The Met Opera Live in HD series returns to Athena Cinema

The Athena Cinema announces “The Met: Live in HD” has returned to the screen at the Athena Cinema for the program’s 2021-2022 Season on select Saturdays through June 2022.

The series was first launched in 2019 to an often-sold-out audience. It is presented by Ohio University Performing Arts & Film with support from Associate Professor Emeritus of Classics and World Religions George Weckman, the College of Fine Arts, and the college’s Arts for OHIO program.

“The Met: Live in HD” is the Metropolitan Opera’s Peabody Award-and Emmy Award-winning series of opera performances transmitted live from the stage of the Met into movie theaters worldwide. The season features 10 live transmissions starring the greatest artists in opera.

“The Met: Live in HD” launched at the Athena Cinema on Oct. 9 with the Met’s production of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov. The next event in the series took place on Oct. 23 and marked a historic occasion with the production of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones, the Met’s first performance of an opera by a Black composer. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducted Grammy Award–winning jazz musician and composer Blanchard’s adaptation of Charles M. Blow’s moving memoir, which The New York Times praised after its 2019 world premiere at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as “bold and affecting” and “subtly powerful.”

On Saturday, Dec. 4, the live production of Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice features a libretto by MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Sarah Ruhl, reimagining the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus, who attempts to harness the power of music to rescue his beloved Eurydice from the underworld. Rising American composer Matthew Aucoin carries this opera into the 21st century with a captivating new take on the story—a product of the Met’s commissioning program.

To end the 2021 calendar year, on Dec. 11, the series presents Mozart’s The Magic Flute, an encore presentation of Julie Taymor’s kaleidoscopic production of the company’s first-ever Live in HD transmission. James Levine conducts a winning ensemble that includes tenor Matthew Polenzani, baritone Nathan Gunn, and bass René Pape in this abridged, English-language version of Mozart’s classic fable.

Thanks to Arts for OHIO, tickets to “The Met: Live in HD” are available for free to OHIO students in a limited number and on a first-come, first-serve basis. Students must have a valid student ID. Tickets are $18 for general admission and $12 for non-OHIO students and children.

The full season with the select screening dates, as well as access to the Athena Cinema’s online ticketing can be found on the Athena Cinema’s website here.

All Athena Cinema staff and patrons are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result (PCR only, within 48 hours). Exceptions will be made for children 12 and under. Masks are required for all patrons, regardless of age. Read more about the Athena Cinema’s policy here.