and power politics, Sir David McVicar reconceives a production he originally created for the Monnaie in Brussels in 2000, evoking a scandalous world in which the Roman Empire never fell but simply kept going right up to the present. Holding a distorted mirror to contemporary society (as Handel did when he staged this opera), the production presents the corrupt intrigues of the political classes, brought to life by Joyce DiDonato as the power-hungry empress Agrippina, Brenda Rae as the scheming, seductive Poppea, and Kate Lindsey as the feckless teenager Nerone. Iestyn Davies portrays the ambitious officer Ottone, and Matthew Rose is the emperor Claudius, on whose vacated throne Agrippina is determined to install her son. Renowned for his interpretations of the Baroque repertoire, Harry Bicket conducts.

Der Fliegende Holländer (Richard Wagner) NEW PRODUCTION /FIRST TIME IN HD

March 14, 2020, at 12:55PM ET

Conductor: Valery Gergiev

Production: François Girard

Set Designer: John Macfarlane

Costume Designer: Moritz Junge

Lighting Designer: David Finn

Projection Designer: Peter Flaherty

Choreographer: Carolyn Choa

Dramaturg: Serge Lamothe

Cast: Anja Kampe (Senta), Mihoko Fujimura (Mary), Sergey Skorokhodov (Erik), David Portillo (Steuermann), Sir Bryn Terfel (Holländer), Franz-Josef Selig (Daland)

François Girard whose mystical, blood-drenched vision for Wagner’s Parsifal became one of the Met’s most intensely visceral highlights in recent seasons, turns to another Wagnerian masterpiece, Der Fliegende Holländer, conducted by Valery Gergiev. For the first time at the Met, Sir Bryn Terfel sings the role of the mysterious Dutchman, condemned to roam the seas for eternity, with Anja Kampe as the devoted Senta, whose love can set him free. In a nod to Senta’s obsession with a portrait of the legendary title seafarer, the Met stage is transformed into a colossal oil painting. Franz-Josef Selig portrays Senta’s father Daland, Sergey Skorokhodov takes on the role of the huntsman Erik, David Portillo sings the Steersman, and Mihoko Fujimura is Senta’s nurse Mary. Der Fliegende Holländer is a co-production with L’Opéra de Québec and Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam.

Tosca (Giacomo Puccini)                                                                                          REVIVAL

April 11, 2020, at 12:55PM ET

Conductor: Bertrand de Billy

Production: Sir David McVicar

Set Designer: John Macfarlane

Costume Designer: John Macfarlane

Lighting Designer: David Finn

Choreographer: Leah Hausman

Cast: Anna Netrebko (Tosca), Brian Jagde (Cavaradossi), Michael Volle (Scarpia), Patrick Carfizzi (Sacristan)

Sir David McVicar’s bold staging of Puccini’s operatic thriller returns to the Live in HD series after its acclaimed broadcast in 2017. This time, star soprano Anna Netrebko is the passionate title diva, opposite Brian Jagde as her lover, the idealistic painter Mario Cavaradossi. Michael Volle is the menacing Baron Scarpia, the evil chief of police. Bertrand de Billy conducts the electrifying score, which features some of Puccini’s most memorable melodies.

Maria Stuarda (Gaetano Donizetti)                                                                         REVIVAL

May 9, 2020, at 12:55PM ET

Conductor: Maurizio Benini

Production: Sir David McVicar

Set Designer: John Macfarlane

Costume Designer: John Macfarlane

Lighting Designer: Jennifer Tipton

Choreographer: Leah Hausman

Cast: Diana Damrau (Maria Stuarda), Jamie Barton (Elisabetta), Stephen Costello (Leicester), Andrzej Filończyk (Cecil), Michele Pertusi (Talbot)

Donizetti’s drama, focused on the political and personal rivalry between two queens, returns to the Met with Diana Damrau as the doomed Mary, Queen of Scots, and Jamie Barton as her rival, Queen Elizabeth I. Stephen Costello sings the role of Mary’s lover, Leicester; Andrzej Filończyk is the chancellor Cecil; and Michele Pertusi sings the Earl Talbot. Maurizio Benini conducts Sir David McVicar’s sweeping production.

HD Live in Schools

 The Met’s HD Live in Schools program will continue for its 13th season, as the company partners with 50 school districts across the country to bring Live in HD broadcasts to students and teachers. The Met’s HD education program also includes backstage visits for students, who learn how costumes and scenery are constructed; Q&As with artists; access to final dress rehearsals; in-school workshops; and teacher training sessions. Program and curriculum guides are created for in-school use in conjunction with HD screenings. Program support for HD Live in Schools is provided through a partnership with the New York City Department of Education.

In the coming season, students will study Madama Butterfly, Akhnaten, Wozzeck, Porgy and Bess, Agrippina, and Der Fliegende Holländer 

About The Met: Live in HD

The Met: Live in HD series, which now reaches more than 2,200 theaters in more than 70 countries, makes the Met the world’s leading provider of alternative cinema content and the only arts institution with an ongoing global series of this scale. When the series launched in 2006, the Met was the first arts company to experiment with alternative cinema content. Since then, the program has grown every season, with more than 26 million tickets sold to date.

The Met: Live in HD series has increased accessibility to Met performances for audiences around the world. With a global average ticket price of $23, the series has made world-class performances accessible to millions of opera lovers each season.

Met artists serve as hosts for the Live in HD series, providing background to the operas’ synopses and cast information, as well as conducting live interviews with stars, crew, and production teams and introducing popular behind-the-scenes features.

Tickets for the ten transmissions in the 2019–20 Live in HD season will go on sale on Wednesday, July 17, 2019 in the U.S. and Canada, with Met Members offered priority access to tickets before the general public. International ticket sales dates and details on ordering tickets for the 2019–20 Live in HD series vary from country to country and will be announced separately by individual distributors.

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. Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline Desmarais, in memory of Paul G. Desmarais Sr.

Within months of their initial live transmissions, the Live in HD programs are shown on PBS. The PBS series Great Performances at the Met is produced in association with PBS and WNET, with support from Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builder®. Additional funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information about Live in HD, visit www.metopera.org.