The Metropolitain Opera Presents A Free Outdoor Summer HD Festival Series 8/29-9/7

The Metropolitan Opera will present a free outdoor Summer HD Festival featuring ten of its award winning productions from the popular The Met: Live in HD series. The HD performances will be shown on a giant screen in front of the opera house in Lincoln Center Plaza for ten consecutive nights Saturday, August 29 through Monday, September 7. The nightly screenings begin between 7:30pm and 8:00pm and are open to the public with no tickets required; 3,000 seats will be available in the Plaza each night on a first-come, first served basis.

"We're pleased to offer encore showings of some of our popular live high definition programs in this new summer festival," said Met General Manager Peter Gelb. "Although not intended to be a substitute for experiencing opera in the opera house, our HD transmissions have definitely broadened interest in our art form over the past three seasons since we began transmitting them to a global audience."

Such stars as Renee Fleming, Anna Netrebko, Natalie Dessay, Angela Gheorghiu, and Juan Diego Florez star in these HD productions, which include Bartlett Sher's acclaimed staging of Rossini's IL Barbiere di Siviglia, and Anthony Minghella's stunning production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, among others. Three of the HD productions to be shown are conducted by Met Music Director James Levine. There are no rain dates.

The Met's 2009 Summer HD Festival schedule

Saturday. August 29, 8:00pm: LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT - Donizetti's comic opera La Fille du Régiment stars Natalie Dessay as Marie, Juan Diego Flórez as Tonio, Felicity Palmer as the Marquise of Berkenfield, Alessandro Corbelli as Sulpice, and Marian Seldes in the speaking role of the Duchess of Krakenthorp. Marco Armiliato conducts. Approximate running time: 140 minutes.

Sunday, August 30, 7:30pm: ROMÉO ET JULIETTE - Plácido Domingo conducts Gounod's Roméo et Juliette starring Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna as the star-crossed lovers, Isabel Leonard as Stéphano, Nathan Gunn as Mercutio, and Robert Lloyd as Frère Laurent. Approximate running time: 175 minutes.

Monday, August 31, 7:45pm: EUGENE ONEGIN - Valery Gergiev conducts Tchaikovsky's most beloved opera, Eugene Onegin, with Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky in the title role opposite Renée Fleming as Tatiana, with tenor Ramón Vargas as Lenski. Approximate running time: 160 minutes.

Tuesday, September 1, 8:00pm: MACBETH - Met Music Director James Levine conducts Verdi's Macbeth, featuring Maria Guleghina as Lady Macbeth, ?eljko Lu?i? as Macbeth, Dimitri Pittas as Macduff, and John Relyea as Banquo. Approximate running time: 145 minutes.

Wednesday, September 2, 7:45pm: IL BarbierE DI SIVIGLIA - Rossini's IL Barbiere di Siviglia, in a production by Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher, features Joyce DiDonato as Rosina, Juan Diego Flórez as Count Almaviva, Peter Mattei as Figaro, John Del Carlo as Dr. Bartolo, and John Relyea as Don Basilio. Maurizio Benini conducts. Approximate running time: 165 minutes.

Thursday, September 3, 7:45pm: PETER GRIMES - Anthony Dean Griffey sings the title role of Britten's Peter Grimes, with Patricia Racette as Ellen Orford and Anthony Michaels-Moore as Balstrode. Donald Runnicles conducts. Approximate running time: 150 minutes.

Friday, September 4, 8:00pm: LA BOHÈME - Franco Zeffirelli's production of Puccini's La Bohème features Angela Gheorghiu as Mimì, Ramón Vargas as Rodolfo, Ainhoa Arteta as Musetta, Ludovic Tézier as Marcello, Quinn Kelsey as Schaunard, Oren Gradus as Colline, and Paul Plishka in the dual roles of Benoit and Alcindoro. Nicola Luisotti conducts. Approximate running time: 130 minutes.

Saturday, September 5, 8:00pm: ORFEO ED EURIDICE - Mark Morris's production of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, stars Stephanie Blythe as Orfeo with Danielle De Niese as Euridice. Heidi Grant Murphy is Amor. James Levine conducts. Approximate running time: 100 minutes.

Sunday, September 6, 7:30pm: IL TRITTICO - James Levine conducts Tony Award-winning director Jack O'Brien's production of Puccini's Il Trittico, which consists of three one-act operas: Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi. In Il Tabarro, the three principal characters caught in a deadly love triangle are portrayed by Maria Guleghina, Salvatore Licitra, and Juan Pons. Barbara Frittoli is the young nun Angelica, with Stephanie Blythe as the Princess in Suor Angelica, and the comedy Gianni Schicchi features Alessandro Corbelli in the title role. Approximate running time: 170 minutes.

Monday, September 7, 8:00pm: MADAMA BUTTERFLY - Academy Award-winning film director Anthony Minghella's production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly stars Patricia Racette as Cio-Cio-San, Marcello Giordani as Pinkerton, DWayne Croft as Sharpless, and Maria Zifchak as Suzuki. Patrick Summers conducts. Approximate running time: 145 minutes.

The Met: Live in HD, produced in association with PBS and WNET.org, is made possible by a generous grant from the Neubauer Family Foundation. The Met's Summer HD Festival is sponsored by Bank of America with additional support from the Metropolitan Opera Guild. NY1 is the official media sponsor.