Part of the Metropolitan Opera Live Series: Bass René Pape, the world’s reigning Boris, reprises his overwhelming portrayal of the tortured tsar caught between grasping ambition and crippling paranoia. Conductor Sebastian Weigle leads Mussorgsky’s masterwork, a pillar of the Russian repertoire, in its original 1869 version, which runs two-and-a-quarter hours with no intermission. Stephen Wadsworth’s affecting production poignantly captures the hope and suffering of the Russian people as well as the tsar himself. 2 hrs, 40 min. Sung in Russian with subtitles.

Part of the Metropolitan Opera Live Series: Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Grammy Award–winning jazz musician and composer Terence Blanchard’s adaptation of Charles M. Blow’s moving memoir, which The New York Times praised after its 2019 world premiere at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as “bold and affecting” and “subtly powerful.” The first opera by a Black composer presented on the Met stage and featuring a libretto by filmmaker Kasi Lemmons, the opera tells a poignant and profound story about a young man’s journey to overcome a life of trauma and hardship. 2 hrs, 55 min.

Part of the Metropolitan Opera Live Series: The ancient Greek myth of Orpheus, who attempts to harness the power of music to rescue his beloved Eurydice from the underworld, has inspired composers since opera’s earliest days. Brilliant American composer Matthew Aucoin now carries that tradition into the 21st century with a captivating new take on the story—a product of the Met’s commissioning program. 3 hrs, 5 min.

Part of the Metropolitan Opera Live Series: Now a holiday tradition, Julie Taymor’s beloved production of Mozart’s enchanting fairy tale returns in its abridged, English-language version for families. Soprano Erin Morley, last seen at the Met as a brilliant Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, is the empowered Pamina, and tenor Ben Bliss is the valiant Tamino. Baritone Nathan Gunn is the comic birdcatcher Papageno, and soprano Kathryn Lewek reprises her hair-raising rendition of the malevolent Queen of the Night. Harry Bicket conducts. 2 hrs.

Part of the Metropolitan Opera Live Series: In this New Year’s Day performance, Laurent Pelly’s storybook staging of Massenet’s Cendrillon, a hit of the 2017–18 season, is presented with an all-new English translation in an abridged 90-minute adaptation, with mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as its rags-to-riches princess. 1 hr, 50 min. Sung in French with subtitles.

Part of the Metropolitan Opera Live Series: Bartlett Sher’s bold new take on Verdi’s timeless tragedy arrives in cinemas on January 29. The Tony Award­–winning director resets the opera’s action in 1920s Europe, with Art Deco sets by Michael Yeargan and elegant costumes by Catherine Zuber, themselves boasting a combined 11 Tony Awards. Baritone Quinn Kelsey, a commanding artist at the height of his powers, brings his searing portrayal of the title role to the Met for the first time. 3 hrs, 30 min. Sung in Italian with subtitles.

Part of the Metropolitan Opera Live Series: The exhilarating soprano Lise Davidsen makes her Live in HD debut in one of her signature roles, the mythological Greek heroine of Strauss’s enchanting masterpiece. The outstanding cast for this March 12 transmission also features mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as the Composer of the opera-within-an-opera around which the plot revolves, with soprano Brenda Rae as the spirited Zerbinetta and tenor Brandon Jovanovich as Ariadne’s lover, the god Bacchus. Marek Janowski conducts. 3 hrs, 5 min. Sung in German with subtitles.

Part of the Metropolitan Opera Live Series: For the first time in company history, the Met presents the original five-act French version of Verdi’s epic opera of doomed love among royalty, set against the backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition. Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads a world-beating cast of opera’s leading lights in this March 26 performance, including tenor Matthew Polenzani in the title role, soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Élisabeth de Valois, and mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča as Eboli. 5 hrs, 15 min. Sung in French with subtitles.

Part of the Metropolitan Opera Live Series: Superstar Anna Netrebko makes her long-awaited Met role debut as Puccini’s icy princess—seen live in cinemas on May 7. Tenor Yonghoon Lee is the bold prince determined to win Turandot’s love, alongside soprano Ermonela Jaho as the devoted servant Liù legendary bass Ferruccio Furlanetto as the blind king Timur. Marco Armiliato conducts Puccini’s stirring score. 3 hrs, 30 min. Sung in Italian with subtitles.

Part of the Metropolitan Opera Live Series: On May 21, soprano Nadine Sierra takes on one of the repertory’s most formidable and storied roles, the haunted heroine of Lucia di Lammermoor, in an electrifying new staging by in-demand Australian theater and film director Simon Stone, conducted by Riccardo Frizza. Show-stopping tenor Javier Camarena adds to the bel canto fireworks as Lucia’s beloved, Edgardo, with baritone Artur Ruciński as her overbearing brother, Enrico, and bass Matthew Rose as her tutor, Raimondo. 3 hrs, 45 min. Sung in Italian with subtitles.

Part of the Metropolitan Opera Live Series: When Australian composer Brett Dean’s HAMLET had its world premiere at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2017, The Guardian declared, “New opera doesn’t often get to sound this good … Shakespeare offers a gauntlet to composers that shouldn’t always be picked up, but Dean’s Hamlet rises to the challenge.” On June 4, this riveting contemporary masterpiece appears live in cinemas, with Neil Armfield, who directed the work’s premiere, bringing his acclaimed staging to the Met stage. 3 hrs, 35 min.