Return of Met at the Movies

Last year's inaugural series of live Metropolitan Opera performances in high definition was wildly successful; consequently, the program has been considerably expanded.

There will be eight operas included in the 2007-08 series, up from six last season.
Many, though not all, of the participating cinemas will offer weeknight encore presentations of the operas in addition to the live transmissions.

To view the list of participating venues, click here and scroll down to the "Locations & Tickets" box in the left column.

For information on local Twin Cities theaters, check the MPR Events Calendar.

As with last season, PBS will televise all eight Met broadcasts subsequent to their theatrical showings, and five will be released on DVD. And of course, you can listen live for free on Classical Minnesota Public Radio!

The first Met at the Movies is this weekend. Here's a schedule for the entire season:

* December 15: Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, starring Roberto Alagna and Anna Netrebko and conducted by Plácido Domingo.

* January 1: Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, starring Christine Schäfer and Alice Coote (with tenor Philip Langridge as the Witch) in a new English-language production by Richard Jones conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

* January 12: Verdi's Macbeth, in a new production by Adrian Noble starring Lado Ataneli and Maria Guleghina, with company music director James Levine on the podium.

* February 16: Puccini's Manon Lescaut, starring Karita Mattila and Marcello Giordani and conducted by Levine.

* March 15: Britten's Peter Grimes, starring Anthony Dean Griffey and Patricia Racette in a new production directed by John Doyle and conducted by Donald Runnicles.

* March 22: Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, starring Deborah Voigt and Ben Heppner with Levine conducting.

* April 5: Puccini's La Bohème, with Angela Gheorghiu and Ramón Vargas starring in the Franco Zeffirelli production, conducted by Nicola Luisotti.

* April 26: Donizetti's La Fille du régiment, starring Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez in a new production directed by Laurent Pelly and conducted by Marco Armiliato.