This week features the very first Live in HD transmission, of the family-friendly English-language version of The Magic Flute from 2006, and the most recent, of Handel’s scintillating satire Agrippina from this past February—as well as three other highlights from the cinema series and two classic telecasts. 

Monday, August 3
Mozart’s The Magic Flute
Starring Ying Huang, Erika Miklósa, Matthew Polenzani, Nathan Gunn, and René Pape, conducted by James Levine. From December 30, 2006.

Tuesday, August 4
Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Starring Erin Morley, Hibla Gerzmava, Kate Lindsey, Christine Rice, Vittorio Grigolo, and Thomas Hampson, conducted by Yves Abel. From January 31, 2015.

Wednesday, August 5
Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra
Starring Kiri Te Kanawa, Plácido Domingo, Vladimir Chernov, and Robert Lloyd, conducted by James Levine. From January 26, 1995.

Thursday, August 6
Puccini’s Madama Butterfly
Starring Kristine Opolais, Maria Zifchak, Roberto Alagna, and Dwayne Croft, conducted by Karel Mark Chichon. From April 2, 2016.

Friday, August 7
Wagner’s Parsifal 
Starring Waltraud Meier, Siegfried Jerusalem, Bernd Weikl, and Kurt Moll, conducted by James Levine. From March 28, 1992.

Saturday, August 8
Handel’s Agrippina
Starring Brenda Rae, Joyce DiDonato, Kate Lindsey, Iestyn Davies, Duncan Rock, and Matthew Rose, conducted by Harry Bicket. From February 29, 2020.

Sunday, August 9
Mozart’s Don Giovanni
Starring Hibla Gerzmava, Malin Byström, Serena Malfi, Paul Appleby, Simon Keenlyside, and Adam Plachetka, conducted by Fabio Luisi. From October 22, 2016.

Photo: Joyce DiDonato as Agrippina. © 2020 Paola Kudacki.