Les Contes d'Hoffmann

Un Ballo in Maschera

February 1980 •Italian

Live from the Metropolitan Opera, 14 February 1980. This version takes place in Boston rather than Sweden.

The Metropolitan Opera: Un Ballo in Maschera

December 2012 •English

David Alden’s elegant 2012 production moves Verdi’s thrilling drama to a timeless setting inspired by film noir. Marcelo Álvarez is Gustavo III, the Swedish king in love with Amelia (Sondra Radvanovsky), the wife of his best friend and counselor, Count Anckarström (Dmitri Hvorostovsky). When Anckarström joins a conspiracy to murder the king, tragedy ensues. Stephanie Blythe is the fortuneteller Madame Ulrica Arvidsson and Kathleen Kim sings the page Oscar. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi is on the podium.

Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia

March 2007 •English

Audiences went wild for Bartlett Sher’s dynamic production, which found fresh and surprising ways to bring Rossini’s effervescent comedy closer to them than ever before. The stellar cast leapt to the challenge with irresistible energy and bravura vocalism. Juan Diego Flórez is Count Almaviva, who fires off showstopping coloratura as he woos Joyce DiDonato’s spirited Rosina—with assistance from Peter Mattei as the one and only Figaro, Seville’s beloved barber and man-about-town.

Rossini: Armida

May 2010 •Italian

It is a rare opera indeed that calls for one soprano diva and no fewer than six tenors. Mary Zimmerman’s fanciful production of Rossini’s drama, designed by Richard Hudson and with choreography by Graciela Daniele, provides the perfect setting for superstar Renée Fleming’s captivating performance of the title role. A beautiful but evil sorceress in the times of the Crusades, Armida sets out to regain the love of the Frankish knight Rinaldo (Lawrence Brownlee) by putting her magical spells on him. She at first succeeds to draw him into her web of sorcery, but ultimately divine intervention—and his fellow soldiers—free Rinaldo from his enchantment—much to the vengeful fury of Armida and her demons.

L'Africaine

November 2013 •French

Live performance from Teatro La Fenice, 29 Nov. 2013.

Alcina

February 2016 •Italian

Live performance from the Grand Théâtre de Genève, February 25 2016.

Die Zauberflöte

August 2012 •German

Live performance from the Salzburg Festival, 6 August 2012.

Un Ballo in Maschera

November 2005 •Italian

Live performance from Oper Leipzig, 26 November 2005.

Tosca

April 2009 •Italian

Live from the Zurich Opera House, 2009.

Così fan tutte

July 2005 •Italian

Live performance from the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, 23 July 2005.

La vie parisienne

December 2007 •French

Live performance from Opéra National de Lyon.

Les Contes d'Hoffmann

May 1993 •French

Live performance from the Opéra National de Lyon.

Acis a Galatea

July 2018 •English

Die Walküre

February 1990 •German

The gorgeous and evocative Otto Schenk/Günther Schneider-Siemssen production continues with this second opera in Wagner’s Ring cycle. Hildegard Behrens brings deep empathy to Brünnhilde, the favorite daughter of the god Wotan (James Morris) who nevertheless defies him. Morris’s portrayal of Wotan is deservedly legendary, as is Christa Ludwig, as Fricka. Jessye Norman and Gary Lakes are Sieglinde and Siegmund, and Kurt Moll is the threatening Hunding. James Levine and the Met orchestra provide astonishing color and drama. (Performed April 8, 1989)

Siegfried

February 1990 •German

Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner.

Carmen aux Chorégies d'Orange 2015

July 2015 •French

Live performance from Chorégies d'Orange, 11 July 2015.

Carmen

July 2015 •French

Live performance from Taormina Opera Festival, July 15, 2015.

Carmen (Opéra de Lyon)

July 2012 •French

Live performance from the Opéra de Lyon, July 1 2012. Controversial production by Olivier Py.

Beatrice di Tenda

January 2002 •Italian

Live performance from the Zurich Opera House, January 2002.

The Metropolitan Opera: Boris Godunov

October 2010 •English

Stephen Wadsworth’s production of Mussorgsky’s epic masterpiece brilliantly captures the suffering and ambition of the Russian people at a critical time in their nation’s history. René Pape is riveting as the Tsar of the title, giving a commanding and charismatic performance of one of the greatest bass roles in the repertoire—his Boris is dominating, tortured, flawed and utterly unforgettable. The extraordinary cast and the Met Orchestra and Chorus are led by Russian maestro Valery Gergiev, the foremost Mussorgsky interpreter of our time.