The Metropolitan Opera Is Offering Free Virtual Shows — Here's What to Watch in December

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, cultural institutions have done their best to keep people entertained and educated while quarantining at home. But, perhaps no place has remained as dedicated to this cause as the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

In March, the Metropolitan Opera announced plans to stream encore performances of some of its most famed shows to the public completely free.

“A day after canceling upcoming performances due to concerns around the coronavirus, the Metropolitan Opera announced that it would stream encore presentations from the award-winning Live in HD series of cinema transmissions on the company website for the duration of the closure,” the opera said in a statement at the time.

The “Nightly Met Opera Streams” were a major hit, so the opera house is doing the only thing it can — continuing the encore shows through the end of 2020 and into 2021.

The encore performances begin at 7:30 pm each night and will remain available via the homepage of metopera.org for 20 hours. The performance will also be available on the Met Opera’s On-Demand apps.

Check out the upcoming schedule of encore performances, along with listing information provided by the Met, below.

Monday, Dec. 7

Thomas Adès’s “The Tempest”

Starring Audrey Luna, Isabel Leonard, Iestyn Davies, Alek Shrader, Alan Oke, William Burden, Toby Spence, and Simon Keenlyside, conducted by Thomas Adès. From November 10, 2012.

Tuesday, Dec. 8

John Adams’s “Doctor Atomic”

Starring Sasha Cooke, Thomas Glenn, Gerald Finley, Richard Paul Fink, and Eric Owens, conducted by Alan Gilbert. From November 8, 2008.

Wednesday, Dec. 9

Britten’s “Peter Grimes”

Starring Patricia Racette, Anthony Dean Griffey, and Anthony Michaels-Moore, conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles. From March 15, 2008.

Thursday, Dec. 10

Thomas Adès’s “The Exterminating Angel”

Starring Audrey Luna, Amanda Echalaz, Sally Matthews, Sophie Bevan, Alice Coote, Christine Rice, Iestyn Davies, Joseph Kaiser, Frédéric Antoun, David Portillo, David Adam Moore, Rod Gilfry, Kevin Burdette, Christian Van Horn, and John Tomlinson. conducted by Thomas Adès. From November 18, 2017.

Friday, Dec. 11

The Gershwins’ “Porgy and Bess”

Starring Angel Blue, Golda Schultz, Latonia Moore, Denyce Graves, Frederick Ballentine, Eric Owens, Alfred Walker, and Donovan Singletary, conducted by David Robertson. From February 1, 2020.

Saturday, Dec. 12

Weill’s “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny” (Classic Telecast)

Starring Teresa Stratas, Astrid Varnay, Richard Cassilly, and Cornell MacNeil, conducted by James Levine. From November 27, 1979.

Sunday, Dec. 13

John Corigliano’s “The Ghosts of Versailles”

Starring Teresa Stratas, Håkan Hagegård, Gino Quilico, Graham Clark, Marilyn Horne, and Renée Fleming, conducted by James Levine. From January 10, 1992.

Monday, Dec. 14

Saint-Saëns’s “Samson et Dalila”

Starring Elīna Garanča, Roberto Alagna, Laurent Naouri, Elchin Azizov, and Dmitry Belosselskiy, conducted by Sir Mark Elder. From October 20, 2018.

Tuesday, Dec. 15

Wagner’s “Lohengrin” (Classic Telecast)

Starring Eva Marton, Leonie Rysanek, Peter Hofmann, Leif Roar, and John Macurdy, conducted by James Levine. From January 10, 1986.

Wednesday, Dec. 16

Berlioz’s “Les Troyens”

Starring Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Karen Cargill, Bryan Hymel, Eric Cutler, Dwayne Croft, and Kwangchoul Youn, conducted by Fabio Luisi. From January 5, 2013.

Thursday, Dec. 17

Zandonai’s “Francesca da Rimini” (Classic Telecast)

Starring Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo, and Cornell MacNeil, conducted by James Levine. From April 7, 1984.

Friday, Dec. 18

Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov”

Starring Ekaterina Semenchuk, Aleksandrs Antonenko, Oleg Balashov, Evgeny Nikitin, René Pape, Mikhail Petrenko, and Vladimir Ognovenko, conducted by Valery Gergiev. From October 23, 2010.

Saturday, Dec. 19

Verdi’s “Nabucco”

Starring Liudmyla Monastyrska, Jamie Barton, Russell Thomas, Plácido Domingo, and Dmitry Belosselskiy, conducted by James Levine. From January 7, 2017.

Sunday, Dec. 20

Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung”

Starring Deborah Voigt, Wendy Bryn Harmer, Waltraud Meier, Jay Hunter Morris, Iain Paterson, Eric Owens, and Hans-Peter König, conducted by Fabio Luisi. From February 11, 2012.

Monday, Dec. 21

Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”

Starring Ying Huang, Erika Miklósa, Matthew Polenzani, Nathan Gunn, and René Pape, conducted by James Levine. From December 30, 2006.

Tuesday, Dec. 22

Massenet’s “Cendrillon”

Starring Kathleen Kim, Joyce DiDonato, Alice Coote, Stephanie Blythe, and Laurent Naouri, conducted by Bertrand de Billy. From April 28, 2018.

Wednesday, Dec. 23

Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia”

Starring Isabel Leonard, Lawrence Brownlee, Christopher Maltman, Maurizo Muraro, and Paata Burchuladze, conducted by Michele Mariotti. From November 22, 2014.

Thursday, Dec. 24

Puccini’s “La Bohème” (Classic Telecast)

Starring Teresa Stratas, Renata Scotto, José Carreras, Richard Stilwell, Allan Monk, and James Morris, conducted by James Levine. From January 16, 1982.

Friday, Dec. 25

Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel”

Starring Christine Schäfer, Alice Coote, Rosalind Plowright, Philip Langridge, and Alan Held, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. From January 1, 2008.

Saturday, Dec. 26

Lehár’s “The Merry Widow

Starring Renée Fleming, Kelli O'Hara, Nathan Gunn, Alek Shrader, and Sir Thomas Allen, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. From January 17, 2015.

Sunday, Dec. 27

Verdi’s “Falstaff”

Starring Lisette Oropesa, Angela Meade, Stephanie Blythe, Jennifer Johnson Cano, Paolo Fanale, Ambrogio Maestri, and Franco Vassallo, conducted by James Levine. From December 14, 2013.

Monday, Dec. 28

Puccini’s “La Bohème” (Classic Telecast)

Starring Renata Scotto, Maralin Niska, Luciano Pavarotti, Ingvar Wixell, and Paul Plishka, conducted by James Levine. From March 15, 1977.

Tuesday, Dec. 29

Puccini’s "Tosca” (Classic Telecast)

Starring Shirley Verrett, Luciano Pavarotti, and Cornell MacNeil, conducted by James Conlon. From December 19, 1978.

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Verdi’s “Rigoletto” (Classic Telecast)

Starring Christiane Eda-Pierre, Isola Jones, Luciano Pavarotti, Louis Quilico, and Ara Berberian, conducted by James Levine. From December 15, 1981.

Thursday, Dec. 31

Verdi’s "Ernani” (Classic Telecast)

Starring Leona Mitchell, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, and Ruggero Raimondi, conducted by James Levine. From December 17, 1983.

Friday, Jan. 1

Verdi’s Il “Trovatore” (Classic Telecast)

Starring Eva Marton, Dolora Zajick, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, and Jeffrey Wells, conducted by James Levine. From October 15, 1988.

Saturday, Jan. 2

Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” (Classic Telecast)

Starring Aprile Millo, Harolyn Blackwell, Florence Quivar, Luciano Pavarotti, and Leo Nucci, conducted by James Levine. From January 26, 1991.

Sunday, Jan. 3

Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore” (Classic Telecast)

Starring Kathleen Battle, Luciano Pavarotti, Juan Pons, and Enzo Dara, conducted by James Levine. From November 16, 1991.