NEW SEASON OF THE MET: LIVE IN HD FEATURES EIGHT STUNNING OPERA PRODUCTIONS FROM THE MET STAGE TO THE BIG SCREEN
· New season includes three new productions: the Met premiere of Grounded by Tony Award–winning composer Jeanine Tesori; Verdi’s Aida directed by Michael Mayer with American soprano Angel Blue, and Strauss’s Salome with South African soprano Elza van den Heever in the title role
· Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann opens the season and stars Pretty Yende, another leading soprano from South Africa
The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of live high-definition cinema simulcasts, begins its 18th season of world-class opera performances exclusively at select Ster-Kinekor and Cinema Nouveau cinema. And, for the first time, Cape Town audiences at Ster-Kinekor V&A Waterfront will enjoy the live stream from the Met together with audiences around the globe. Each production will then enjoy two screenings at select Ster-Kinekor and Cinema Nouveau cinemas at a later date.
The first production, which releases with the first live stream at Ster-Kinekor V&A Waterfront on Saturday, 05 October, is Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann starring acclaimed South African soprano, Pretty Yende. Starring alongside her are acclaimed tenor Benjamin Bernheim in the title role of the tormented poet, soprano Erin Morley and mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine.
The 2024–25 Live in HD season also features the Met premiere of Jeanine Tesori’s new opera Grounded, starring mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo; new stagings of Strauss’s Salome by director Claus Guth, with a cast led by another leading South African soprano Elza van den Heever and baritone Peter Mattei, and Verdi’s Aida, with soprano Angel Blue and tenor Piotr Beczała, directed by Michael Mayer.
Opera audiences can also look forward to the first-ever Met Live in HD transmission of Beethoven’s Fidelio, along with Puccini’s Tosca, both featuring Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen as she continues to explore the full range of Italian and German dramatic repertoire; Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro with an all-star cast; and director Bartlett Sher’s beloved take on Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, with opera’s newest star, mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina, returning to the Met after her hit run this season in the new production of Bizet’s Carmen. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Grounded, Tosca, Aida, and Salome.
“With The Met: Live in HD productions screening in our cinemas, local audiences can experience some of the world’s best-loved operas from The Met’s opulent stage to the big screen The theatre-like setting enables cinemagoers to become an extension of the live production’s audience, making these productions accessible to anyone who enjoys and appreciates world-class opera,” says Lynne Wylie, chief marketing officer at Ster-Kinekor Theatres.
“From its beginning, The Met: Live in HD was created to connect the Met to a global audience,” said Peter Gelb, the Met’s Maria Manetti Shrem General Manager. “We’re glad to see audiences around the world beginning to return to cinemas in larger numbers since the end of the pandemic.”
“What began as an experiment 17 years ago has become a staple experience for opera lovers all over the world. Our 2024-25 season in cinemas reflects how opera is changing at the Met, where we’re balancing timeless classics with accessible new work that is advancing the art form and attracting younger and more diverse audiences.”
Don’t miss these world-class opera productions filmed and transmitted from the Met stage to the big screen at Cinema Nouveau and select Ster-Kinekor cinemas: Bedford and Rosebank Nouveau in Johannesburg; Brooklyn in Tshwane; Gateway in Durban; Garden Route in George; Somerset in Somerset West; and Blue Route and V&A Waterfront (livestream) in Cape Town.
Book your tickets now at www.sterkinekor.com or download the SK App on your smartphone. For news and updates, go to Facebook: Ster-Kinekor Theatres | follow Ster-Kinekor on Twitter: @Ster-Kinekor. For all queries, call Ticketline on 0861-Movies (668 437).
2024-25 Met: Live in HD season at a glance
The Met: Live in HD 2024–25 Schedule:
Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Revival)
Screening dates: Livestream – 05 October 2024; 20 and 22 October 2024 (246 minutes)
Conductor and Cast: Marco Armiliato (Conductor), Erin Morley (Olympia), Pretty Yende (Antonia/Stella), Clémentine Margaine (Giulietta), Vasilisa Berzhanskaya (Nicklausse/Muse), Benjamin Bernheim (Hoffmann), Aaron Blake (Four Servants), Christian Van Horn (Four Villains) Offenbach’s fantastical opera kicks off the Metropolitan Opera’s season of Live in HD performance transmissions, starring French tenor Benjamin Bernheim in the title role of the tormented poet. Joining Bernheim is American soprano Erin Morley as Olympia, South African soprano Pretty Yende as Antonia, and French mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine as Giulietta to complete Hoffmann’s trio of lovers. Marco Armiliato conducts Bartlett Sher’s evocative production, which also features American bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as the Four Villains and Russian mezzo-soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya in her company debut as Nicklausse.
Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded (Met Premiere)
Screening dates: 03 and 05 November 2024 (164 minutes)
Conductor and Cast: Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Emily D’Angelo (Jess), Ben Bliss (Eric) with Librettist: George Brant
Tony Award–winning composer Jeanine Tesori’s powerful new opera Grounded premieres at the Metropolitan Opera, wrestling with often-overlooked issues created by 21st-century warmaking: the ethical conflicts created by the use of modern military technology and the psychological and emotional toll supposedly safe remote technology takes on our servicepersons. Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo stars as the hot-shot fighter pilot whose unplanned pregnancy takes her out of the cockpit and lands her in Las Vegas, operating a Reaper drone halfway around the world. American tenor Ben Bliss co-stars as the Wyoming rancher Eric in a production by Michael Mayer that brings this story to life in a high-tech staging which presents a variety of perspectives on the action. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium to conduct Tesori’s kaleidoscopic opera.
Puccini’s Tosca (Revival)
Screening dates: Livestream – 23 November 2024; 22 and 24 December 2024 (208 minutes)
Conductor and Cast: Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Lise Davidsen (Tosca), Freddie De Tommaso (Cavaradossi), Quinn Kelsey (Scarpia), Patrick Carfizzi (Sacristan)
Extraordinary Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen stars as the passionate title diva in David McVicar’s thrilling production. British-Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso makes his eagerly anticipated company debut as Tosca’s revolutionary lover, Cavaradossi, and powerhouse American baritone Quinn Kelsey is the sadistic chief of police Scarpia. Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the electrifying score, which features some of Puccini’s most memorable melodies.
Verdi’s Aida (New Production)
Screening dates: Livestream – 25 January 2025; 16 and 18 February 2025 (218 minutes)
Conductor and Cast: Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Angel Blue (Aida), Judit Kutasi (Amneris), Piotr Beczała (Radamès), Quinn Kelsey (Amonasro), Dmitry Belosselskiy (Ramfis), Morris Robinson (King)
American soprano Angel Blue headlines as the Ethiopian princess torn between love and country in a new production of Verdi’s Aida by Michael Mayer that brings audiences inside the towering pyramids and gilded tombs of ancient Egypt with intricate projections and dazzling animations. Romanian-Hungarian mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi also stars as Aida’s rival, Amneris, alongside Polish tenor Piotr Beczała as the soldier Radamès—completing opera’s greatest love triangle. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium to conduct the performance.
Beethoven’s Fidelio (Revival)
Screening dates: Livestream – 15 March 2025; 30 March and 01 April 2025 (184 minutes)
Conductor and Cast: Susanna Mälkki (Conductor), Lise Davidsen (Leonore), Ying Fang (Marzelline), David Butt Philip (Florestan), Magnus Dietrich (Jaquino), Tomasz Konieczny (Don Pizarro), René Pape (Rocco), Stephen Milling (Don Fernando)
Following a string of awe-inspiring Live in HD performances, Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Leonore, the faithful wife who risks everything to save her husband from the clutches of tyranny in Beethoven’s Fidelio. Completing the distinguished cast is British tenor David Butt Philip as the political prisoner Florestan, Polish bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny as the villainous Don Pizarro, veteran 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 the principled Don Fernando. Susanna Mälkki conducts the performance.
Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (Revival)
Screening dates: 11 and 13 May 2025 (235 minutes)
Conductor and Cast: Joana Mallwitz (Conductor), Federica Lombardi (Countess), Olga Kulchynska (Susanna), Marianne Crebassa (Cherubino), Elizabeth Bishop (Marcellina), Joshua Hopkins (Count), Michael Sumuel (Figaro), Maurizio Muraro (Dr. Bartolo)
Mozart’s timeless comedy returns to cinemas worldwide with a live transmission from the Metropolitan Opera. Conductor Joana Mallwitz, in her Met debut, takes the podium to conduct a stellar ensemble cast including American bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as the clever valet Figaro, Ukrainian soprano Olga Kulchynska as the wily maid Susanna, Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins as the skirt-chasing Count, Italian soprano Federica Lombardi as his anguished wife, and French mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa as the adolescent page Cherubino.
Strauss’s Salome (New Production)
Screening dates: Livestream – 17 May 2025; 01 and 03 June 2025 (135 minutes)
Conductor and Cast: Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Elza van den Heever (Salome), Michelle DeYoung (Herodias), Gerhard Siegel (Herod), Piotr Buszewski (Narraboth), Peter Mattei (Jochanaan)
Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium on 17 May to conduct Strauss’s one-act tragedy, which will be transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera stage to cinemas worldwide. Leading the company’s first new production of the work in 20 years, Claus Guth, one of Europe’s leading opera directors, gives the biblical story a psychologically perceptive Victorian-era setting. South African soprano Elza van den Heever leads a celebrated cast as the abused and unhinged anti-heroine, with Swedish baritone Peter Mattei as the imprisoned prophet Jochanaan; German tenor Gerhard Siegel as Salome’s lecherous stepfather, King Herod; American mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as his wife, Herodias; and Polish tenor Piotr Buszewski as Narraboth.
Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Revival)
Screening dates: Livestream – 31 May 2025; 29 June and 01 July 2025 (213 minutes)
Conductor and Cast: Giacomo Sagripanti (Conductor), Aigul Akhmetshina (Rosina), Jack Swanson (Count Almaviva), Andrey Zhilikhovsky (Figaro), Peter Kálmán (Dr. Bartolo), Alexander Vinogradov (Don Basilio)
The Metropolitan Opera’s 2024–25 Live in HD season comes to a close with a live transmission of Rossini’s effervescent comedy on 31 May. Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina headlines a winning ensemble as the feisty heroine, Rosina, alongside American tenor Jack Swanson, in his Met debut, as her secret beloved, Count Almaviva. Moldovan baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky stars as Figaro, the ingenious barber of Seville, with Hungarian bass-baritone Peter Kálmán as Dr. Bartolo and Russian bass Alexander Vinogradov as Don Basilio rounding out the principal cast. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts Bartlett Sher’s madcap production.
