In the wake of COVID-19, The Metropolitan Opera has found a joyful new way to bring the opera into the lives of millions participating in social distancing and self-quarantine. Every day at 7:30 PM, a different performance is available to view for free on the Met Opera website and on various Met Opera On Demand apps for Apple, Amazon, Roku and Samsung Smart TV. “We’d like to provide some grand opera solace to opera lovers in these extraordinarily difficult times,” Met General Manager Peter Gelb says. The Live in HD series pulls from the archives of the last 14 years of production. The Met Opera also set up a donation website for those who wish to help the institution during this moment of financial hardship, as the opera has made the decision to cancel the remainder of its 2019-2020 season. Past performances on the streaming service have included Verdi’s Macbeth, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites and Bellini’s Norma, their soulful arias drifting through the internet instead of crowded theaters.
Photography by: Ken Howard/Met Opera
