The Met: Live in HD
Marks Its Tenth Season
With 10 Live Transmissions,
Including Five Operas New to the Series
The season kicks off October 3 with
Il Trovatore
,
starring Anna Netrebko as Leonora; broadcasts include all six
new productions from the Met’s 2015-16 season
The series will reach 70 countries on six continents in 2015-16,
as well as 750 theaters in the United States
Since its inception in 2006, the series has brought a wide selection of
classical masterpieces to the big screen, presenting 87 live performances of
operas—ranging from Bellini and Berlioz to Thomas Adès and
Philip Glass—to over 17 million opera lovers worldwide
The Met: HD Live in Schools
continues its expansion, using HD
transmissions to enhance arts education in 40 school districts nationwide
New York, NY (February 18, 2015) — The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera’s
award-winning series of live transmissions, will mark its tenth season in 2015-16 with ten live broadcasts to more than 2,000 movie theaters in 70 countries around the world. The series will feature live transmissions of ten performances, including all six new productions in the Met season.
Since its initial broadcast in 2006 to 98 movie theaters, The Met: Live in HD has
grown exponentially, with classical music lovers around the world demonstrating that opera can have a place alongside Hollywood blockbusters in their local movie theaters. More than 17 million tickets have been sold over the first nine years of the series, and distribution has expanded every season to match the growing global demand for classical music on the big screen. The Met: Live in HD is now the largest provider of alternative cinema content in the
world and is a consistent new revenue stream for the Met, with average net profits of approximately $17 million per season in recent years.
The tenth season of The Met: Live in HD will once again offer a variety of operatic
styles to global cinema audiences, including five works being transmitted as part of the series for the first time: Wagner’s Tannhäuser, Berg’s Lulu, Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles,
Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux, and Strauss’s Elektra. These works will be joined by starry
performances of five repertory favorites: Verdi’s Il Trovatore and Otello and Puccini’s Turandot, Manon Lescaut, and Madama Butterfly. Complete details, including casting, are
available below.
“The HD transmissions stimulate opera lovers, and they are a catalyst for the singers, too,” said Met General Manager Peter Gelb. “Knowing that a global audience is watching and listening, our opera stars are inspired to give their greatest performances.”
Season at a Glance: The Met: Live in HD 2015-16
The HD season will begin on Saturday, October 3 at 12:55 p.m. with Il Trovatore.
Future transmissions are as follows: Otello (October 17 at 12:55 p.m.); Tannhäuser (October
31 at 12 p.m.); Lulu (November 21 at 12:30 p.m.); Les Pêcheurs de Perles (January 16 at
12:55 p.m.); Turandot (January 30 at 12:55 p.m.); Manon Lescaut (March 5 at 12:55 p.m.); Madama Butterfly (April 2 at 12:55 p.m.); Roberto Devereux (April 16 at 12:55 p.m.); and Elektra (April 30 at 12:55 p.m.). All ten operas will be Saturday matinee performances,
transmitted live from the Met stage. All start times are Eastern Time; for local start times and rebroadcast information, please visit www.metopera.org/hdlive.
The Met: Live in HD
2015-16 Schedule
(A * denotes operas selected for the HD Live in Schools education program)
Il Trovatore (Verdi)
October 3, 2015 at 12:55 p.m. ET Conductor: Marco Armiliato
Production: Sir David McVicar
Set Designer: Charles Edwards
Costume Designer: Brigitte Reiffenstuel
Lighting Designed By: Jennifer Tipton
Click here and enter the password metphotos for promotional photos of the 2015-16 Live in HD
Choreographer: Leah Hausman
Cast: Anna Netrebko (Leonora), Dolora Zajick (Azucena), Yonghoon Lee (Manrico), Dmitri Hvorostovsky (di Luna), Štefan Kocán (Ferrando)
The Live in HD season begins October 3 with Anna Netrebko in her highly
anticipated Met role debut as Leonora, the tortured heroine of Il Trovatore. Dmitri
Hvorostovsky sings Count di Luna in the first pairing of the two Russian superstars at the Met since 2002, with Yonghoon Lee as Manrico, the title character, Štefan Kocán as Ferrando, and Dolora Zajick in her signature role of the demented gypsy Azucena.
*Otello (Verdi) NEW PRODUCTION
October 17, 2015 at 12:55 p.m. ET Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Production: Bartlett Sher
Set Designer: Es Devlin
Costume Designer: Catherine Zuber
Lighting Designer: Donald Holder
Projection Designer: Luke Halls
Cast: Aleksandrs Antonenko (Otello), Sonya Yoncheva (Desdemona), Dimitri Pittas (Cassio), Željko Lučić (Iago), Günther Gröissbock (Lodovico)
A new staging of Verdi’s masterpiece Otello, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin
and directed by Bartlett Sher, opens the Met season. Aleksandrs Antonenko sings his first Met performances of the tormented Moor of Venice, with Sonya Yoncheva in her role debut as his wife, Desdemona, and Željko Lučićas Otello’s sinister rival, Iago. The staging, also
featuring Dimitri Pittas as Cassio and Günther Groissböck as Lodovico, also marks the Met debut of set designer Es Devlin, whose previous designs include the 2014 revival of Machinal
on Broadway and numerous opera productions for Covent Garden, La Scala, and other leading companies.
Tannhäuser (Wagner) FIRST TIME IN HD October 31, 2015 at 12 p.m. ET
Conductor: James Levine
Production: Otto Schenk
Set Designer: Günther Schneider-Siemssen
Costume Designer: Patricia Zipprodt
Lighting Designer: Gil Wechsler
Choreographer: Norbert Vesak
Cast: Johan Botha (Tannhäuser), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Elisabeth), Michelle DeYoung (Venus), Peter Mattei (Wolfram), Günther Groissböck (Landgraf Hermann)
James Levine conducts the first Met revival of Wagner’s Tannhäuser since 2004,
of the demanding title role, in a cast that also includes Peter Mattei as Wolfram, his second Met Wagner role; Günther Groissböck as the Landgraf; and Eva-Maria Westbroek as Elisabeth and Michelle DeYoung as Venus, the human and divine rivals for Tannhäuser’s affection.
*Lulu (Berg) NEW PRODUCTION / FIRST TIME IN HD November 21, 2015 at 12:30 p.m. ET
Conductor: James Levine
Production: William Kentridge
Co-Director: Luc De Wit
Projection Designer: Catherine Meyburgh
Set Designer: Sabine Theunissen
Costume Designer: Greta Goiris
Lighting Designer: Urs Schönebaum
Cast: Marlis Petersen (Lulu), Susan Graham (Countess Geschwitz), Daniel Brenna (Alwa), Paul Groves (Painter/Negro), Johan Reuter (Dr. Schön/Jack the Ripper),
Franz Grundheber (Schigolch)
William Kentridge returns to the Met for his first new production since the company premiere of The Nose, which caused a sensation when it opened in 2010. The inventive visual
artist will stage Berg’s shocking masterpiece about a sexually irresistible young woman whose wanton behavior causes destruction for those who fall under her spell. James Levine
conducts one of the operas with which he is most identified; he has led 30 Met performances of the work, including the company premiere in 1977. Marlis Petersen reprises her acclaimed interpretation of the title role, with Susan Graham as the Countess Geschwitz, one of Lulu’s most devoted admirers, and Daniel Brenna, Paul Groves, John Reuter, and Franz
Grundheber among the men who fall victim to her charms.
Les Pêcheurs de Perles (Bizet) NEW PRODUCTION / FIRST TIME IN HD January 16, 2016 at 12:55 p.m. ET
Conductor: Gianandrea Noseda
Production: Penny Woolcock
Set Designer: Dick Bird
Costume Designer: Kevin Pollard
Lighting Designer: Jen Schriever
Projection Design: 59 Productions
Movement Director: Andrew Dawson
Cast: Diana Damrau (Leïla), Matthew Polenzani (Nadir), Mariusz Kwiecien (Zurga), Nicolas Testé (Nourabad)
For the first time since Enrico Caruso starred in the opera in 1916, the Met will present Bizet’s lush, melodic romance Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers), in a production by
director Penny Woolcock, who made her Met debut staging John Adams’s Doctor Atomic.
Gianandrea Noseda conducts a cast led by Diana Damrau as the beautiful priestess Leïla.
Matthew Polenzani and Mariusz Kwiecien sing the roles of Nadir and Zurga, the two pearl fishers whose friendship is tested by their rivalry for Leïla’s affections; their “Au fond du temple saint” is one of the best-known duets in opera. Nicolas Testè sings the high priest Nourabad in the new production, which will have its premiere on New Year’s Eve.
*Turandot (Puccini)
January 30, 2016 at 12:55 p.m. ET Conductor: Paolo Carignani
Production: Franco Zeffirelli
Set Designer: Franco Zeffirelli
Costume Designers: Anna Anni, Dada Saligeri
Lighting Designer: Gil Wechsler
Choreographer: Chiang Ching
Cast: Nina Stemme (Turandot), Anita Hartig (Liù), Marco Berti (Calàf), Alexander Tsymbalyuk (Timur)
Swedish dramatic soprano Nina Stemme sings her first Met performances of the demanding title role of Puccini’s Chinese ice princess, with Anita Hartig in her company role debut as the angelic slave girl Liù. Marco Berti sings Calàf, the suitor who risks his head for Turandot’s hand, and Alexander Tsymbalyuk sings Timur. Paolo Carignani conducts
Franco Zeffirelli’s visually spectacular 1987 production.
Manon Lescaut (Puccini) NEW PRODUCTION March 5, 2016 at 12:55 p.m. ET
Conductor: Fabio Luisi
Production: Sir Richard Eyre
Set Designer: Rob Howell
Costume Designer: Fotini Dimou
Lighting Designer: Peter Mumford
Choreographer: Sara Erde
Cast: Kristine Opolais (Manon Lescaut), Jonas Kaufmann (Des Grieux), Massimo Cavalletti (Lescaut), Brindley Sherratt (Geronte)
Kristine Opolais and Jonas Kaufmann star as the ill-fated lovers at the center of
Manon Lescaut, Puccini’s passionate adaptation of the classic novel about a free-spirited
country girl who becomes the toast of Paris. Sir Richard Eyre’s new production, set in the 1940s, reunites him with set designer Rob Howell, his collaborator on recent Met productions of Le Nozze di Figaro, Werther, and Carmen. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi conducts
the new staging, which also stars Massimo Cavalletti as Manon’s cousin, Lescaut, and
Brindley Sherratt as Geronte, her wealthy older lover.
*Madama Butterfly (Puccini)
April 2, 2016 at 12:55 p.m. ET Conductor: Karel Mark Chichon
Production: Anthony Minghella
Director and Choreographer: Carolyn Choa
Set Designer: Michael Levine
Costume Designer: Han Feng
Lighting Designer: Peter Mumford
Puppetry: Blind Summit Theatre
Cast: Kristine Opolais (Cio-Cio-San), Maria Zifchak (Suzuki), Roberto Alagna (Pinkerton), Dwayne Croft (Sharpless)
Kristine Opolais brings her heartbreaking interpretation of the title role in Madama Butterfly to Live in HD screens for the first time, in Anthony Minghella’s critically
acclaimed 2006 production. Roberto Alagna sings Lieutenant Pinkerton, the callous officer who crushes Butterfly’s dreams of love. Debuting conductor Karel Mark Chichon leads a cast that also includes Maria Zifchak as Suzuki and Dwayne Croft as Sharpless.
Roberto Devereux (Donizetti) MET PREMIERE/FIRST TIME IN HD April 16, 2016 at 12:55 p.m. ET
Conductor: Maurizio Benini
Production: Sir David McVicar
Set Designer: Sir David McVicar
Costume Designer: Moritz Junge
Lighting Designer: Paule Constable
Choreographer: Leah Hausman
Cast: Sondra Radvanovsky (Elisabetta), Elīna Garanča (Sara), Matthew Polenzani (Roberto Devereux), Mariusz Kwiecien (Duke of Nottingham)
The final opera in Donizetti’s “Tudor trilogy” focuses on the older Queen Elizabeth I, who is forced to sign the death warrant of the nobleman she loves. Sir David McVicar, who directed the Met premieres of Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda, returns to stage the final
installment in the series. Acclaimed bel canto soprano Sondra Radvanovsky will sing Elizabeth I in Roberto Devereux as well as the title roles in Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda
over the course of the season, a famous feat performed by Beverly Sills at New York City
Opera in the 1970s and not repeated in New York since. Roberto Devereux also stars
Matthew Polenzani as the title character; Elīna Garanča as Sara, the Duchess of
Nottingham and the queen’s secret rival; and Mariusz Kwiecien as the Duke of Nottingham.
*Elektra (Strauss) NEW PRODUCTION/FIRST TIME IN HD April 30, 2016 at 12:55 p.m. ET
Conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen
Production: Patrice Chéreau
Stage Director: Vincent Huguet
Set Designer: Richard Peduzzi
Costume Designer: Caroline de Vivaise
Lighting Designer: Dominique Bruguière
Cast:Nina Stemme (Elektra), Adrianne Pieczonka (Chrysothemis), Waltraud Meier (Klytämnestra), Burkhard Ulrich (Aegisth), Eric Owens (Orest)
Strauss’s blazing tragedy about an ancient Greek princess hell-bent on revenge comes to the Met in the final opera production by the legendary director Patrice Chéreau, who died in 2014. Esa-Pekka Salonen, who made a riveting Met debut leading Chéreau’s production of Janáček’s From the House of the Dead in 2009, returns to conduct an extraordinary cast headed by Nina Stemme as the obsessed and bloodthirsty title character. Waltraud Meier
sings her first Met performances of Klytämnestra, Elektra’s mother and the object of her fury, with Adrianne Pieczonka as Elektra’s sister, Chrysothemis; Eric Owens as her exiled brother, Orest; and German tenor Burkhard Ulrich, in his Met debut, as the corrupt monarch Aegisth. Chéreau’s longtime collaborator Vincent Huguet will stage the production at the Met.
The Met: HD Live in Schools
The Met’s HD Live in Schools program will continue for its ninth season, partnering
with 40 school districts across the country to bring the Met’s live HD transmissions to students and teachers. The Met’s HD education program includes backstage visits for students, who learn how costumes and scenery are constructed; Q&As with artists; access to final dress rehearsals; in-school workshops; and teacher training workshops. Program and curriculum guides are created for in-school use in conjunction with HD screenings. Major funding for HD Live in Schools is made possible by Bank of America, with program support
provided through a partnership with the New York City Department of Education.
In the coming season, students will study Otello, Lulu, Turandot, Madama Butterfly,
and Elektra.
The Met: Live in HD series, which now reaches more than 2,000 theaters in 70
countries, makes the Met the world’s leading provider of alternative cinema content and the only arts institution with an ongoing global series of this scale. When the series launched in 2006, the Met was the first arts company to experiment with alternative cinema content. Since then, the program has grown every season, with more than 17 million tickets sold to date.
The Met: Live in HD series has increased accessibility to Met performances for
audiences around the world. With a global average ticket price of $23 in the 2014-15 season, the series has made world-class performances accessible to millions of opera lovers each season.
Met stars serve as hosts for the HD series, conducting live interviews with cast, crew, and production teams, and introducing the popular behind-the-scenes features.
Tickets for the ten transmissions in the 2015-16 Live in HD season will go on sale on
July 24, 2015 in the U.S. and Canada, with Met Members offered priority before tickets are made available to the general public. International ticket sales dates and details on ordering tickets for the 2015-16 Live in HD series vary from country to country and will be announced
separately by individual distributors.
The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding
sponsor, The Neubauer Family Foundation. Global corporate sponsorship of The Met: Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in
Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline Desmarais, in memory of Paul G. Desmarais Sr.
Contact: Lee Abrahamian/Eva Chien Metropolitan Opera
(212) 870-7457