The Met: Live in HD 2023-24 Season Features Nine Performances Transmitted Live from the Metropolitan Opera Stage to Cinemas Nationwide through Fathom Events

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Sep 27, 2023, 13:03 ET

The season features three Met premieres including Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, Anthony Davis's X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, and Daniel Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas—the Met's first Spanish-language opera in almost a century
Joyce DiDonato stars in Dead Man Walking, which kicks off the season on Saturday, October 21
The upcoming season also includes audience favorites Roméo et Juliette and Madama Butterfly, as well as a new production of Carmen by English director Carrie Cracknell
Other season highlights include Live in HD-debut performances of Asmik Grigorian, SeokJong Baek, Benjamin Bernheim, and Jonathan Tetelman, as well as the return of Piotr Beczala, Angel Blue, Lise Davidsen, Susan Graham, Will Liverman, Latonia Moore, and Nadine Sierra

DENVER, Sept. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live high-definition cinema simulcasts, will begin its 17^th season on Saturday, October 21, and will feature nine Saturday matinee performances transmitted from the Met stage to movie theaters nationwide. Tickets are on sale through Fathom Events or participating theater box offices. For a complete list of theater locations, visit fathomevents.com (participating theaters are subject to change).

In addition to Fathom's live Saturday transmissions, encore screenings of each opera will be shown in theaters on Wednesdays, with presentations in both the afternoon and evening.

The 2023–24 season opens with a live transmission of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, a Met premiere of a new production by Ivo van Hove, starring mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato as Sister Helen Prejean.

In addition to Dead Man Walking, the 2023–24 Live in HD season includes two more company premieres: Anthony Davis's X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X and Daniel Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas, the company's first opera in Spanish in nearly a century. The season lineup also includes new productions of Bizet's Carmen and Verdi's La Forza del Destino, as well as revivals of Verdi's Nabucco, Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, Puccini's La Rondine, and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

Live in HD audiences will have the opportunity to watch the major Met-debut performance of Jonathan Tetelman as Ruggero in La Rondine, as well as performances by returning Met stars: soprano Lise Davidsen as Leonora in La Forza del Destino; soprano Angel Blue as Magda in La Rondine and Micaëla in Carmen, alongside mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina in the title role and tenor Piotr Beczala as Don José; and soprano Nadine Sierra and tenor Benjamin Bernheim as the star-crossed lovers of Roméo et Juliette. Bernheim will also be making his first Live in HD appearance in Roméo et Juliette.

"What began as an experiment 17 years ago has become a staple experience for opera lovers all over the world," said Met General Manager Peter Gelb. "Our 2023-24 season in cinemas reflects how opera is changing at the Met, where we're balancing timeless classics with accessible new work that is advancing the art form and attracting younger and more diverse audiences."

"The Met: Live in HD series continues to be a popular offering for Fathom Events, and we are excited to once again give audiences nationwide the best seats in the house with this upcoming slate of powerhouse performances and moving dramas," said Ray Nutt, CEO of Fathom Events. "As a longtime supporter of the opera, Fathom is proud to provide a strong platform for the absolute best that the medium has to offer—presenting the incredible visuals, dynamic vocals, and groundbreaking artistry in stunning detail on the big screen, while giving viewers of all ages a chance to witness the Met's trademark spectacle live."

Complete details, including casting, for the upcoming season are available below.

2023–24 Live in HD Season at a Glance:
The Live in HD season begins on October 21 with Dead Man Walking and continues with X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (November 18), Florencia en el Amazonas (December 9), Nabucco (January 6), Carmen (January 27), La Forza del Destino (March 9), Roméo et Juliette (March 23), La Rondine (April 20), and Madama Butterfly (May 11). All performances will be Saturday matinees transmitted live from the Met stage.

An encore screening of Mozart's The Magic Flute will also be presented on Saturday, December 2.

Click here and enter the password MetOpera2020

for promotional photos for the 2023–24 season.

The Met: Live in HD 2023–24 Schedule

Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking—MET PREMIERE

Live in HD date: October 21, 2023
Encore date: October 25, 2023
Librettist: Terrence McNally
Production: Ivo van Hove
Set and Lighting Designer: Jan Versweyveld
Costume Designer: An D'Huys
Projection Designer: Christopher Ash
Sound Designer: Tom Gibbons

Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Joyce DiDonato (Sister Helen Prejean), Ryan McKinny (Joseph De Rocher), Susan Graham (Mrs. Patrick De Rocher) Latonia Moore (Sister Rose)

Jake Heggie's powerful work has its highly-anticipated Met premiere in a new production by Ivo van Hove. Based on Sister Helen Prejean's memoir about her fight for the soul of a condemned murderer, Dead Man Walking matches the high drama of its subject with Heggie's poignant music and a libretto by Tony and Emmy Award-winner Terrence McNally. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium, with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato starring as Sister Helen. The cast also features bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as the death-row inmate Joseph De Rocher, soprano Latonia Moore as Sister Rose, and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham—who sang Helen Prejean in the opera's 2000 premiere—as De Rocher's mother.

Anthony Davis's X: The Life And Times Of Malcolm X—MET PREMIERE

Live in HD date: November 18, 2023
Encore date: November 29, 2023
Librettist: Thulani Davis
Production: Robert O'Hara
Set Designer: Clint Ramos
Costume Designer: Dede Ayite
Lighting Designer: Alex Jainchill
Projection Designer: Yee Eun Nam
Choreographer: Rickey Tripp

Kazem Abdullah (Conductor), Leah Hawkins (Louise/Betty), Raehann Bryce-Davis (Ella), Victor Ryan Robertson (Elijah/Street), Will Liverman (Malcolm), Michael Sumuel (Reginald)

Anthony Davis's groundbreaking opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Robert O'Hara, who was nominated for a Tony Award in 2020 for his direction of Slave Play, oversees a new staging that imagines Malcolm as an Everyman whose story transcends time and space. A cast of breakout artists take part in the operatic retelling of Malcolm X's life: baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Terence Blanchard's Fire Shut Up in My Bones, sings Malcolm; soprano Leah Hawkins plays his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis is his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel is his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson is the Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly-revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis's libretto.

Daniel Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas—MET PREMIERE

Live in HD date: December 9, 2023
Encore date: December 13, 2023
Production: Mary Zimmerman
Set Designer: Riccardo Hernandez
Costume Designer: Ana Kuzmanic
Lighting Designer: T.J. Gerckens
Projection Designer: S. Katy Tucker
Choreographer: Alex Sanchez

Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Ailyn Pérez (Florencia Grimaldi), Gabriella Reyes (Rosalba), Nancy Fabiola Herrera (Paula), Mario Chang (Arcadio), Michael Chioldi (Álvaro), Mattia Olivieri (Riolobo), Greer Grimsley (Captain)

Sung in Spanish and inspired by the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez, Mexican composer Daniel Catán's 1996 opera focuses on an opera diva, Florencia Grimaldi, who returns to her native Brazil to perform and to search for her lost lover, who has vanished into the jungle. The Met premiere stars soprano Ailyn Pérez as Florencia in a new production by Mary Zimmerman that brings the mystical realm of the Amazon to the Met stage. The distinguished ensemble of artists portraying the diva's fellow travelers on the river boat to Manaus features Gabriella Reyes as the journalist Rosalba, bass-baritone Greer Grimsley as the ship's captain, baritone Mattia Olivieri as his enigmatic first mate, tenor Mario Chang as the captain's nephew Arcadio, and mezzo-soprano Nancy Fabiola Herrera and baritone Michael Chioldi as the feuding couple Paula and Álvaro, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium.

Verdi's Nabucco—REVIVAL

Live in HD date: January 6, 2024
Encore date: January 10, 2024
Production: Elijah Moshinsky
Set Designer: John Napier
Costume Designer: Andreane Neofitou
Lighting Designer: Howard Harrison

Daniele Callegari (Conductor), Liudmyla Monastyrska (Abigaille), Maria Barakova (Fenena), SeokJong Baek (Ismaele), George Gagnidze (Nabucco), Dmitry Belosselskiy (Zaccaria)

Ancient Babylon comes to life in a classic Met staging of biblical proportions. Baritone George Gagnidze makes his Met role debut as the imperious king Nabucco, alongside Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska reprising her thrilling turn as his vengeful daughter Abigaille. Mezzo-soprano Maria Barakova and tenor SeokJong Baek, in his company debut, are Fenena and Ismaele, and bass Dmitry Belosselskiy repeats his celebrated portrayal of the high priest Zaccaria. Daniele Callegari conducts Verdi's early masterpiece, which features the ultimate showcase for the great Met Chorus, the moving "Va, pensiero."

Bizet's Carmen—NEW PRODUCTION

Live in HD date: January 27, 2024
Encore date: January 31, 2024
Production: Carrie Cracknell
Set Designer: Michael Levine
Costume Designer: Tom Scutt
Lighting Designer: Guy Hoare
Projection Designer: rocafilm/Roland Horvath
Choreographer: Ann Yee

Daniele Rustioni (Conductor), Angel Blue (Micaëla), Aigul Akhmetshina (Carmen), Piotr Beczała (Don José), Kyle Ketelsen (Escamillo)

Acclaimed English director Carrie Cracknell makes her Met debut, reinvigorating the classic story of deadly passion with a staging that moves the action to the present day, amid a band of human traffickers. Mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina leads a powerhouse quartet of stars in the touchstone role of the irresistible femme fatale, alongside tenor Piotr Beczala as Carmen's lover Don José, soprano Angel Blue as the devoted Micaëla, and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the swaggering Escamillo. Daniele Rustioni conducts Bizet's heart-pounding score.

Verdi's La Forza del Destino—NEW PRODUCTION

Live in HD date: March 9, 2024
Encore date: March 13, 2024
Production: Mariusz Treliński
Set Designer: Boris Kudlička
Costume Designer: Moritz Junge
Lighting Designer: Marc Heinz
Projection Designer: Bartek Macias
Choreographer: Maćko Prusak

Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Lise Davidsen (Leonora); Judit Kutasi (Preziosilla); Brian Jagde (Don Alvaro); Igor Golovatenko (Don Carlo di Vargas); Patrick Carfizzi (Fra Melitone); Soloman Howard (Marquis of Calatrava/Padre Guardiano)

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Verdi's La Forza del Destino, with stellar soprano Lise Davidsen, following a string of recent Met triumphs, in her role debut as the noble Leonora. Director Mariusz Treliński delivers the company's first new Forza in nearly 30 years, setting the scene in a contemporary world. The cast also features tenor Brian Jagde as Don Alvaro, baritone Igor Golovatenko as Don Carlo, mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi as Preziosilla, bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi as Fra Melitone, and bass Soloman Howard as both Leonora's father and Padre Guardiano.

Gounod's Roméo et Juliette—REVIVAL

Live in HD date: March 23, 2024
Encore date: March 27, 2024
Production: Bartlett Sher
Set Designer: Michael Yeargan
Costume Designer: Catherine Zuber
Lighting Designer: Jennifer Tipton
Choreographer: Chase Brock
Fight Director: B.H. Barry

Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Nadine Sierra (Juliette), Samantha Hankey (Stéphano), Benjamin Bernheim (Roméo), Will Liverman (Mercutio), Alfred Walker (Frére Laurent), Frederick Ballentine (Tybalt)

Two singers at the height of their powers—soprano Nadine Sierra and tenor Benjamin Bernheim—come together as the star-crossed lovers in Gounod's Shakespeare adaptation, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium to conduct one of the repertoire's most romantic scores. Bartlett Sher's staging also features baritone Will Liverman and tenor Frederick Ballentine as the archrivals Mercutio and Tybalt, mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey as the mischievous pageboy Stéphano, and bass-baritone Alfred Walker as Frére Laurent.

Puccini's La Rondine—REVIVAL

Live in HD date: April 20, 2024
Encore date: April 24, 2024
Production: Nicolas Joël
Set Designer: Ezio Frigerio
Costume Designer: Franca Squarciapino
Lighting Designer: Duane Schuler

Speranza Scappucci (Conductor), Angel Blue (Magda), Emily Pogorelc (Lisette), Jonathan Tetelman (Ruggero), Bekhzod Davronov (Prunier)

Puccini's bittersweet love story makes a rare Met appearance, with soprano Angel Blue starring as the sophisticated French courtesan Magda, opposite tenor Jonathan Tetelman in his company debut as Ruggero, an idealistic young man who offers her an alternative to her life of excess. Maestro Speranza Scappucci conducts Nicolas Joël's Art Deco-inspired staging, which transports audiences from the heart of Parisian nightlife to a dreamy vision of the French Riviera. Soprano Emily Pogorelc and tenor Bekhzod Davronov—both making their Met debuts—complete the cast as Lisette and Prunier.

Puccini's Madama Butterfly—REVIVAL

Live in HD date: May 11, 2024
Encore date: May 15, 2024
Production: Anthony Minghella
Director and Choreographer: Carolyn Choa
Set Designer: Michael Levine
Costume Designer: Han Feng
Lighting Designer: Peter Mumford
Puppetry: Blind Summit Theatre

Xian Zhang (Conductor); Asmik Grigorian (Cio-Cio-San), Elizabeth DeShong (Suzuki), Jonathan Tetelman (Pinkerton), Lucas Meachem (Sharpless)

In her Met debut, Asmik Grigorian tackles the demanding role of Cio-Cio-San, the trusting geisha at the heart of Puccini's tragedy. Tenor Jonathan Tetelman is the callous American naval officer Pinkerton whose betrayal destroys her. Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong is the steadfast maid Suzuki, and baritone Lucas Meachem is the American consul Sharpless. Acclaimed maestro Xian Zhang makes her Met debut conducting Anthony Minghella's vivid production.

Mozart's The Magic Flute—SPECIAL ENCORE PRESENTATION
Originally transmitted live on December 30, 2006

Live in HD Encore Date: December 2, 2023
Production: Julie Taymor
Set Designer: George Tsypin
Costume Designer: Julie Taymor
Lighting Designer: Donald Holder
Puppet Designers: Julie Taymor and Michael Curry
Choreographer: Mark Dendy
English Adaptation: J.D. McClatchy

James Levine (Conductor), Ying Huang (Pamina), Erika Miklósa (Queen of the Night), Matthew Polenzani (Tamino), Nathan Gunn (Papageno), René Pape (Sarastro)

The Met made history in December 2006 when it presented its first Live in HD transmission to cinemas worldwide: the abridged English-language version of Mozart's The Magic Flute. Julie Taymor's whimsical production features a winning ensemble, including tenor Matthew Polenzani, baritone Nathan Gunn, and bass René Pape. The opera returns to select movie theaters for a special encore presentation during the holiday season.

About The Met: Live in HD

The Met: Live in HD series has made 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 expanded, with more than 30 million tickets sold to date and robust attendance in the world's five largest cinema markets: the United States, Germany, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. In North America, weekend box office ratings also remain strong, often placing Live in HD presentations among the weekend's top 15 highest-grossing films.

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, the series has made world-class performances accessible to millions of opera lovers each season.

Met artists and celebrity opera lovers serve as hosts for the Live in HD series, providing background on the operas, introducing exciting behind-the-scenes features, and conducting live interviews with stars, crew, and production teams.

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 series is supported by Rolex.

Within months of their initial live transmissions, the Live in HD programs are shown on PBS in the United States. The PBS series Great Performances at the Met is produced in association with PBS and WNET.

For more information about The Met: Live in HD, visit metopera.org/hd.

About Fathom Events

Fathom is a recognized leader in the entertainment industry as one of the top distributors of content to movie theaters in North America. Owned by AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC); Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK); and Regal, a subsidiary of the Cineworld Group (LSE: CINE.L), Fathom operates the largest cinema distribution network, delivering a wide variety of programming and experiences to cinema audiences in all of the top U.S. markets and to more than 45 countries. For more information, visit FathomEvents.com.

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