Browse Movies : Completed : 2016 : Event : T

Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky takes on the extraordinary challenge of singing all three of Donizetti’s Tudor queens in the course of a single season, a rare feat made famous by Beverly Sills—and not attempted on a New York stage since. In this climactic opera of the trilogy, she plays Queen Elizabeth I, forced to sign the death warrant of the nobleman she loves, Roberto Devereux.

After a brutal knife attack in prison, a former gang leader (Arturo Muyshondt) ends up in solitary confinement, where he discovers his faith in God and finds his true purpose as a pastor after being released on parole. He seeks out the underprivileged youth of his predominantly Hispanic community so they may find an alternative path to the dangerous gang lifestyle so rampant around them. He wants to establish a green zone to curb the violence, but is met with resistance from rival gang leaders who threaten him, his family and his community. Fighting his inner demons and violent instincts, the pastor must decide between maintaining his newfound faith or returning to the cold-blooded killer he once was.

Anthony Minghella’s breathtaking production has thrilled audiences ever since its premiere in 2006. One of the world’s foremost Butterflies, sopranos Kristine Opolais stars in the title role. Tenor Roberto Alagna sings Pinkerton, the naval officer who breaks Butterfly’s heart. Karel Mark Chichon conducts.

The Met stage ignites when soprano Kristine Opolais and tenor Jonas Kaufmann join forces in Puccini’s obsessive love story. Opolais sings the title role of the country girl who transforms herself into a Parisian temptress, while Kaufmann is the dashing student who desperately woos her. Director Richard Eyre places the action in occupied France in a film noir setting. “Desperate passion” is the phrase Puccini himself used to describe the opera that confirmed his position as the preeminent Italian opera composer of his day.