The Met: Live in HD 2023-24 Season to Feature DEAD MAN WALKING, X: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MALCOM X & More

The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of live high-definition cinema broadcasts, begins its 17th season on Saturday 21st October 2023, with Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, a Met premiere in a new production by Ivo van Hove, starring mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato as Sister Helen Prejean.

The 2023–24 Live in HD season features two additional 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; new productions of Bizet’s Carmen and Verdi’s La Forza del Destino; and revivals of Verdi’s Nabucco, Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and Puccini’s La Rondine and Madama Butterfly.

Live in HD audiences will have the opportunity to watch the major Met-debut of Jonathan Tetelman as Ruggero in La Rondine, as well as performances by returning Met stars including soprano Lise Davidsen as Leonora in a new production of 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 Beczała 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.

Peter Gelb, the Met’s Maria Manetti Shrem General Manager commented, What began as an experiment 17 years ago has become a staple experience for opera lovers all over the world. 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 Live in HD season will begin on 21st October 2023 with Dead Man Walking and continues with X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (18th November 2023), Florencia en el Amazonas (9th December 2023), Nabucco (6th January 2024), Carmen (27th January 2024), La Forza del Destino (9th March 2024), Roméo et Juliette (23rd March 2024), La Rondine (20th April 2024), and Madama Butterfly (11th May 2024).

For complete details, including casting for the upcoming season and cinema information, visit MetLiveInHD.co.uk.

The Met: Live in HD 2023–24 Schedule

Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking—MET PREMIERE

Live in HD date: 21st October 2023, 5.55pm
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), Latonia Moore (Sister Rose), Joyce DiDonato (Sister Helen Prejean), Susan Graham (Mrs. Patrick De Rocher), Ryan McKinny (Joseph De Rocher)

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: 18th November 2023, 5.55pm

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 Malcom 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: 9th December 2023, 5.55pm

Librettist: Marcela Fuentes-Berain 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: 6th January 2024, 5.55pm
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: 27th January 2024, 5.55pm
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 Beczała 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: 9th March 2024, 5.00pm
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 Ekaterina Semenchuk 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: 23rd March 2024, 4.55pm

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), Frederick Ballentine (Tybalt), Will Liverman (Mercutio), Alfred Walker (Frère Laurent)

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 Frère Laurent.

Puccini’s La Rondine—REVIVAL

Live in HD date: 20th April 2024, 5.55pm
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: 11th May 2024, 5.55pm

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.

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.
 

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

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