Nightly Opera Streams, March 1–7

During the first week of Women’s History Month, we honor some of the groundbreaking American artists who have made remarkable contributions to the art form—on and off the stage. Learn about the performances featured with this guide.

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

After her passing in 2007, friends and colleagues shared their thoughts and memories of great American soprano Beverly Sills.

Marilyn Horne, in her words, sang "everything—from soup to nuts," and her kaleidoscopic Met career reflects that, with roles that ranged from Adalgisa in Bellini'’s Norma to Fidès in Meyerbeer’s Le Prophète, and from Bizet’s Carmen to Mistress Quickly in Verdi’s Falstaff, the last streamed this week. Read more about the great mezzo-soprano, teacher, and advocate for art song. 

Learn about one of the greatest voices in Met history—the legendary soprano Leontyne Price, who stars in this week’s stream of Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, in a telecast from 1984.

Take a look back at some of Renée Fleming’s most powerful appearances in the company’s The Met: Live in HD series.

In the fall of 2019, the entire Met family—along with the opera world at large—mourned the loss of Jessye Norman, one of the great sopranos of the past half-century.

Soprano Patricia Racette, who sings Ellen Orford in this week’s stream of Peter Grimes, is not only a celebrated performer but also a stage director and master teacher. In 2015, as part of the Met’s HD Live in Schools program, she visited Long Island City High School in New York City to talk to students about musical expression and creating a character.

 In this 2008 video, Renée Fleming and Patricia Racette—who are featured in this week’s streams—discuss some of opera’s most unconventional heroines, illustrated by exciting clips from Met telecasts.

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

Less than a year before her death, Beverly Sills—who appears in this week’s stream of Don Pasquale—recalled her legendary career and assessed the state of opera in the 21st century.

In this clip from the 1989 telecast of Wagner’s Die Walküre—streamed this week—legendary soprano Jessye Norman is an ecstatic Sieglinde, rejoicing at the discovery that she is carrying Siegmund’s child.

The great soprano, who sings Leonora in this week’s stream of Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, opened the new Met at Lincoln Center in 1966 singing Cleopatra in the world premiere of Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra. In this clip from the 2018 documentary The Opera House, she recalls her feelings about being chosen for that prestigious and daunting assignment

Tony Award–winning director Julie Taymor discusses her spectacular production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which has had more than 100 performances at the Met.

Renée Fleming, one of the most celebrated exponents of the title role of Dvořák’s Rusalka, discusses the impact the lonely water sprite has had on her career in this 2014 Live in HD interview with host Susan Graham.

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

As he prepared to take the podium for the 2014 revival of Rusalka, Yannick Nézet-Séguin discussed his love for Dvořák’s dark fairy-tale opera.

Dive into the details of the Queen of the Night’s iconic rage aria “Der Hölle Rache” with soprano Kathryn Lewek and host Rhiannon Giddens in this episode of our Aria Code podcast, a collaboration with WQXR.

Friends and colleagues of the great English composer reflect on his incomparable musical legacy.

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

In his 2008 production of Britten’s Peter Grimes, director John Doyle examines one of opera’s most intriguing outcasts and the community that judges him.

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.

The operas of Giuseppe Verdi have been performed around 5,700 times at the Metropolitan Opera, more than those of any other composer by a wide margin.

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