Description
MUSE is officially an approved streaming venue for THE MET Opera: LIVE in HD! That’s right! You can experience the world of The MET Opera in your own neighborhood.
The 2025–26 Season of The Met: Live in HD Opens with a New
Production of Bellini’s La Sonnambula on Saturday, October 18
Soprano Nadine Sierra and tenor Xabier Anduaga make their Met role debuts
as Amina and Elvino
Rolando Villazón makes his Met directorial debut; Riccardo Frizza conducts
The Met: Live in HD is available in more than 1,800 theaters worldwide
New York, NY (October 1, 2025)—The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Bellini’s La
Sonnambula marks the beginning of the 19th season of The Met: Live in HD on Saturday,
October 18, at 1PM ET, with soprano Nadine Sierra making her company role debut as Amina
and tenor Xabier Anduaga in his company role debut as Elvino. In recent Live in HD seasons,
Sierra has sung the role of Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (2024), Violetta in Verdi’s La
Traviata (2022), and the title role of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor (2022). Anduaga’s turn
as Elvino also marks his Live in HD debut.
Making his Met directorial debut, Rolando Villazón explores the opera’s themes of love and
loss while retaining its original setting in the Swiss Alps. Conductor Riccardo Frizza leads a
cast that also features soprano Sydney Mancasola as Lisa and bass Alexander Vinogradov as
Count Rodolfo.
The creative team includes set designer Johannes Leiacker, costume designer Brigitte
Reiffenstuel, lighting designer Donald Holder, projection designer Renaud Rubiano in his Met
debut, and choreographer Leah Hausman. The October 18 performance of La Sonnambula will
mark the opera’s 84th performance at the Met and second Live in HD transmission to cinemas
worldwide. Villazón’s staging marks the first new Met production of the opera since 2009.
Gary Halvorson will direct the Live in HD presentation for cinemas, and Grammy Award– and
Pulitzer Prize–winning musician and composer Rhiannon Giddens will host the transmission,
sharing exclusive behind-the-scenes content and interviews during intermission.
The Stars of La Sonnambula
Riccardo Frizza, conductor; Brescia, Italy
Nadine Sierra, Amina; Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Sydney Mancasola, Lisa; Redding, California
Xabier Anduaga, Elvino; San Sebastián, Spain
Alexander Vinogradov, Count Rodolfo; Moscow, Russia
The Metropolitan Opera’s 2025–26 season of The Met: Live in HD kicks off with a live transmission of Bellini’s La Sonnambula to cinemas worldwide on Saturday, October 18, 2025, at 1PM ET/Noon CDT.
The new production opens at the opera house on Monday, October 6, 2025.
Run time: approximately 3 hours, with one intermission to include exclusive behind-the-scenes content and cast interviews led by host Rhiannon Giddens.
Language: sung in Italian with subtitles
SYNOPSIS
ACT I Preparations are underway for Elvino and Amina’s wedding. Elvino arrives and gives Amina a ring that belonged to his mother. A mysterious stranger appears. Lisa offers to arrange accommodations for him for the night, and the villagers explain that the town is haunted. Later at the inn, Lisa identifies the stranger as Count Rodolfo. The two of them flirt, when suddenly there is a noise, and Lisa hides. Amina enters sleepwalking. Rodolfo leaves her innocently asleep on the bed, but when the villagers arrive, they are shocked. Elvino turns on Amina and calls off the wedding.
ACT II The villagers decide to visit Count Rodolfo and ask him about Amina’s case. Elvino reproaches Amina and takes his ring from her. He decides to instead marry Lisa and prepares to lead her to the church, but not before Rodolfo arrives, proclaiming Amina’s innocence and explaining that she was only sleepwalking. Amina appears, walking in her sleep and mourning the loss of Elvino. Finally convinced of her innocence, Elvino places the ring back on her finger. Waking, Amina is overjoyed.