Live From New York in Santa Barbara

Nearly 3,000 miles from the stage in New York City, Santa Barbara residents will now have the chance to view Metropolitan Opera productions live through screenings at the SBIFF Film Center. Productions will run through the fall, winter, and spring, and includes stories about doomed lovers, Shakespearean tragedy, and even the California Gold Rush.

Kicking it off is Mozart’s Così fan tutte on October 3, at 10 a.m., running for three hours and 57 minutes with intermission. The comedy chronicles the fickleness of young love set in a technicolor 1950s Coney Island amusement park. Federica Lombardi and Samantha Hankey star as sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, whose romances are followed throughout the production.

The opera will return with Verdi’s Macbeth to the screen on October 17, at 10 a.m., running for three hours and 29 minutes with intermission. The show is a take on the Shakespearean tale of the cost of being power hungry. It is conducted by Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

On December 5, the Met Opera presents Samson Et Dalila at 9 a.m. for three hours and 54 minutes with two intermissions. The Saint-Saëns’s take on the biblical hero is expected to be a larger-than-life production that transcends the screen. The production is accompanied by a massive chorus and orchestra playing entrancing tunes.

La Fanciulla Del West will screen on January 23, 2027, at 10 a.m., running three hours and 15 minutes with intermission. Expect a rendition of the Wild West with action-packed adventure and romance, put on by celebrated British director Richard Jones.

Silent Night will screen on March 20, 2027, at 10 a.m., for three hours with intermission. Composer Kevin Puts returns to the Met to put on his Pulitzer Prize–winning first opera, inspired by the true events of a moving World War I Christmas truce, where soldiers mingled and exchanged gifts with the opposing side, a poignant story about shared humanity. 

The season continues on April 3, 2027, at 9 a.m., with Verdi’s Manon, which will run for four hours and 24 minutes with two intermissions. The production follows an alluring French heroine through a passionate drama.

The Met Opera presents Verdi’s Otello on April 24, 2027 at 10 a.m., running for three hours and 21 minutes with intermission. The celebrated Italian opera features a Shakespearean tragedy paired with a riveting score.

To wrap up the season, Parsifal offers a philosophical meditation on sympathy and reconciliation through a medieval knight’s quest for the Holy Grail. The production will run for six hours and five minutes on June 5, 2027, at 9 a.m. 

This season offers Santa Barbara audiences a trip to one of the world’s most famous opera stages right here in town. The Met: Live in HD season runs October 3 through June 5, 2027, at SBIFF’s Film Center. For the complete schedule, screening information, and tickets, visit SBIFF.org.