Five of the best Met Opera productions to watch at home

The Met Opera in New York has taken to the small screen in a big way.

Viewers from around the world can now watch its acclaimed productions with streams every night, which are then available to watch for the following 23 hours.

All Nightly Met Opera Streams begin at 12.30am. The performances are also accessible on all Met Opera on demand apps.

Here’s what to expect in the coming days ...

1 ORFEO ED EURIDICE

June 4

The ancient myth received the operatic treatment courtesy of Gluck in this production, conducted by James Levine and starring Danielle de Niese, Heidi Grant Murphy and StephanieBlythe.

Where to watch: metopera.org

2 TOSCA

June 5

Conducted by James Conlon and starring Shirley Verrett, Luciano Pavarotti and Cornell MacNeil, this was originally transmitted live in 1978. Puccini’s work is a melodramatic piece set in Rome in June 1800, with the Kingdom of Naples’s control of Rome threatened by Napoleon’s invasion of Italy. It contains depictions of torture, murder and suicide, as well as some of Puccini’s best-known lyrical arias.

Where to watch: metopera.org

3 THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL

June 6

The Exterminating Angel is an English-language opera in three acts, with music by Thomas Adès, and libretto by Tom Cairns in collaboration with Adès. The opera is based on the 1962 surreal, satirical and allegorical film of the same name by Luis Buñuel, known for its analysis for the aristocracy. The production was transmitted live in 2017.

Where to watch: metopera.org

4 OTELLO

June 7

Verdi’s opera, based on Shakespeare’s racially-tinged tragedy Othello, was a resounding success when it premiered in Milan in 1887, This production, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and starring Sonya Yoncheva, Aleksandrs Antonenko  and Željko Lučić, was transmitted live in 2015.

Where to watch: metopera.org

5 THAÏS

June 8

Conducted by Jesús López-Cobos and starring Renée Fleming, Michael Schade, and Thomas Hampson, Massenet’s opera is a comedy in three acts and seven tableaux, Thaïs takes place in Egypt under the rule of the Roman Empire, where a Cenobite monk, Athanaël, attempts to convert Thaïs, an Alexandrian courtesan and devotee of Venus, to Christianity, but discovers too late that his obsession with her is rooted in lust.

Where to watch: metopera.org