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There are few things more quintessentially New York than catching world-class opera at Lincoln Center. But catching it outside, under the stars, without spending a cent? Even better.
The Metropolitan Opera’s Summer HD Festival is returning to Josie Robertson Plaza next month, transforming the space outside the opera house into a massive open-air cinema for six nights from September 2 through 7. Now in its 17th edition, the annual festival will screen performances from the Met’s Live in HD series on a giant screen, with approximately 2,500 seats available each night. Every screening is completely free, with no advance tickets or reservations.
This year’s festival technically features five operas across six nights, kicking off September 2 with Act I of Wagner’s epic Tristan und Isolde. Acts II and III follow the next night, so consider those two evenings one very dramatic date with Wagner.
The rest of the lineup is similarly stacked: Bellini’s I Puritani screens September 4 at 7:30 pm, followed by Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin on September 5 at 8 pm. On September 6, the Met will show Gabriela Lena Frank’s El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, a magical-realist opera that reunites Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera on the Day of the Dead. The festival wraps September 7 with Puccini’s La Bohème, presented in Franco Zeffirelli’s famously lavish production of 19th-century Paris. All screenings except I Puritani begin at 8 pm and every presentation will include full open captions.
So grab a friend, head to Lincoln Center and settle in for an evening of heartbreak, doomed romance and soaring arias. For once, one of the best seats in the house might not actually be in the house.