The Power and the Passion

Enjoy classic opera masterpieces and powerful contemporary storytelling with The Met: Live in HD

Ian Freer

03 Oct 24

Created in 2006, The Met: Live In HD was conceived to bring The Metropolitan Opera to a global audience as a way to share the work of the world's greatest opera company. The 2024—25 season features a stellar line-up of eight works showcasing a host of world-renowned artists, astonishing stagecraft and dazzling musicianship.

The season kicks off in high style with Les Contes d'Hoffmann (5 October 2024). Jacques Offenbach's fantastical swansong weaves three short stories by German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann into a spellbinding confection. With French tenor Benjamin Bernheim leading the cast as poet Hoffmann, Bartlett Sher's imaginative production is shot through with whimsy, magic and doomed romance, all in the service of Offenbach's delightful score.

From a beloved classic to a potential new favourite. Jeanine Tesori's powerful new work, Grounded, (19 October 2024) stars rising star mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo as Jess, a hot-shot fighter pilot whose unforeseen pregnancy has her operating a Reaper drone in a far-off land from the safety of Las Vegas. Exploring hot-button topics (work-life balance, the intersection of murder, morality and technology), the drama is brought to life by huge LED screenings offering dizzying perspectives on the action.

Grounded (Photo courtesy of Paola Kudacki / Met Opera)

The season also showcases the towering talent of Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen. Tosca (23 November 2024) marks her first time playing the passionate opera singer in Puccini's popular classic, battling to save her revolutionary lover Cavaradossi (Tenor Freddie De Tommaso) from sadistic police chief Scarpia (Baritone Quinn Kelsey). With huge sets recreating iconic Roman landmarks, it is a thrilling production, the perfect showcase for a multitude of Puccini earworms. Davidsen also stars in Fidelio (15 March 2025), Beethoven's only opera — a rich, resonant evening, mixing big emotions and politics with soaring melodies.

Verdi's Aida (25 January 2025) is one of the blockbusters of the operatic repertoire. Superstar soprano Angel Blue is the Ethiopian princess torn between love and national duty. As big as a Ridley Scott epic, it's full of soaring arias and rollicking choruses, played out in the stunning interiors of pyramids and gilded tombs enhanced by projections and animations.

Aida (Photo courtesy of Paola Kudacki / Met Opera

At the other end of the tonal register, Le Nozze di Figaro (26 April 2025) and Il Barbiere di Siviglia (31 May 2025) represent the funniest operas in the classical canon. Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro is a sparkling drawing room comedy that perfectly punctures class, marriage and social climbing. Flying high on Mozart's sublime score, it's the perfect primer for someone looking to get into opera but doesn't know where to start. Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia is a romp following the quest of two young lovers – the feisty Rosina (Mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina) and Count Almaviva (Tenor Jack Swanson) – to be together. Fast and fizzy, the score features (literally) breathtaking solos full of tongue twisters, especially the Act 1 showstopper Largo al Factotum.

Love, laughs, hate, sorrow, joy – all human life is in the latest Met season. Enjoy it in glorious HD. Ian Freer