''Live from the Metropolitan Opera'' (or: ''Live from the Met'') was an American television program that presented performances of complete operas from the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) network. The program began in 1977 and was telecast live for its first few seasons. The first telecast, ''

La Bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusep ...

'', featured Luciano Pavarotti as Rodolfo and

Renata Scotto Renata Scotto (born 24 February 1934) is an Italian soprano and opera director. Recognized for her sense of style, her musicality, and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered one of the preeminent singers of her generation. Since ...

as Mimì, with

James Levine James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 1 ...

conducting; all three were interviewed during the intermission. Celebrated singers featured on ''Live from the Met'' included

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

, Luciano Pavarotti,

Beverly Sills Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929July 2, 2007) was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verdi, she was especially renowned f ...

Samuel Ramey Samuel Edward Ramey (born March 28, 1942) is an American operatic bass. At the height of his career, he was greatly admired for his range and versatility, having possessed a sufficiently accomplished bel canto technique to enable him to sing th ...

, Renée Fleming, Joan Sutherland,

Marilyn Horne Marilyn Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient of the Natio ...

Leontyne Price Mary Violet Leontyne Price (born February 10, 1927) is an American soprano who was the first African American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera, where she was the first Af ...

, and Sherrill Milnes. During the intermissions of its live broadcasts, the program offered interviews and other features on opera topics; these segments were often up to a half-hour in length. ''Live from the Met'' functioned as a supplement to the company's regular Saturday Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts. During its first fifteen years the program was frequently

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...

, enabling some audiences to hear the opera in stereo via radio as well. Hosts included Tony Randall,

Speight Jenkins Speight Jenkins Jr. (born January 31, 1937) is a classical music critic and music administrator. He was the general director of Seattle Opera from 1983 to 2014. Early life and education Jenkins, a native of Dallas, Texas, is the son of Speight ...

, Alexander Scourby, and Garrick Utley. The announcer was Peter Allen. In 1988 the program title was changed to ''The Metropolitan Opera Presents'' to reflect the fact that the performances were now taped prior to broadcast. ''The Metropolitan Opera Presents'' was replaced on PBS in 2007 by ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is p ...

at the Met''. Operas aired in this series are repeats of the performances presented live on video in movie theaters in the Met's " Live in HD" series. Not all PBS affiliate stations may carry the program.

References

External links

* {{PBSTV Metropolitan Opera PBS original programming 1977 American television series debuts 2003 American television series endings 1970s American music television series 1980s American music television series 1990s American music television series 2000s American music television series American live television series Television shows filmed in New York City