Summer HD Festival

What: The Met’s annual Summer HD Festival of free outdoor opera screenings on Lincoln Center Plaza returns for its eighth season. The series will present ten performances from the company’s acclaimed Live in HD series of movie-theater transmissions; and for the third year in a row, the Met is collaborating with the Film Society of Lincoln Center to open the festival with an opera-related Hollywood film.

Tuesday, August 30, 8:00 pm
La Fille du Régiment
Vocal fireworks meet slapstick comedy in Donizetti’s lighthearted opera. Bel canto stars Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez lead the cast of the Met’s production. (Original transmission: April 26, 2008).
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Wednesday, August 31, 8:00 pm
Lucia di Lammermoor
Natalie Dessay sings opera’s most famous mad scene as the unhinged bride of Lammermoor, opposite Joseph Calleja as her faithful lover and Ludovic Tézier as her scheming brother. (Original transmission: March 19, 2011).
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Thursday, September 1, 7:45 pm
La Cenerentola
Joyce DiDonato triumphs in the title role of the unlikely heroine, opposite Juan Diego Flórez as her Prince Charming. Fabio Luisi conducts Rossini’s sparkling take on the Cinderella story. (Original transmission: May 10, 2014).
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes

Friday, September 2, 8:00 pm
Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci
Opera’s most popular double bill stars Marcelo Álvarez in both leading tenor roles, along with Eva-Maria Westbroek, Patricia Racette, and George Gagnidze. Fabio Luisi leads this production. (Original transmission: April 25, 2015).
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Saturday, September 3, 8:00 pm
The Merry Widow
Renée Fleming stars in Lehár’s sumptuous operetta, in a production by Broadway director and choreographer Susan Stroman. Nathan Gunn and Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara, in her Met debut, complete the principal cast. (Original transmission: January 17, 2015).
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Sunday, September 4, 8:00 pm
Turandot
Puccini’s final opera is seen in Franco Zeffirelli’s spectacular production, a classic of the Met reper­toire. Nina Stemme takes on the title role of the ruthless Chinese princess. (Original transmission: January 30, 2016).
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes

Monday, September 5, 8:00 pm
Les Pêcheurs de Perles
Not seen at the Met in a century, Bizet’s opera returned to the stage last winter, with Diana Damrau in the leading role, and Matthew Polenzani and Mariusz Kwiecien singing the famous duet “Au fond du temple saint.” Gianandrea Noseda conducts. (Original transmission: January 16, 2016).
Approximate running time: 2 hours

Where: Lincoln Center, NYC
Cost: FREE