Nightly Opera Streams, July 27–August 2

Explore some of the great masterpieces of the Italian operatic repertory, as well as popular favorites by Wagner and Dvořák, with a guide to this week’s streams.

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

Natalie Dessay discusses taking on the title role in Mary Zimmerman’s ghostly staging of Lucia di Lammermoor.

The 45-ton “machine” at the center of Robert Lepage’s staging of Wagner’s Ring took quite a journey to return to the Met stage in spring 2019.

As part of the 2020 Global Summer Camp, actor and playwright Susan Blackwell spoke to Mary Zimmerman about directing Dvořák's Rusalka at the Met in 2017.

A behind-the-scenes look at the vision and skill required to create the costumes for Mary Zimmerman’s fantastical new production of Rusalka, with costume designer Mara Blumenfeld, Met costume shop head Elissa Iberti, and Live in HD host Ailyn Pérez.

In the storied history of the Metropolitan Opera, Luciano Pavarotti, who stars in this week’s stream of Andrea Chénier, holds a secure place as one of the company’s most celebrated tenors.

In this podcast episode, soprano Nadine Sierra and host Rhiannon Giddens discuss the overwhelming emotions of young love and dive into the details of Gilda’s breathtaking Act I aria, “Caro nome.”

In the Met’s 2017 production of Dvořák’s Rusalka, director Mary Zimmerman explored powerful, universal questions by diving below the opera’s fairy-tale veneer.

The extraordinary and beloved Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, who died in 2017, is featured in this week’s stream of Verdi’s La Traviata.

Learn about the Met career of great American baritone Cornell MacNeil, one of the great singers of the second half of the 20th century, who stars in this week’s stream of Verdi’s Rigoletto.

Few operatic conventions are more thrilling to behold than the “mad scene,” and the one in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor is definitive.

Before taking on the warrior-maiden Brünnhilde—whose heroism, sacrifice, and discovery of love make her the heart of Wagner’s epic Ring cycle—Christine Georke spoke about bringing one of opera’s most compelling characters to life.

Resources from the Met’s education department are available for many of the operas featured in this streaming series. Designed for use in the classroom, they are perfect for parents whose kids are now learning from home, or for anyone who’d like to know more about opera.

Donizetti’s riveting bel canto showcase for virtuoso coloratura sopranos has been a consistent presence in the Met repertory since the company’s very first season, with several legendary artists singing the title role.

The Met’s technical director explains to Live in HD host Renée Fleming how the stage crew changes the massive sets for Lucia di Lammermoor.

In Sir David McVicar’s 2009 staging, Verdi’s Il Trovatore reclaimed its place as a dramatic—not just musical—masterwork.

Wagner’s use and development of musical themes known as leitmotifs create a symbolic undercurrent of meaning throughout the Ring cycle. In this video, members of the Met Orchestra play and discuss some of the themes.

Throwing herself wholly into every role she played, French soprano Natalie Dessay was one of the Met’s most magnetic artists for more than two decades.

The Met has presented nearly 1,000 performances of Puccini’s Tosca, starting with the work’s U.S. premiere in 1901. Explore the opera’s fascinating history at the Met.

Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan discusses his approach to conducting opera’s grandest and most grueling epic.

One of opera’s greatest voices, Dolora Zajick has delivered knockout Met performances of many of the repertory’s most dramatic mezzo-soprano roles over the past three decades.

Learn about the storied history of Wagner’s operas at the Met, from the house’s opening season in 1883 to the present day.

The great Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti sings the Act II aria “Odi il voto” in the 1983 telecast of Verdi’s Ernani, streaming this week.

The quest for the all-powerful ring continues with the second installment of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. Learn more about Die Walküre with our In Focus podcast.

Puccini’s operatic thrill ride Tosca features a fictional diva that’s one of the ultimate showcases for the real thing. But at a time when the term “diva” is thrown around seemingly willy-nilly, what exactly did the composer have in mind?

Starring in the title role of Luc Bondy’s new production of Puccini’s Tosca on Opening Night of the 2009–10 season, soprano Karita Mattila kept audiences on the edge of their seats.

Works by three leading Czech composers—Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, and Leoš Janáček—have gained increasing popularity at the Metropolitan.

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