Great Performances at the Met - Episode Guide

Verdi's classic opera stars Anna Netrebko in her Met role debut as Leonora. Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Count di Luna, with Yonghoon Lee as Manrico, the title character, Stefan Kocan as Ferrando and Dolora Zajick as the gypsy Azucena.

Verdi's "Otello," about a Moorish general (Aleksandrs Antonenko) who comes to suspect his wife (Sonya Yoncheva) of infidelity due to seeds of doubt sowed by a treacherous aide (Zeljko Lucic).

A production of Richard Wagner's "Tannhauser," in which a minstrel knight (Johan Botha) is torn between a saintly woman (Eva-Maria Westbroek) and the sensual love goddess Venus (Michelle DeYoung).

Alban Berg's "Lulu," a tragedy about a woman (Marlis Petersen) who ruins the lives of those around her.

A production of Georges Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers" ("Les Pêcheurs de Perles"), a sweeping romance about a Hindu priestess (Diana Damrau) pursued by rival pearl divers (Matthew Polenzani, Mariusz Kwiecien).

Soprano Nina Stemme sings the title role of Puccini's final work, "Turandot," about an imperious Chinese princess and an unknown prince (Marco Berti) who falls for her.

A production of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly," about a callous Navy lieutenant (Roberto Alagna) and a Japanese geisha (Kristine Opolais), whom he marries for convenience rather than for love.

Puccini's "Manon Lescaut," about a country girl (Kristine Opolais) who's torn between an impoverished student (Roberto Alagna) who loves her and a rich man (Brindley Sherratt) who wants her to be his mistress.

Donizetti's "Roberto Devereux," in which Elizabeth I (Sondra Radvanovsky) signs the death warrant for the nobleman (Matthew Polenzani) she loves when he's accused of treason, not because he's guilty but because of spite—he loves another.

Richard Strauss' blazing tragedy is presented in the late Patrice Chereau's production, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, with Nina Stemme as the vengeful princess and Waltraud Meier, Adrianne Pieczonka, Eric Owens and Burkhard Ulrich.

Experience the Met's new production of Wagner's epic work, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. Nina Stemme stars with heldentenor Stuart Skelton, directed by Mariusz Trelinski. Also with Ekaterina Gubanova, Evgeny Nikitin and Rene Pape.

Simon Keenlyside makes his Met role debut as the unrepentant seducer in Tony Award-winner Michael Grandage's staging of Mozart's masterpiece. Met principal conductor Fabio Luisi conducts.

One of the most highly praised operas of recent years, which had its premiere at the Salzburg Festival in 2000, Kaija Saariaho's yearning medieval romance L'Amour de Loin ("Love From Afar"), has its Met premiere. The production is by Robert Lepage, co-produced with L'Opera de Quebec, where it premiered to acclaim last summer, in collaboration with Ex Machina. Debuting Finnish conductor Susanna Malkki leads the performance, which stars Susanna Phillips as Clemence, Eric Owens as Jaufre, and Tamara Mumford as the Pilgrim who carries messages of love between them.

The electrifying team of Vittorio Grigolo and Diana Damrau reunites for a new production of Gounod's opera based on the Shakespeare play. Damrau makes her role debut as Juliette in Bartlett Sher's new production, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. Elliot Madore sings Mercutio and Mikhail Petrenko sings Frre Laurent. Sher's staging is a La Scala production, initially presented by the Salzburg Festival, where it premiered in 2008.