Met Opera’s Live in HD Marks 20th Season with Eight 2026–27 Productions at Ster-Kinekor and Cinema Nouveau

The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of live high-definition cinema simulcasts, is launching its 20th season exclusively at select Ster-Kinekor and Cinema Nouveau cinemas. With eight productions screening from October to July 2027, the 2026-27 Live in HD season promises a feast of spectacular opera performances featuring some of the world’s supreme opera stars.

“With The Met: Live in HD productions screening in our cinemas, local audiences get to experience some of the world’s best-loved opera productions in a near-live situation, from The Met’s opulent stage to our big screens. The theatre-like setting enables cinemagoers to become an extension of the live production’s audience, making these world-class productions from the Met in New York accessible to anyone who enjoys and appreciates great opera,” says Lynne Wylie, chief marketing officer at Ster-Kinekor Theatres.

The 2026–27 season screening in cinema reflects how opera is changing at the Met, where timeless classics are being balanced with accessible new works that are advancing the art form and attracting younger and more diverse audiences.

Twenty Years of the Met in Cinemas: An Anniversary Celebration

Screening Dates: 27 & 29 September 2026

Twenty Years of the Met in Cinemas is a celebration of the Met’s two decades of onstage glory as experienced in movie theatres across the globe, including at Ster-Kinekor, and features highlights from the company’s collection of more than 185 extraordinary onscreen performances.

With star soprano Renée Fleming as host, this special presentation will showcase unforgettable moments from some of opera’s greatest stars, culled from the series’ vast archive of transmissions. This special celebration features performances from such remarkable artists as Lise Davidsen, Natalie Dessay, Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Flórez, Elīna Garanča, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Jonas Kaufmann, Peter Mattei, Matthew Polenzani, Sondra Radvanovsky, Nadine Sierra, and, of course, Fleming herself.

Watch the trailer here

Don’t miss these world-class opera productions, filmed and transmitted from the Met stage to the big screen at Cinema Nouveau and select Ster-Kinekor cinemas: Cresta and Rosebank Nouveau in Johannesburg; Brooklyn in Tshwane; Garden Route Mall in George; Somerset Mall in Somerset West; and Blue Route and V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. The productions will also be screened at Maerua Mall in Windhoek, Namibia. Loyalty card discounts apply, as does Ster-Kinekor’s Half-Price Tuesdays ticket price offering.

Bookings are open, with each production limited to two screenings only. Book your tickets now on the new-look Ster-Kinekor website at www.sterkinekor.com or download the new SK App on your smartphone. For news and updates, go to Facebook: Ster-Kinekor Theatres | follow Ster-Kinekor on Twitter: @Ster-Kinekor. For all queries, call Ticketline on 0861-Movies (668 437).

The 2026-27 Met: Live in HD season at a glance:

Mozart - Così fan tutte

Screening dates: 11 & 13 October 2026

The Met: Live in HD season kicks off with Mozart’s satirical comedy of fickle young love, one of the composer’s most sublime creations. Phelim McDermott’s “colorful, inventive” (The New York Times) staging, inspired by Coney Island in the 1950s, sets the uproarious story at a boardwalk amusement park, where the two pairs of lovers at the heart of the tale find themselves on one emotional – and literal – thrill ride after another. Soprano Federica Lombardi and mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey sing Fiordiligi and Dorabella, opposite tenor Duke Kim and baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky as Ferrando and Guglielmo. Bass-baritone Gerald Finley reprises his portrayal of the cynical Don Alfonso, with soprano Ana María Martínez as the witty maid Despina.

Verdi - Macbeth

Screening dates: 01 & 03 November 2026

Two of opera’s most extraordinary artists return to The Met: Live in HD for Verdi’s thrilling take on the immortal Shakespearean tale of the scheming couple determined to seize power at any cost. Following past triumphs in many of Verdi’s signature baritone roles, Quinn Kelsey is the Scottish king haunted by the ghosts of his murderous ascent to the throne, opposite Lise Davidsen, the world’s reigning dramatic soprano, as the power-mad Lady Macbeth, whose ruinous ambition damns them both. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium for a penetrating production by Louisa Proske, a brilliant young director making waves around the world. Rounding out the all-star cast are tenor Freddie De Tommaso as the heroic Macduff and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green as Macbeth’s friend-turned-victim Banquo.

Saint-Saëns - Samson et Dalila

Screening dates: 13 & 15 December 2026

Sacred, scandalous, and irresistibly alluring, Saint-Saëns’s spectacular take on the biblical hero of legendary strength and the seductive Philistine whose beauty overpowers him returns in the Met’s larger-than-life production. Featuring a large orchestra and chorus and some of opera’s most spellbinding tunes, this masterpiece of French grand opera is a feast for the eyes and ears. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts an electrifying cast led by the formidable star pairing of mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina and tenor Clay Hilley.

Puccini - La Fanciulla del West

Screening dates:  07 & 09 February 2027

Puccini’s exhilarating drama of the Wild West returns in a new staging by celebrated British director Richard Jones, marking the company’s first new production of La Fanciulla del West in more than 30 years. Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky adds to her already remarkable Met repertoire, making her role debut as Minnie, the tough tavern owner with a heart of gold who finds love when she least expects it. Tenor SeokJong Baek is the dashing bandit who rambles into the remote California mining town to steal her heart, opposite baritone Christopher Maltman as the lawman determined to deliver rough justice – and win Minnie for himself. Maestro Keri-Lynn Wilson takes the podium to conduct one of opera’s most action-packed adventures, transmitted from the Met stage to cinemas worldwide.

Kevin Puts / Libretto by Mark Campbell - Silent Night

Screening dates: 28 & 30 March 2027

Following his smash-hit company debut with The Hours, composer Kevin Puts returns to the Met with his Pulitzer Prize-winning first opera, inspired by the true events of the 1914 Christmas truce, when soldiers spontaneously set aside the horrors of the First World War and crossed the trenches to mingle, exchange gifts, and sing carols with the enemy. A poignant depiction of shared humanity in the most inhumane circumstances, Puts’s grand, cinematic opera – with a libretto by Mark Campbell based on the film Joyeux Noël – has been widely acclaimed since its 2011 premiere, and hailed as “an overwhelming emotive experience” by The Guardian. Silent Night receives an evocative staging by James Robinson that takes the audience directly to the battlefields of the Western Front. The star-studded cast, featuring South African soprano Elza van den Heever and tenors Ben Bliss and Rolando Villazón, among many others, is conducted by debuting maestro Dalia Stasevska, from the Met stage to cinemas worldwide.

Massenet - Manon

Screening dates: 11 & 13 April 2027

Following her radiant performance in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette – which garnered raves for “high notes that spun like liquid gold … Sierra touched the operatic firmament” (The New York Times), superstar soprano Nadine Sierra takes on another alluring French heroine, the irresistible title character of Massenet’s passionate drama. Leading tenor Matthew Polenzani is her idealistic lover, the Chevalier des Grieux, with rising-star baritone Andrzej Filończyk as her stalwart cousin, Lescaut, in a breathtaking Belle Époque staging by director Laurent Pelly.

Verdi - Otello

Screening dates: 02 & 04 May 2027

One of today’s leading dramatic tenors, Brian Jagde takes on the tour-de-force title role of what many consider the ultimate Italian opera, screened to cinemas worldwide. Verdi’s monumental Shakespearean tragedy also features soprano Ailyn Pérez in her company role debut as the long-suffering Desdemona, alongside baritone Artur Ruciński as the sinister Iago. Michele Mariotti leads the full forces of the Met Orchestra and Chorus in this exhilarating score.

Wagner - Parsifal

Screening dates: 04 & 06 July 2027

A profoundly philosophical meditation on compassion and reconciliation, this transcendent rendering of a medieval knight’s heroic quest for the Holy Grail returns to the big screen in François Girard’s celebrated production, a “thoughtful and intrepid staging, full of striking imagery” (The New York Times). Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts a cast of Wagnerian superstars, including tenor Piotr Beczała in the title role, mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča as the enigmatic Kundry, baritone Peter Mattei as the ailing Amfortas, bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green as the sorcerer Klingsor, and bass Jongmin Park as the wise Gurnemanz.

For hi-res images, follow this link:

METPICS PHOTO SITE:

https://metpics.metpics.org/Live-in-HD/

Password: MetJubilee

About Ster-Kinekor Theatres

Ster-Kinekor Theatres is the largest movie exhibitor on the African continent. To most South Africans, the word ‘movies’ is synonymous with the name ‘Ster-Kinekor’. The company operates 32 commercial cinema complexes in South Africa that house 249 large-scale screens, with 33 110 seats and the largest 3D footprint featuring 99 state-of-the-art 3D screens in South Africa (Commercial, 3D, IMAX, Kids Cinema and Cine Prestige). It also operates four cinema complexes in Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia, with 23 screens and 3 014 seats.

As the industry leader, Ster-Kinekor has pioneered cinema concepts such as Cinema Nouveau, a dedicated art-house multiplex cinema, and the luxurious Cine Prestige theatres, the first ‘business class’ cinema experience in South Africa; and has headed the return of the IMAX® Experience, with nine IMAX® Theatres across the country. Ster-Kinekor has expanded its cinema innovation to launch the first Kids’ Cinema complete with slides and bean bag seating (currently seven screens) as well as D-BOX which brings movie experiences to life with motion seats. Most recently, Ster-Kinekor introduced SKX-PERIENCE Powered by Jozi X at The Zone in Rosebank, an indoor adventure hub offering axe throwing, gel blaster, splatter room and escape rooms, adding a new dimension to the Ster-Kinekor entertainment experience.

As one of South Africa’s most loved brands, it is Ster-Kinekor’s ongoing mission to become synonymous with the unrivalled magic of the cinema experience, by providing ‘Great Moments at Their Greatest’. During 2013, the company embarked on a massive roll-out project to convert and equip every cinema with the very latest in digital projection and sound technology. The result of this upgrade is that every cinema now boasts state-of-the-art cinema technology that encompasses 2K and 4K digital projection and 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound systems.

The SK Club loyalty programme rewards members with redeemable points when they swipe their card when buying movie tickets or catering, as well as half-price tickets on Tuesdays. Alongside the industry-leading Discovery Vitality loyalty programme, this enhances Ster-Kinekor’s strong consumer value proposition and competitive advantage. Ster-Kinekor has extended its loyalty offering to include the first subscription model in South Africa: SK Subscription Club, which offers members a limited or unlimited number of movies per month at a set cost whilst also enjoying the benefits of SK Club.

As the market leader, Ster-Kinekor aims to spearhead the advancement of cinema across both South Africa and the rest of Africa, to ensure that consumers continue to experience movies as they were made to be seen – on the big screen.

See more at: www.sterkinekor.com

About The Met: Live in HD

The Met: Live in HD series has made the Met the world’s leading provider of alternative cinema content and the only arts institution with an ongoing global series of this scale. When the series launched in 2006, the Met was the first arts company to experiment with alternative cinema content. Since then, the program has expanded, with more than 33 million tickets sold to date and robust attendance in five global cinema markets: the United States, Germany, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. In North America, weekend box office ratings also remain strong, often placing Live in HD presentations—with only one showing—among the weekend’s top-grossing films. The 2026–27 season marks the 20th anniversary of the Live in HD program.

The Met: Live in HD series has increased accessibility to Met performances for audiences around the world. With a global average ticket price of $23, the series has made world-class performances accessible to millions of opera lovers each season.

Met artists and celebrity opera lovers serve as hosts for the Live in HD series, providing background on the operas, introducing exciting behind-the-scenes features, and conducting live interviews with stars, crew, and production teams. Tickets for the 2026–27 Live in HD season will go on sale in the United States and Canada in July 2026, with international ticketing dates varying from country to country. Respective ticketing dates will be announced separately by individual distributors.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor, the Neubauer Family Foundation. Digital support of The Met: Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Met: Live in HD series is in partnership with Rolex.

For more information about The Met: Live in HD, visit https://www.metopera.org/hd