The Metropolitan Opera’s Summer HD Festival Returns For 2019

Richard Termine/Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera’s annual Summer HD Festival, presenting free outdoor screenings of operas in Lincoln Center Plaza, returns for the 11th time this summer, with one screening each night from Saturday, August 24, to Monday, September 2. The series features ten performances from the company’s acclaimed Live in HD series of movie theater transmissions, including performances from the 2018–19 season as well as some of the most popular transmissions from past years. 

Preceding the festival, on Friday, August 23, the classic movie musical Funny Face will be screened in the plaza, in association with Film at Lincoln Center. Funny Face features songs by George and Ira Gershwin, whose opera, Porgy and Bess, will be presented in a new production to open the Met’s forthcoming 2019–20 season in September.

The festival begins with a screening of the Met’s monumental production of Verdi’s Aida, starring Anna Netrebko in the title role and Anita Rachvelishvili as Amneris. Over the course of the ten nights, many of the Met’s leading artists will be featured, including Elīna Garanča and Roberto Alagna in both Bizet’s Carmenand Saint-Saëns Samson et Dalila; Isabel Leonard in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites; Joyce DiDonato in Massenet’s Cendrillon; Jonas Kaufmann in Puccini’sLa Fanciulla del West; and Javier Camarena and Pretty Yende in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment. The festival also includes Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting Carmen, the production in which he made his company debut, and Dialogues des Carmélites, his most recent Met outing.

Each evening of the festival, close to 3,000 seats will be available on the plaza on a first-come, first-served basis, as well as additional space for overflow crowds. No tickets are required, and there are no rain dates. For more information please visit The Met’s website.

The Met’s 2019 Summer HD Festival Schedule

Friday, August 23, 8:00 p.m. Funny Face (pre-festival event): A classic from the Golden Age of Hollywood, Funny Face has all the hallmarks of a great American movie musical—a starry cast, instantly recognizable melodies, slick dance numbers, and the sweeping backdrop of 1950s Paris. The 1957 film includes a number of beloved tunes by George and Ira Gershwin, including “’S wonderful” and “Let’s Kiss and Make Up.” Approximate running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Saturday, August 24, 7:45 p.m. Verdi’s Aida: Anna Netrebko and Anita Rachvelishvili offer blazing performances in Verdi’s grand drama of ancient Egypt, seen in a stunning production by Sonja Frisell. Nicola Luisotti conducts. Transmitted live on October 6, 2018. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes

Sunday, August 25, 8:00 p.m. Bizet’s Carmen: Elīna Garanča leads the cast as the iconic gypsy, with Roberto Alagna as Don José, the soldier who falls under her spell and sacrifices everything for her love, only to be cast aside. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts. Transmitted live on January 16, 2010. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Monday, August 26, 7:45 p.m. Wagner’s Das Rheingold: In this first part of the epic Der Ring des Nibelungen, the theft of the Rhinegold sets in motion the course of events that will change the world and end the rule of the gods. The acclaimed cast features some of today’s greatest Wagnerian singers, including Bryn Terfel as Wotan, Stephanie Blythe as Fricka, and Eric Owens as Alberich. Transmitted live on October 9, 2010. Approximate running time: 2 hour, 45 minutes

Tuesday, August 27, 7:45 p.m. Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites: Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads the classic John Dexter production of Poulenc’s devastating story of faith and martyrdom. Isabel Leonard sings the touching role of Blanche, and Karita Mattila is the Prioress. Transmitted live on May 11, 2019. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes

Wednesday, August 28, 8:00 p.m. Saint-Saën’s Samson et Dalila: Roberto Alagna and Elīna Garanča star in the title roles of Saint-Saëns’s biblical tragedy under the baton of Sir Mark Elder. Laurent Naouri is the High Priest with Elchin Azizov as Abimélech and Dmitry Belosselskiy as the Old Hebrew. Transmitted live on October 20, 2018. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Thursday, August 29, 8:00 p.m. Massenet’s Cendrillon: Massenet’s glittering operatic adaptation of the Cinderella story stars Joyce DiDonato as the title outcast-turned-princess. Alice Coote sings Prince Charming, while Kathleen Kim portrays the Fairy Godmother. Bertrand de Billy conducts. Transmitted live on April 28, 2018. Approximate running time: 2 hour, 25 minutes

Friday, August 30, 8:00 p.m. Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West: Eva-Maria Westbroek sings Puccini’s gun-slinging heroine in this romantic epic of the Wild West, with Jonas Kaufmann in the role of the outlaw she loves. Željko Lučić is the vigilante sheriff Jack Rance, and Marco Armiliato conducts. Transmitted live on October 27, 2018. Approximate running time: 2 hour, 25 minutes

Saturday, August 31, 8:00 p.m. Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment: Javier Camarena and Pretty Yende team up for a feast of bel canto vocal fireworks. Maurizio Muraro is the comic Sergeant Sulpice, with Stephanie Blythe as the outlandish Marquise of Berkenfield. Screen icon Kathleen Turner takes on the speaking role of the Duchess of Krakenthorp. Enrique Mazzola conducts. Transmitted live on March 2, 2019. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Sunday, September 1, 8:00 p.m. Verdi’s Luisa Miller: Sonya Yoncheva is the title character and Piotr Beczała is her lover, Rodolfo. Plácido Domingo added a new role to his Met repertory as Miller alongside Olesya Petrova as the widowed duchess Federica. Alexander Vinogradov is the lord Walter, and Dmitry Belosselskiy sings the role of Wurm. Bertrand de Billy conducts.Transmitted live on April 14, 2018. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Monday, September 2, 8:00 p.m. Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur: Closing out the festival, Anna Netrebko sings the title role of the real-life French actress, with Piotr Beczała as her lover, Maurizio. Anita Rachvelishvili sings the Princess of Bouillon, and Ambrogio Maestri is Michonnet. Transmitted live on January 12, 2019. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes