The Medium

When a mysterious woman turns up unexpectedly at an old country house, the new owner makes a decision that could change him forever. He soon realises that something about his new houseguest makes him uneasy. Nevertheless, he can't help but find her strangely beguiling.

Deep in a forest where druids and warriors seek revenge against the conquering Romans, Norma is scorned by the Roman proconsul Pollione, with whom she has two children. Her kindness turns to fury when she discovers that Pollione has taken Adalgisa, a novice priestess, as his new lover. When Pollione loses his high rank in the army and is offered as a sacrifice, Norma promises him freedom under one condition.

After the acclaimed Met premiere of Thomas Adès's "The Tempest" in 2012, the composer returned with another masterpiece, this time inspired by filmmaker Luis Buñuel's seminal surrealist classic "El Ángel Exterminador", during the 2017–18 season. As the opera opens, a group of elegant socialites gather for a lavish dinner party, but when it is time to leave for the night, no one is able to escape. Soon, their behavior becomes increasingly erratic and savage. The large ensemble cast tackles both the vocal and dramatic demands of Adès's opera with one riveting performance after another. Tom Cairns, who also penned the work's libretto, directs an engrossing and inventive production, using a towering wooden archway to trap the characters onstage. And Adès himself takes the podium to conduct the frenzied score, which features a host of unconventional instruments, including the eerie electronic ondes Martenot.

Sir David McVicar’s bold new staging of Tosca, Puccini’s operatic thriller of Napoleonic Rome, thrilled Met audiences when it rang in the New Year in 2018. Only weeks later, the production was seen by opera lovers worldwide as part of the Met’s Live in HD series of cinema presentations. In this performance, Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva is the passionate title diva, opposite charismatic tenor Vittorio Grigolo as her lover, the idealistic painter Mario Cavaradossi. Baritone Željko Lučić is the menacing Baron Scarpia, the evil chief of police who employs brutal tactics to ensnare both criminals and sexual conquests. On the podium, Emmanuel Villaume conducts the electrifying score, which features some of Puccini’s most memorable melodies.

Anne inherits a family demon after her mother's death. Now inside Anne, it grows stronger. Desperate, she attempts self-exorcism in a motel room, fighting to save herself and her son from becoming the demon's next victim.

In the mountains of Transylvania, ancient beliefs in the supernatural can still be found. These beliefs are quickly dying out as the world modernizes around the tiny villages of the Carpathians.

An awkward, unemployed man who can talk to the dead teams up with a rebellious bartender to find the vengeful ghost that's been terrorizing their town.

Master Szeto is back and, with his mostly fearless crew in tow, he traipses across Asia in search of the supernatural. What he finds will either amuse or insult you, or perhaps both. But will it entertain you? That indeed is a mystery for us all. To find out how this reviewer fared, read on…if you dare.

In the Seventeenth Century, while Hungary is fighting the Turks, the population of a small village in...

The gorgeous and evocative Otto Schenk/Günther Schneider-Siemssen production continues with this second opera in Wagner’s Ring cycle. Hildegard Behrens brings deep empathy to Brünnhilde, the favorite daughter of the god Wotan (James Morris) who nevertheless defies him. Morris’s portrayal of Wotan is deservedly legendary, as is Christa Ludwig, as Fricka. Jessye Norman and Gary Lakes are Sieglinde and Siegmund, and Kurt Moll is the threatening Hunding. James Levine and the Met orchestra provide astonishing color and drama. (Performed April 8, 1989)