Nightly Opera Streams, July 20–26

Operatic legends and some of today’s most exciting artists take the stage in this week’s Nightly Opera Streams. This guide will help you prepare for the packed lineup of star-studded stagings.

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

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.

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

Based on one of the Bard’s eeriest plays, Verdi’s grim tragedy has courted controversy and scandal from even before its 1959 Met premiere.

Before starring in the Met’s 2007 Live in HD transmission of Roméo et Juliette, tenor Roberto Alagna discussed bringing Gounod’s Shakespearean hero to the big screen.

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

Tenor Tony Stevenson and fight director B. H. Barry joined Executive Stage Director Paula Suozzi for a virtual discussion about La Fanciulla del West and took questions about the opera from students. 

When an artist appears on the Met stage, there is generally some noise—but not for Rob Besserer, who appears in Il Barbiere di Siviglia in the mute role of Ambrogio.

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.

Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard and baritone Christopher Maltman rehearse a scene from Rossini’s sparkling Il Barbiere di Siviglia and chat with Live in HD host Joyce DiDonato about developing on-stage chemistry.

From an early vogue in the 1890s to a revival of popularity in recent decades, learn about the Met history of Gounod’s soaring Shakespeare adaptation.

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.

A gun-slinging heroine. A romantic tale of the Wild West. The first great opera with an American setting. Learn more about Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West with our In Focus podcast.

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

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.

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 1910 world premiere of Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West at the Met was an enormous event for the then-young company. This Playbill article from the 2010 performances of the opera takes a look at that historic occasion from a century on.

The Met’s compelling production of Verdi’s Macbeth is infused with the Shakespearean expertise of director Adrian Noble, onetime leader of Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company.

Few artists have had a greater impact on Met history than Franco Zeffirelli, the beloved director and designer who died in 2019.

Superstar soprano Anna Netrebko has appeared in more Live in HD transmissions than any other principal artist. Watch highlights from a dozen of her roles, including this week’s stream of Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur.

Baritone Željko Lučić has sung many of Verdi’s greatest roles at the Met, including the title character of Macbeth, which he has sung with the company in three different seasons. In this interview preceding the 2019 revival, he spoke about his evolving view of the character and his devotion to Verdi’s music.

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