Nightly Opera Streams, October 19–25

The laughs will come early and often in a week of Nightly Opera Streams featuring seven of opera’s most beloved comedies. Learn more about these side-splitting masterpieces in this guide to the lineup.

View the Playbills from the original performance dates for each stream, including synopses, program notes, and more.

Watch a heartwarming tribute to the contributions of animal performers on the Met stage, originally featured as part of the 2017 Live in HD transmission of Der Rosenkavalier.

Last year, the Met family mourned the death of exceptional Italian soprano Mirella Freni, who stars in this week’s stream of Falstaff.

In this video, follow director and choreographer Susan Stroman as she works on Lehár’s witty, waltzing operetta, with commentary from Renée Fleming, Nathan Gunn, and Kelli O’Hara.

In Phelim McDermott’s production of Così fan tutte, the cast shares the Met stage with sword swallowers, fire-eaters, and a live Burmese python. Set in a carnival fairground inspired by 1950s Coney Island, the director’s imaginative staging explores love, temptation, betrayal, and reconciliation amid the spectacle of the sideshow.

Dive into the details of the Marschallin’s monologue on the passing of time with Renée Fleming and host Rhiannon Giddens in this episode of our Aria Code podcast, a collaboration with WQXR.

Designer Catherine Zuber has charmed theatergoers—and won seven Tony Awards—for her breathtaking costumes for the Great White Way. Before the 2006 premiere of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Zuber talked about sexing up the look of Rossini’s classic comedy.

A proud dog-mom remembers her bearded collie’s star turn at the Met in the 1992–93 run of Verdi’s Falstaff.

General Manager Peter Gelb, soprano Renée Fleming, and mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča gathered for a virtual panel discussion in April to discuss the upcoming stream of Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier.

Susan Stroman’s production of The Merry Widow opened on New Year’s Eve 2014, with Renée Fleming in the title role. Before the premiere, star and director spoke about the enduring charms of Lehár’s enchanting operetta.

The director of the Met’s vivacious staging of Rossini’s Le Comte Ory discusses his take on the opera in this video looking forward to the production’s 2011 premiere.

Meet the adorable four-legged star of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia in this backstage interview with a donkey named Sir Gabriel—and his trainer, Nancy Novograd.

Hear directly from Juan Diego Flórez and Peter Mattei, stars of the Live in HD performance of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, about what it takes to make Rossini’s music sing.

Go behind the scenes of the creation of Bartlett Sher’s Met-premiere staging of Rossini’s whimsical comedy Le Comte Ory.

Back in April before the first free Nightly Opera Stream of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, General Manager Peter Gelb, soprano Kelli O’Hara, and baritone Christopher Maltman gathered for a virtual panel discussion.

In his production of Der Rosenkavalier, director Robert Carsen examines the deeply affecting blend of comedy, melancholy, and nostalgia in Strauss’s most popular opera.

Cecilia Bartoli is heard in this week’s streams in the title role of La Cenerentola. But in this episode of our Aria Code podcast, another celebrated exponent of the role, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, and Rhiannon Giddens discuss the title character's aria “Naqui all'affanno ... Non più mesta.”

With a 51-year Met career including nearly 1,700 performances, bass Paul Plishka is one of the company’s most beloved artists.

Meet the talented troupe of performers, straight off the Coney Island midway, who bring authentic sideshow flair to Phelim McDermott’s production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte.

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