Opera expert Scott Eyerly gives an introductory talk about each Met opera before its live broadcast. Mixing erudition and humor, Eyerly's lectures enhance the opera-goer's experience. All interested community members are welcome to attend these educational seminars whether attending the broadcast or not.

These talks will take place at the Mahaiwe on
Saturday, November 19 at 11:00am (Glass's Satyagraha);
Saturday, December 3 at 10:30am (Handel's Rodelinda);
Saturday, December 10 at 11:00am (Gounod's Faust);
Saturday, January 21 at 11:00am (Sams's The Enchanted Island);
Saturday, February 11 at 10:00am (Wagner's GštterdŠmmerung);
Saturday, February 25 at 11:00am (Verdi's Ernani);
Saturday, April 7 at 10:00am (Massenet's Manon);
and Saturday, April 14 at 11:00am (Verdi's La Traviata).

Tickets are $10 per lecture or $100 for the series of 11 lectures (general admission). WHDD Robin Hood Radio in Northwest Connecticut now airs these talks as radio broadcasts and podcasts.

Mariusz Kwiecien brings his youthful and sensual interpretation of Mozart's timeless anti-hero to the Met for the first time, under the direction of Tony Award¨-winning director Michael Grandage and with Fabio Luisi conducting. Also starring Marina Rebeka, Barbara Frittoli, Ramon Vargas, and Luca Pisaroni.

With Dvorak's sunny Serenade for Strings Op. 22 and Elgar's Serenade in E minor, Shostakovich's tragic Chamber Symphony Op. 110, and Bach's radical Contrapunctus I from The Art of The Fugue, this 17-member string orchestra returns for another highly-anticipated engagement. The "creme de la Kremlin" has carved out a singular niche, touring the US, Europe, Asia, and South America, and recording over 30 CDs with its signature supercharged brilliance ("The ensemble's music director elicited warm, full-blooded and virtuosic playing with colorfully shaped, gleaming phrases" - The New York Times). Luigi Boccherini's Cello Concerto features Yehuda Hanani as soloist.

Misha Rachlevsky, conductor; Chamber Orchestra Kremlin; Yehuda Hanani, cello

In part three of the Ring, Wagner's cosmic vision focuses on his hero's early conquests, while Robert Lepage's revolutionary stage machine transforms itself from bewitched forest to mountaintop love nest. Gary Lehman sings the title role and Deborah Voigt's BrŸnnhilde is his prize. Bryn Terfel is the Wanderer. Fabio Luisi conducts.

The Met's visually extravagant production is back for an encore engagement. Richard Croft (right) once again is Gandhi in Philip Glass's unforgettable opera, which the Washington Post calls "a profound and beautiful work of theater."

Sensational in the 2004 Met premiere of Stephen Wadsworth's much-heralded production, RenŽe Fleming reprises the title role. She's joined by Stephanie Blythe and countertenor Andreas Scholl, and Baroque specialist Harry Bicket conducts.

Fan frenzy and the cult of celebrity had their roots with Franz Liszt, sex symbol and showman extraordinaire. Keyboard innovator and a powerful genius whose compositions blazed the way for Impressionism, Romanticism, and atonality, he is regarded as the greatest pianist of all time, mesmerizing audiences at his thousands of concert appearances. A portrait will emerge in this program: Liszt's pictorial piano solo works; Saint-Sa‘ns' Rondo Capriccioso, (one of the many composers he generously promoted) and Mendelssohn's C minor Trio (the antipodal "abstract music" composer to his tone poems). Also, four recently published works for cello and piano, transcribed by Liszt himself, with acclaimed interpreter Jeffrey Swann ("His Liszt was a triumph of virtuosity" - Cincinnati Post).

Jeffrey Swann, piano; Yehonatan Berick, violin; Yehuda Hanani, cello

With Jonas Kaufmann in the title role, RenŽ Pape as the devil, and Marina Poplavskaya as Marguerite, Gounod's classic retelling of the Faust legend couldn't be better served. Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff updates the story to the first half of the 20th century with a production that won praise in London last season. Yannick NŽzet-SŽguin conducts on the heels of his Don Carlo success.

Enter a magical world of dancing bears, giant birds, and colorful adventure in Mozart?s ever-popular masterpiece The Magic Flute. This abridged 100-minute version, sung in English, is perfect for opera fans of all ages. Tony¨ Award winner Julie Taymor (The Lion King) directs a youthful cast conducted by Metropolitan Opera Music Director James Levine. Sung in English.

Conductor: James Levine; Production: Julie Taymor; Ying Huang, Erika Mikl—sa, Matthew Polenzani, RenŽ Pape, Nathan Gunn

Richard Jones?s innovative staging reveals the darker underpinnings of this charming and beloved tale. Alice Coote and Christine SchŠfer play the siblings lost in a shadowy world of unknown menace, pursued by the Witch, portrayed by tenor Philip Langridge, who seeks to devour them. This English-language production of Engelbert Humperdinck?s masterful treatment of the Brothers Grimm story was the second in the Met?s annual series of special holiday presentations.

Conductor: Vladimir Jurowski; Production: Richard Jones; Christine SchŠfer, Alice Coote, Rosalind Plowright, Philip Langridge, Alan Held

In one extraordinary new work, lovers of Baroque opera have it all: the world's best singers, glorious music of the Baroque masters, and a story drawn from Shakespeare. In The Enchanted Island, the lovers from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream are shipwrecked on his other-worldly island of The Tempest. Inspired by the musical pastiches and masques of the 18th century, the work showcases arias and ensembles by Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau, and others, and a new libretto by Jeremy Sams. Eminent conductor William Christie leads an all-star cast with David Daniels (Prospero) and Joyce DiDonato (Sycorax) as the formidable foes, Pl‡cido Domingo as Neptune, Danielle de Niese as Ariel, and Luca Pisaroni as Caliban. Lisette Oropesa and Anthony Roth Costanzo play Miranda and Ferdinand. The dazzling production is directed and designed by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Satyagraha and the Met's 125 anniversary gala).

With its cataclysmic climax, the Met's new Ring cycle, directed by Robert Lepage, comes to its resolution. Deborah Voigt stars as Brynnhilde and Gary Lehman is Siegfried the star-crossed lovers doomed by fate. James Levine conducts.

Tickets Go On Sale At Noon On:

August 19 Mahaiwe Patrons/Met Members
August 26 Friends Of The Mahaiwe
September 1 General Public

Angela Meade takes center stage in Verdi's thrilling early gem. Marcello Giordani is her mismatched lover, and all-star Verdians Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Ferruccio Furlanetto round out the cast.

The complex relationship between Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms continues to fascinate, with the immortal Clara hovering as common muse. The Piano Quartets in E fl at Major, Opus 44 (Schumann) and G minor, Opus 25 (Brahms) deliver an enthralling range of emotions?vigor, passion, power, and the timelessness of enduring masterpieces. Both were premiered by Clara Schumann, and the music evokes an auditory remembrance of things past, glimpses into a lost world of nobility and higher ideals.

Lydia Artymiw, piano
Arnaud Sussmann, violin
Toby Appel, viola
Yehuda Hanani, cello

Anna Netrebko's dazzling portrayal of the tragic heroine in Laurent Pelly's new production travels to the Met from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Piotr Beczala and Paulo Szot also star, with the Met's Principal Guest Conductor Fabio Luisi on the podium.

Natalie Dessay will put on the red dress in Willy Decker's stunning production, in her first Violetta at the Met. Matthew Polenzani sings Alfredo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky is Germont, and Principal Guest Conductor Fabio Luisi is on the podium.

Before today's multiculturalism and penchant for fusion, the musical dialogue between East and West began with Debussy, Ravel, and the American avant-garde. China's "Empress of Pipa," soloist Liu Fang, performs traditional selections on the Chinese counterparts to the lute and zither, and is joined by Yehuda Hanani for a premiere by Pulitzer Prize winner Zhou Long. Bulgarian pianist Emma Tahmizian plays Mother Goose and Leo Ornstein's remarkable A la Chinoise, and Israeli violinist Hagai Shaham offers Debussy's pentatonic-inflected Sonata and Fritz Kreisler's Tambourin Chinois.

Liu Fang, pipa and guzheng
Emma Tahmizian, piano
Hagai Shaham, violin
Yehuda Hanani, cello

2011-2012 Series
$25 Adults / $18 Students under 13

Donizetti's - ANNA BOLENA - Sun, Oct 23 - 1pm

Mozart's - DON GIOVANNI - Sun, Nov 6 - 1pm

Wagner's - SIEGFRIED - Wed, Nov 16 - 12pm

Glass's - SATYAGRAHA - Wed, Nov 23 - 1pm

Handel's - RODELINDA - Wed, Dec 7 - 12:30pm

Gounod's - FAUST - Wed, Dec 14 -1pm

THE ENCHANTED ISLAND - Wed, Jan 25 - 1pm

Wagner's - GOTTERDAMMERUNG - Wed, Feb 15 - 12pm

Verdi's - ERNANI - Wed, March 7 - 1pm

Massenet's - MANON - Wed, April 11 - 12pm

Verdi's - LA TRAVIATA - Sun, April 22 - 1pm

Due to popular demand, we have added a second screening for each of the Met Opera "Live in HD" broadcasts. Tickets will go on sale as of Sept 28th for series subscriptions and individual operas.