The Metropolitan Opera’s Summer HD Festival returns to Lincoln Center Plaza with ten free opera screenings, August 26–September 4

The operatic lineup begins with Verdi’s La Traviata, starring soprano Nadine Sierra, and features highlights from the 2022–23 season, including Kevin Puts’s The Hours, starring Renée Fleming, Kelli O’Hara, and Joyce DiDonato; Terence Blanchard’s Champion, starring Ryan Speedo Green, Eric Owens, and Latonia Moore; and Verdi’s Falstaff, starring Michael Volle and Ailyn Pérez 

A special Film at Lincoln Center co-presentation of
Academy Award-winning film Moonstruck, starring Cher and Nicolas Cage,
Friday, August 25

More than 2,500 free seats available nightly; no tickets required

New York, NY (June 6, 2023)—The Metropolitan Opera’s 2023 Summer HD Festival, an annual New York pastime, returns to Lincoln Center Plaza Saturday, August 26 through Monday, September 4. Shown on a big screen on the façade of the opera house, the free festival features 10 ten screenings from the Met’s acclaimed Live in HD series, including some of this season’s celebrated premieres and new productions—Kevin Puts’s The Hours, Terence Blanchard’s Champion, Giordano’s Fedora, and Cherubini’s Medea.

A special screening of the 1987 romantic comedy-drama Moonstruck, starring Cher and Nicolas Cage, opens the festival on August 25 at 8PM, co-presented with Film at Lincoln Center.

The festival continues with Verdi’s La Traviata on Saturday, August 26, at 8PM, starring soprano Nadine Sierra in her critically acclaimed Met role debut as Violetta and tenor Stephen Costello as her lover Alfredo. Other opera stars to grace the silver screen throughout the run include Piotr Beczała, Joyce DiDonato, Michael Fabiano, Rosa Feola, Renée Fleming, Ryan Speedo Green, Quinn Kelsey, Latonia Moore, Kelli O’Hara, Eric Owens, Ailyn Pérez, Sondra Radvanovsky, Michael Volle, and Sonya Yoncheva.

A complete listing of operas and start times can be found below.

The Summer HD Festival is generously supported by The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust. 

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 is supported by Rolex.

For each presentation, more than 2,500 seats will be available on the plaza on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required, and there are no rain dates. For more information, please visit metopera.org/HDFestival.

SCHEDULE:

Friday, August 25, at 8PM
Moonstruck
The mesmerizing romantic comedy from director Norman Jewison and Oscar-winner John Patrick Shanley stars Academy Award–winner Cher as an unlucky-in-love Italian widow who finds romance through the intervention of the Manhattan moon. The film also stars Nicolas Cage and Olympia Dukakis, with Danny Aiello, Vincent Gardenia, and John Mahoney.
Approximate running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Moonstruck is a co-presentation with Film at Lincoln Center. 

Saturday, August 26, at 8PM
Verdi’s La Traviata  
In this production by Tony Award–winner Michael Mayer, soprano Nadine Sierra stars as the self-sacrificing courtesan Violetta, with tenor Stephen Costello as her self-centered lover and baritone Luca Salsi as his disapproving father. Daniele Callegari conducts.
Original transmission: November 5, 2022
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes 

Sunday, August 27, at 8PM
Cherubini’s Medea
Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky stars as the mythic sorceress seeking revenge on her unfaithful lover, Giasone, sung by tenor Matthew Polenzani. Soprano Janai Brugger, mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova, and bass Michele Pertusi complete the principal cast. Carlo Rizzi conducts.
Original transmission: October 22, 2022
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes 

Monday, August 28, at 8PM
Kevin Puts’s The Hours
Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads a star-studded cast in this world-premiere staging, with soprano Renée Fleming, operatically trained Broadway star Kelli O’Hara, and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato as the opera’s trio of heroines.
Original transmission:  December 10, 2022
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes 

Tuesday, August 29, at 8PM
Verdi’s Falstaff
Baritone Michael Volle sings the title role of this masterful comedy, alongside sopranos Ailyn Pérez and Hera Hyesang Park, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano, contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, tenor Bogdan Volkov, and baritone Christopher Maltman. Daniele Rustioni conducts.
Original transmission: April 1, 2023
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes 

Wednesday, August 30, at 7:30PM
Brett Dean’s Hamlet
Brett Dean’s contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare’s great tragedy stars tenor Allan Clayton in the title role, with soprano Brenda Rae as Ophelia, mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly as Gertrude, baritone Rod Gilfry as Claudius, and bass-baritone John Relyea as the ghost of Hamlet’s father. Nicholas Carter conducts. 

Original transmission: June 4, 2022
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes 

Thursday, August 31, at 7:30PM
Mozart’s Così fan tutte
This updated production of Mozart’s comedy of young love and infidelity is set on a boardwalk amusement park inspired by Coney Island in the 1950s. Tony Award–winning actress Kelli O’Hara and baritone Christopher Maltman star, alongside soprano Amanda Majeski, mezzo-soprano Serena Malfi, tenor Ben Bliss, and bass-baritone Adam Plachetka. David Robertson conducts.
Original transmission: March 31, 2018
Approximate running time: 3 hours

Friday, September 1, at 8PM
Giordano’s Fedora
In a new production by David McVicar, soprano Sonya Yoncheva is the princess seeking vengeance for the murder of her fiancé, only to fall in love with his killer, sung by tenor Piotr Beczała. Marco Armiliato conducts.
Original transmission: January 14, 2023
Approximate running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes

Saturday, September 2, at 8PM
Terence Blanchard’s Champion
Grammy Award–winning composer Terence Blanchard’s explosive, jazz-inflected opera depicts the double life of closeted boxer Emile Griffith and stars bass-baritones Ryan Speedo Green and Eric Owens and soprano Latonia Moore. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.
Original transmission: April 29, 2023
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Sunday, September 3, at 8PM
Verdi’s Rigoletto
This classic Verdi tragedy stars baritone Quinn Kelsey as the tragic jester, soprano Rosa Feola as his beautiful headstrong daughter, and tenor Piotr Beczała as the caddish Duke of Mantua. Daniele Rustioni conducts.
Original transmission: January 29, 2022
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Monday, September 4, at 8PM
Puccini’s La Bohème
Soprano Sonya Yoncheva and tenor Michael Fabiano star as the bohemian lovers Mimì and Rodolfo in Puccini’s timeless love story. The cast also includes soprano Susanna Phillips, baritone Lucas Meachem, baritone Alexey Lavrov, and bass Matthew Rose. Marco Armiliato conducts.
Original transmission: February 24, 2018
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes