The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the summer encore of the Met Opera’s “La Bohème” (from the 2017-18 season) on Saturday, July 27 at 12 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. An exciting young cast stars in Franco Zeffirelli’s classic production of “La Bohème”, the most-performed opera in Met history. Sonya Yoncheva stars as Mimì opposite Michael Fabiano as the passionate writer Rodolfo. Susanna Phillips reprises the role of the flirtatious Musetta and Lucas Meachem sings the role of her lover, the painter Marcello. The cast also features Alexey Lavrov and Matthew Rose as Rodolfo and Marcello’s friends Schaunard and Colline and Paul Plishka as Benoit and Alcindoro in this performance, led by Marco Armiliato.

The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the summer encore of the Met Opera’s “La Cenerentola” (from the 2013-14 season) on Saturday, Aug. 3 at 12 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. Rossini’s charming take on the Cinderella story returns to cinemas, starring mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and tenor Juan Diego Flórez in Cesare Lievi’s whimsical production. Fabio Luisi conducts. ACT I A fairy-tale kingdom. Angelina, called Cenerentola, lives as a maid in the house of her father, Don Magnifico, and her two stepsisters. The prince, Don Ramiro, who is traveling the country to find a wife, arrives, dressed as a servant to better observe the prospective brides. He and Cenerentola are immediately attracted to each other, while Magnifico and the stepsisters flatter Dandini, Ramiro’s valet, who is disguised as his master.

American soprano Angel Blue headlines as the Ethiopian princess torn between love and country in a new production of Verdi’s Aida by Michael Mayer that brings audiences inside the towering pyramids and gilded tombs of ancient Egypt with intricate projections and dazzling animations. Romanian-Hungarian mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi also stars as Aida’s rival, Amneris, alongside Polish tenor Piotr Beczala as the soldier Radamès—completing opera’s greatest love triangle. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium to conduct the January 25 performance, which will be transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera stage to cinemas worldwide.

Following a string of awe-inspiring Live in HD performances, Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Leonore, the faithful wife who risks everything to save her husband from the clutches of tyranny in Beethoven’s Fidelio. Completing the distinguished cast is British tenor David Butt Philip as the political prisoner Florestan, Polish bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny as the villainous Don Pizarro, veteran German bass René Pape as the jailer Rocco, Chinese soprano Ying Fang and German tenor Magnus Dietrich as the young Marzelline and Jaquino, and Danish bass Stephen Milling as the principled Don Fernando. Susanna Mälkki conducts the March 15 performance, which will be transmitted live from the Met stage to cinemas worldwide.

Tony Award–winning composer Jeanine Tesori’s powerful new opera Grounded premieres at the Metropolitan Opera, wrestling with often-overlooked issues created by 21st-century warmaking: the ethical conflicts created by the use of modern military technology and the psychological and emotional toll supposedly safe remote technology takes on our servicepersons. Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo stars as the hot-shot fighter pilot whose unplanned pregnancy takes her out of the cockpit and lands her in Las Vegas, operating a Reaper drone halfway around the world. American tenor Ben Bliss costars as the Wyoming rancher Eric in a production by Michael Mayer that brings this story to life in a high-tech staging which presents a variety of perspectives on the action. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium to conduct Tesori’s kaleidoscopic opera, which will be transmitted live from the Met stage to cinemas on October 19.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2024–25 Live in HD season comes to a close with a live transmission of Rossini’s effervescent comedy on May 31. Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina headlines a winning ensemble as the feisty heroine, Rosina, alongside American tenor Jack Swanson, in his Met debut, as her secret beloved, Count Almaviva. Moldovan baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky stars as Figaro, the ingenious barber of Seville, with Hungarian bass-baritone Peter Kálmán as Dr. Bartolo and Russian bass Alexander Vinogradov as Don Basilio rounding out the principal cast. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts Bartlett Sher’s madcap production.

On April 26, Mozart’s timeless comedy returns to cinemas worldwide with a live transmission from the Metropolitan Opera. Conductor Joana Mallwitz, in her Met debut, takes the podium to conduct a stellar ensemble cast including American bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as the clever valet Figaro, Ukrainian soprano Olga Kulchynska as the wily maid Susanna, Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins as the skirt-chasing Count, Italian soprano Federica Lombardi as his anguished wife, and French mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa as the adolescent page Cherubino.

Offenbach’s fantastical opera kicks off the Metropolitan Opera’s season of Live in HD performance transmissions, starring French tenor Benjamin Bernheim in the title role of the tormented poet. Joining Bernheim is American soprano Erin Morley as Olympia, South African soprano Pretty Yende as Antonia, and French mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine as Giulietta to complete Hoffmann’s trio of lovers. Marco Armiliato conducts Bartlett Sher’s evocative production, which also features American bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as the Four Villains and Russian mezzo-soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya in her company debut as Nicklausse.

Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium on May 17 to conduct Strauss’s one-act tragedy, which will be transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera stage to cinemas worldwide. Leading the company’s first new production of the work in 20 years, Claus Guth, one of Europe’s leading opera directors, gives the biblical story a psychologically perceptive Victorian-era setting. South African soprano Elza van den Heever leads a celebrated cast as the abused and unhinged antiheroine, with Swedish baritone Peter Mattei as the imprisoned prophet Jochanaan; German tenor Gerhard Siegel as Salome’s lecherous stepfather, King Herod; American mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as his wife, Herodias; and Polish tenor Piotr Buszewski as Narraboth.

Extraordinary Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen stars as the passionate title diva in David McVicar’s thrilling production, transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera stage to cinemas on November 23. British-Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso makes his eagerly anticipated company debut as Tosca’s revolutionary lover, Cavaradossi, and powerhouse American baritone Quinn Kelsey is the sadistic chief of police Scarpia. Maestro Xian Zhang conducts the electrifying score, which features some of Puccini’s most memorable melodies.

The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the summer encore of the Met Opera’s The Gershwins’ “Porgy and Bess” (from the 2019-20 season) on Saturday, Aug. 17 at 12 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. The Gershwins’ modern American masterpiece has its first Met performances in almost three decades, starring bass-baritone Eric Owens and soprano Angel Blue in the title roles. Director James Robinson’s stylish production transports audiences to Catfish Row, a setting vibrant with the music, dancing, emotion, and heartbreak of its inhabitants. Infused with the timeless melodies of the much-loved classics “Summertime,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin,” and “My Man’s Gone Now,” the new co-production with English National Opera and Dutch National Opera was hailed as a triumph at its premiere in London earlier this year.

The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the summer encore of the Met Opera’s “Turandot” (from the 2015-16 season) on Saturday, Aug. 10 at 12 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. Nina Stemme — one of opera’s greatest dramatic sopranos — plays the title role of the proud princess of ancient China, whose riddles doom every suitor who seeks her hand in “Turandot”. Tenor Marco Berti is Calàf, the brave prince who sings “Nessun dorma” and wins her love. Franco Zeffirelli’s golden production is conducted by Paolo Carignani. Additional principle cast members include Anita Hartig (Liù) and Alexander Tsymbalyuk (Timur). Puccini’s final opera is an epic fairy tale set in a China of legend, loosely based on a play by 18th-century Italian dramatist Carlo Gozzi. Featuring a most unusual score with an astounding and innovative use of chorus and orchestra, it is still recognizably Puccini, bursting with instantly appealing melody.