Erin Morley in the 2015 Met Opera: Live in HD transmission of Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Photo courtesy of Met Opera)

Eight operas will make up the 2024-25 The Met: Live in HD season, with tickets on sale now. It will be the 18th season for The Met: Live in HD, broadcasting opera from Lincoln Center to the world — with three Canadian artists in starring roles.

The Met: Live in HD series brings the storied New York City based company’s productions to audiences across Canada through the Cineplex Theatre chain. High definition screening means that every detail of the dazzling productions will be on view, as they take place.

The Met: Live in HD — The Operas

The lineup for 2024-25 includes both daring new operas and beloved favourites, along with behind-the-scenes features that will appeal to both firmly established opera lovers and newcomers to the genre.

Canadian Talent

Naturally, Montrealer Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music director of the Met Opera Orchestra, features prominently in the list. He’ll be conducting the Met premiere of two-time Tony Award–winning composer Jeanine Tesori’s new opera Grounded, starring Toronto-based mezzo Emily D’Angelo. Nézet-Séguin will also be conducting Aida and Salome later in the season.

JUNO Award-winning and Grammy-nominated Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins, a regular performer with The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, and Canadian Opera Company, among others, co-stars in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

Erin Morley sings an excerpt from Olympia’s Act I aria (“Les oiseaux dans la charmille”) in the 2015 Live in HD transmission of Les Contes d’Hoffmann:

The Met: Live in HD 2024–25 Season Lineup: At A Glance

Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Offenbach)

Live: October 5, 2024
Encores: October 26, 28, 30 2024

Offenbach kicks off the season, with French tenor Benjamin Bernheim in the starring role of the tortured poet. Offenbach’s trio of lovers includes: American soprano Erin Morley as Olympia, South African soprano Pretty Yende as Antonia, and French mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine as Giulietta. The cast will be rounded out by American bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as the Four Villains and Russian mezzo-soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya in her company debut as Nicklausse. Marco Armiliato conducts the Bartlett Sher production.

Fidelio (Beethoven)

Live: March 15, 2025
Encores: March 29, 31, April 2, 2025

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen stars as Leonore, the faithful wife who sets out to free her political prisoner husband. British tenor David Butt Philip sings the role of fellow political prisoner Florestan, with Polish bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny as Don Pizarro, German bass René Pape as the jailer Rocco, Chinese soprano Ying Fang and German tenor Magnus Dietrich as the young Marzelline and Jaquino, and Danish bass Stephen Milling as Don Fernando. Susanna Mälkki conducts.

Grounded (Jeanine Tesori / Libretto by George Brant)

Live: October 19, 2024
Encores: November 9, 11, 13 2024

This new opera by Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori grapples with modern warfare and its ethical quandaries. Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo stars as a fighter pilot, out of the cockpit and in Las Vegas due to an unplanned pregnancy. There, she operates a Reaper drone that rains death halfway around the world. Michael Mayer directs a high-tech production that looks at the effects of long distance war, with Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting.

Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart)

Live: April 26, 2025
Encores: May 10, 12, 14 2025

Conductor Joana Mallwitz makes her Met debut for Mozart’s perennial favourite opera. American bass-baritone Michael Sumuel sings the role of Figaro, with Ukrainian soprano Olga Kulchynska as the maid Susanna, Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins as the Count, Italian soprano Federica Lombardi as the Count’s wife, and French mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa in the role of the page Cherubino.

Scene from Strauss’ tragedy Salome (Photo courtesy of Met Opera)

Tosca (Puccini)

Live: November 23, 2024
Encores: December 14, 16, 18 2024

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen stars in Puccini’s beloved classic in a David McVicar production. It will be a Met debut for British-Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso in the role of Tosca’s lover, Cavaradossi, and American baritone Quinn Kelsey sings the role of the sadistic chief of police Scarpia.
Maestro Xian Zhang conducts the Met Orchestra.

Salome (Strauss)

Live: May 17, 2025
Encores: June 7, 9, 11 2025

Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Strauss’s one-act opera in a brand new production by European opera director Claus Guth. The biblical story gets a setting in a Victorian era, with South African soprano Elza van den Heever in the starring role. Swedish baritone Peter Mattei sings the role of the prophet Jochanaan, with German tenor Gerhard Siegel as Salome’s stepfather, King Herod, American mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as his wife, Herodias, and Polish tenor Piotr Buszewski as Narraboth.

Aida (Verdi)

Live: January 25, 2025
Encores: February 8, 10, 12 2025

American soprano Angel Blue stars as the titular Ethiopian princess in a new production by Michael Mayer. The pyramids and opulent tombs of ancient Egypt come to life in projections and animations. Romanian-Hungarian mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi co-stars as Amneris, Aida’s rival, with Polish tenor Piotr Beczała as the soldier Radamès. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.

Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini)

Live: May 31, 2025
Encores: June 14, 16, 18 2025

Rossini’s comedy closes the Live in HD season for 2024-25, with Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina in the role of the heroine, Rosina. American tenor Jack Swanson makes his Met debut as Count Almaviva, her secret love. Moldovan baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky takes the titular role as Figaro. The cast rounds out with Hungarian bass-baritone Peter Kálmán as Dr. Bartolo and Russian bass Alexander Vinogradov as Don Basilio. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts.

Find more information, including participating Cineplex locations, [HERE].

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Anya Wassenberg

Anya Wassenberg is the Toronto City Editor at Ludwig Van. Previously, she was a freelance writer with a specialty in culture and travel for three decades, and a creative writing instructor for Ontariolearn.