With a scintillating production of Rossini’s beloved Il barbiere di Siviglia on May 31, the 2024-25 Met Live in HD season came to a glorious close. As I am writing this, it is June 12, with a final Barbiere encore to take place on Saturday, June 14.
For those wanting an operatic summer, the 2025 Summer Encores fits the bill nicely. On offer is a terrific lineup of four performances from past seasons. For the Met HD fans, these shows are well worth a re-acquaintance. These are your proverbial “warhorses,” very much part of the core repertoire.
In fact, Traviata is the second most performed operas worldwide from 1996 to present, according to the Operabase website. Barber of Seville and Rigoletto are not far behind, at 9th and 10th place
respectively.
Met Live in HD: Summer 2025
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s in store.
Verdi: La Traviata (Wednesday, July 23, 2025; Encore on Saturday, July 26, 2025)
This 2018 performance marked the start of Canadian conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin’s tenure as the Met’s Music Director. It also represents the Met’s gradual transition from wholly traditional productions to a more director-driven approach. Director Michael Mayer’s vision is essentially conventional, but with a few twists. I enjoyed it, but frankly I could do without Violetta’s bed placed centre-stage throughout the opera! It opens with Violetta in her death bed, and all actions we see represent her flashback, an effective and poignant touch. The big-name cast stars Diana Damrau as Violetta. By 2018, Damrau was no longer the stratospheric high soprano, and she omits the interpolated high E flat at the end of her big aria. Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez is Alfredo, a departure from his typical Bel Canto repertoire. As Germont, we have the sturdy voice of American baritone Quinn Kelsey. A must see.
Gounod: Roméo et Juliette (Wednesday, July 30, 2025; Encore on Saturday, August 2, 2025)
This Bartlett Sher production originated at the Salzburg Festival and later premiered at the Met in the 2016-17 season, starring Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo. This 2024 revival was equally stellar, with Nadine Sierra and Benjamin Bernheim. If truth be told, I find Bernheim’s sincere Romeo more to my liking than the wildly over-the-top emoting of Grigolo. Bernheim’s “Ah, Lève-toi, soleil” is beautifully sung — do have a listen here. The supporting cast is also strong, with Samantha Hankey as Stefano and Will Liverman as Mercutio. Yannick Nezet-Seguin is in his element in the French repertoire and it shows.
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor (Wednesday, August 6, 2025; Encore on Saturday, August 9, 2025)
This 2022 performance stars soprano Nadine Sierra and tenor Javier Camarena, both in excellent voice. The Simon Stone production is a prime example of the Met’s slow but sure transition from totally traditional stagings to a more director-driven approach. Stone has updated it to present-day America — a far cry from the Scottish Highlands that Donizetti had in mind! The singing is terrific — there’s a sample here. Italian conductor Riccardo Frizza leads the Met forces in an idiomatic performance.
Verdi: Rigoletto (Wednesday, August 13, 2025; Encore on Saturday, August 16, 2025)
Once again, director Michael Mayer has a directorial vision light years from Verdi’s. He has time-shifted it to 1960s Las Vegas(!), with all the glitz and glamour that this new locale provides. Frankly, it’s a bit too crazy for me, but you decide for yourself. Here’s Mayer sharing his thoughts in an interview. Polish tenor Piotr Beczala sounds great as the Duke; the same is true for the Gilda of Diana Damrau. Serbian baritone Željko Lučić is Rigoletto, here no longer the court jester! Slovak bass Štefan Kocán is an impressive Sparafucile. Italian conductor Michele Mariotti is at the helm.
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