Opera fans rejoice! While the Metropolitan Opera may be closed for the next year, the cultural institution is still giving something for fans to sing about. Each night this week (October 12th through the 18th), the Met’s website will be streaming free productions from its archives. This week, fan’s can enjoy a selection of works by bel canto composer Gaetano Donizetti.
Originally recorded for the Met’s acclaimed Live in HD series, the operas will be available via the Metropolitan Opera’s website and the Met Opera on Demand app from 7:30 p.m. EDT (12:30 a.m. BST) through 6:30 p.m. EDT the following day.
This week’s production schedule focuses on Donizetti’s trilogy about the English queens of the Tudor era. Not familiar? Fear not! The Met is also offering a helpful guide of brief summaries and musical descriptions along with additional posts and informational podcasts. The full schedule for the week’s streamed productions is below.
Monday, October 12: Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor
Starring Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczała, Mariusz Kwiecień and Ildar Abdrazakov. Conducted by Marco Armiliato. Recorded live on February 7, 2009.
Tuesday, October 13: Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment
Starring Natalie Dessay, Felicity Palmer, Juan Diego Flórez and Alessandro Corbelli. Conducted by Marco Armiliato. Recorded live on April 26, 2008.
Wednesday, October 14: Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore
Starring Pretty Yende, Matthew Polenzani, Davide Luciano and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo. Conducted by Domingo Hindoyan. Recorded live on February 10, 2018.
Thursday, October 15: Donizetti’s Anna Bolena
Starring Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Gubanova, Tamara Mumford, Stephen Costello and Ildar Abdrazakov. Conducted by Marco Armiliato. Recorded live on October 15, 2011.
Friday October 16: Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda
Starring Elza van den Heever, Joyce DiDonato, Matthew Polenzani, Joshua Hopkins and Matthew Rose. Conducted by Maurizio Benini. Recorded live on January 19, 2013.
Saturday, October 17: Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux
Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Elīna Garanča, Matthew Polenzani and Mariusz Kwiecień. Conducted by Maurizio Benini. Recorded live on April 16, 2016.
Sunday, October 18: Donizetti’s Don Pasquale
Starring Anna Netrebko, Matthew Polenzani, Mariusz Kwiecień and John Del Carlo. Conducted by James Levine. Recorded live on November 13, 2010.
Photography by: Photo courtesy of Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images