Utica, N.Y. — Join Munson for two live opera transmissions as part of the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series in the Museum’s Sinnott Family–Bank of Utica Auditorium in Downtown Utica. Enjoy Richard Strauss’ “Arabella” at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, and then Umberto Giordano’s “Andrea Chènier” at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13. Tickets are $26 for Munson Members, $32 for the general public, and $16 for students and can be purchased by calling 315-797-0055 or online at munson.art/met-live.
Strauss’s elegant romance “Arabella” brings the glamour and enchantment of 19th-century Vienna to cinemas worldwide in a sumptuous production by legendary director Otto Schenk that “is as beautiful as one could hope” (“The New York Times”). Set in Vienna around 1860, the historical moment that drives the plot is the situation of a fading landed gentry attempting to keep up appearances while somewhat adrift in the modern urban melting pot. While certain elements of operatic farce are present, there is great elegance about the work, and its characters’ journeys are moving and affecting in their own way.
Giordano’s passionate tragedy “Andrea Chènier” stars tenor Piotr Beczała as the virtuous poet who falls victim to the intrigue and violence of the French Revolution. This great tragedy blends verismo’s focus on the raw emotions of everyday people with the spectacle of historical grand opera. By focusing on individuals caught up in a wildly dramatic moment in history, the opera manages to be both human and epic in scope. Following their celebrated recent partnership in Giordano’s “Fedora” in the 2022–23 Live in HD season, Beczała reunites with soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Chénier’s aristocratic lover, Maddalena di Coigny, with baritone Igor Golovatenko as Carlo Gérard, the agent of the Reign of Terror who seals their fates. 
Enjoy even more performances in 2026 as The Met: Live in HD at Munson continues through May with the following operas:
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“I Puritani,” Bellini — 1 p.m., Jan. 10, 2026
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“The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” Bates — 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026
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“Tristan und Isolde,” Wagner — noon, March 21, 2026
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“Eugene Onegin,” Wagner — 1 p.m., May 9, 2026
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“El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego,” Frank, May 20, 2026
For more information on each performance and to purchase tickets, visit munson.art/met-live.
“The Met: Live in HD” at Munson is sponsored by Elizabeth R. Lemieux, Ph.D.
“The Met: Live in HD” series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor, Neubauer Family Foundation. Digital Support is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. “The Met: Live in HD” series is supported by Rolex.
For media inquiries, please contact Katie Voce, communications manager, at 315-797-0000 ext. 2147 or via email at kvoce@munson.art.
About Munson
Munson is an internationally recognized fine arts organization in Utica, serving diverse audiences through a renowned Museum of Art, live performances and events, community arts classes, and Pratt Munson College of Art and Design, the upstate extension campus of the prestigious Pratt Institute.
