SUNY Sullivan proudly presents The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of live high-definition cinema simulcasts in the Seelig Theatre. The acclaimed series opens on Saturday, December 7, with an encore presentation of the 2006 performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, an abridged, English-language production of an enchanting musical fairy tale directed by Julie Taymor—the Tony Award-winning director of Broadway’s The Lion King. With dazzling puppets and a colorful setting, the Met’s Magic Flute is a seasonal sensation for family audiences.
Tickets for the MET: Live in HD presentations, along with series sponsorship opportunities are available online at sunysullivan.edu/met-opera/. Prices are $25 for general admission, with discounts available for Met Opera Members and seniors at $20, students at $10, and children under five at $5. Tickets can also be purchased at the door. The Seelig Theatre will open 30 minutes before each screening, and all performances, aside from The Magic Flute, are live simulcasts starting promptly at the listed times. Proceeds will benefit the SUNY Sullivan Foundation.
“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 ManettiShrem 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.”
“The College is thrilled to present Metropolitan Opera programs in our own Seelig Theatre,” said SUNY Sullivan President David Potash. “Thanks to generous contributions from the SUNY Sullivan Foundation, this and other programming brings the arts to our community.”
The Live in HD season will continue with Verdi’s Aida (January 25, 2025), Beethoven’s Fidelio (March 15, 2025), Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (April 26, 2025), Strauss’s Salome (May 17, 2025), and Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia (May 31, 2025). All performances will be Saturday matinees transmitted live from the Met stage.
For more information about the screenings and series sponsorship, contact Dan Rigney at SUNY Sullivan by calling (845) 434-5750 x3188 or emailing drigney@sunysullivan.edu.
Complete details, including casting, for the upcoming season are available below:
Mozart’s The Magic Flute—SPECIAL ENCORE PRESENTATION Originally transmitted live on December 30, 2006.
- Live in HD Encore Date: From December 7, 2024
- Production: Julie Taymor
- Set Designer: George Tsypin
- Costume Designer: Julie Taymor
- Lighting Designer: Donald Holder
- Puppet Designers: Julie Taymor and Michael Curry
- Choreographer: Mark Dendy English Adaptation: J. D. McClatchy
James Levine (Conductor), Ying Huang (Pamina), Erika Miklósa (Queen of the Night), Matthew Polenzani (Tamino), Greg Fedderly (Monostatos), Nathan Gunn (Papageno), David Pittsinger (Speaker), René Pape (Sarastro)
The Met made history in December 2006 when it presented its first Live in HD transmission to cinemas worldwide: the abridged English-language version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Julie Taymor’s whimsical production features a winning ensemble, including tenor Matthew Polenzani, baritone Nathan Gunn, and bass René Pape. The opera returns to select movie theaters for a special encore presentation during the holiday season.
Verdi’s Aida—NEW PRODUCTION
- Live in HD: January 25, 2025
- Production: Michael Mayer
- Set Designer: Christine Jones
- Costume Designer: Susan Hilferty
- Lighting Designer: Kevin Adams
- Projection Designer: 59 Productions
- Choreographer: Oleg Glushkov
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 January 25 performance, which will be transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera stage to cinemas worldwide.
Beethoven’s Fidelio—REVIVAL
- Live in HD: March 15, 2025
- Production: Jürgen Flimm
- Set Designer: Robert Israel
- Costume Designer: Florence von Gerkan
- Lighting Designer: Duane Schuler
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 March 15 performance, which will be transmitted live from the Met stage to cinemas worldwide.
Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro—REVIVAL
- Live in HD: April 26, 2025
- Live in HD: April 26, 2025
- Production: Richard Eyre
- Set and Costume Designer: Rob Howell
- Lighting Designer: Paule Constable
- Choreographer: Sara Erde
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)
On April 26, 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
- Live in HD: May 17, 2025
- Production: Claus Guth
- Set Designer: Etienne Pluss
- Costume Designer: Ursula Kudrna
- Lighting Designer: Olaf Freese
- Projection Designer: rocafilm/Roland Horvath
- Choreographer: Sommer Ulrickson
- Dramaturg: Yvonne Gebauer
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 May 17 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 antiheroine, 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
- Production: Bartlett Sher
- Set Designer: Michael Yeargan
- Costume Designer: Catherine Zuber
- Lighting Designer: Christopher Akerlind
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 May 31. 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.
About The Met: Live in HD
The Met: Live in HD series has made the Met the world’s leading provider of alternative cinema content and the only arts institution with an ongoing global series of this scale. When the series launched in 2006, the Met was the first arts company to experiment with alternative cinema content. Since then, the program has expanded, with more than 31 million tickets sold to date and robust attendance in five global cinema markets: the United States, Germany, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. In North America, weekend box office ratings also remain strong, often placing Live in HD presentations—with only one showing—among the weekend’s top grossing films. The Met: Live in HD series has increased accessibility to Met performances for audiences around the world. With a global average ticket price of $23, the series has made world-class performances accessible to millions of opera lovers each season. For more information about The Met: Live in HD, visit metopera.org/hd.
