OPENING NIGHT GALA
Monday, September 22, 2008, 6:30 pm

Renée Fleming stars in three of her most acclaimed roles for the Opening Night Gala performance. Music Director James Levine and Marco Armiliato conduct fully staged performances of the second act of Verdi's La Traviata, the third act of Massenet's Manon, and the final scene from Richard Strauss's Capriccio. Tenor Ramón Vargas and baritones Thomas Hampson and Dwayne Croft join the soprano for this season-opener.

Strauss Salome
Saturday, October 11, 2008, 1 pm

Karita Mattila caused a sensation when she sang Salome at the Met for the first time in 2004. She reprises her stunning interpretation of the part, including her unforgettable Dance of the Seven Veils; Mikko Franck conducts.

Adams Doctor Atomic
Met Premiere
Saturday, November 8, 2008, 1 pm

Director Penny Woolcock makes her Met debut directing John Adams’s contemporary masterpiece about a momentous episode of modern history: the creation of the atomic bomb. Baritone Gerald Finley plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, with Alan Gilbert conducting.

Berlioz La Damnation De Faust
New Production
Saturday, November 22, 2008, 1 pm

Berlioz's contemplation of good and evil is interpreted by Robert Lepage, one of theater's most imaginative directors. Marcello Giordani stars in the title role opposite Susan Graham as Marguerite and John Relyea as Méphistophélès. James Levine conducts this rarely staged masterwork.

Massenet Thaïs
New Production
Saturday, December 20, 2008, 12 pm

Renée Fleming plays the Egyptian courtesan in search of spiritual sustenance and Thomas Hampson is the monk who falls from grace. Massenet's sensual score is presented in a new production by John Cox with Jesús López-Cobos conducting.

Puccini La Rondine
New Production
Saturday, January 10, 2009, 1 pm

Nicolas Joël directs this new production, which stars opera's charismatic real-life duo Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, in Puccini's gorgeously melodic look at love. Marco Armiliato conducts.

Gluck Orfeo ed Euridice
Saturday, January 24, 2009, 1 pm

This hit from the 2006-07 season, directed by Mark Morris, will feature the artistry of Stephanie Blythe and Danielle de Niese in the title roles. Music Director James Levine conducts.

Donizetti Lucia di Lammermoor
Saturday, February 7, 2009, 1 pm

Mary Zimmerman's hit production, which opened the 2007-08 season, stars the charismatic Anna Netrebko opposite Rolando Villazón as her lover and Mariusz Kwiecien as her tyrannical brother; Marco Armiliato conducts.

Puccini Madama Butterfly
Saturday, March 7, 2009, 1 pm

Patricia Racette returns to the title role in Anthony Minghella's stunning production, a new classic in the Met repertory. This critically acclaimed staging opened the 2006-07 season at the Met and in Times Square. Marco Armiliato conducts.

Bellini La Sonnambula
New Production
Saturday, March 21, 2009, 1 pm

Mary Zimmerman's new production explores the opera's dual elements of sleep and wakefulness in a staging set in the present day. Bellini's lyrical score soars with Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez in the leading roles; Evelino Pidò conducts.

Rossini La Cenerentola
Saturday, May 9, 2009, 1 pm

Elina Garancia, who had her triumphant Met debut last season, stars in the title role of Rossini's Cinderella story. She appears opposite Lawrence Brownlee, with Maurizio Benini conducting.

ENCORE performances at Cape Cinema announced at a later date.

Cast, repertory, and schedule subject to change. Visit metopera.org/HD or call 1-800-MET-OPERA (1-800-638-6737) for more information!