Live at the Met, the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of live, high definition (HD) opera transmissions to theaters around the world, continues its 2018-19 season at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House on Sat., Oct. 20, at 1 p.m., with Camille Saint-Saens’ epic biblical tragedy Samson et Dalila. The opera stars Mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca and tenor Roberto Alagna in their Met role debut.

Live at the Met, the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of live, high definition (HD) opera transmissions to theaters around the world, continues its 2018-19 season at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House on Saturday, Oct. 20, at 1 p.m., with Camille Saint-Saens’ epic biblical tragedy Samson et Dalila.

When mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca and tenor Roberto Alagna joined forces for a new production of Carmen at the Met in 2010, the results were electrifying. Now this star duo reunites in the title roles of another sensual French opera, each making their Met role debuts.

Laurent Naouri co-stars as the High Priest, with Elchin Azizov as the Philistine King Abimelech and Dmitry Belosselskiy as the Old Hebrew.

Darko Tresnjak, the 2014 Tony Award-winning director of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, makes his Met debut directing a vivid, seductive staging, featuring a monumental setting for the last-act Temple of Dagon, where the hero crushes his Philistine enemies in this, the first new Met production of Samson et Dalila in 20 years.

The source of this popular opera is a single chapter in the biblical Book of Judges, and the brevity of the tale did nothing to prevent it from becoming one of the world’s great stories of love (or at least passion) — as well as the archetypal depiction of a man betrayed by an immoral woman. Saint-Saens’s opera, along with other artistic renderings across multiple genres, has had an important role in the popularization of this tale. In fact, portions of the opera, including Dalila’s seduction aria “Mon coeur s’ouvre ‘ ta voix” and the extraordinary ballet sequence in the final scene — the Bacchanale — are known well beyond the Opera House. Despite tepid success early on, Samson et Dalila eventually conquered the operatic world and has proven itself a magnificent evening of theater.

In addition, the Opera House is a participant in the Feeding Fredonia Challenge. Patrons are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to the event. Items collected will be given to the Fredonia Food Pantry at the Fredonia Presbyterian Church. The goal is to collect 2.25 tons of food for neighbors in need! Food items recommended include beans, canned fruit, canned meats, canned vegetables, cereal, coffee, dry milk, peanut butter, rice, soup, spaghetti sauce and pasta.

Live at the Met telecasts are now shown in more than 2,000 theaters in 75 countries, making the Met the only arts institution with an ongoing global art series of this scale. The Met was the first arts company to experiment with this type of broadcast, beginning on a modest scale in 2006 and growing every season since then, with more than 10 million tickets sold to date.

Met Opera stars serve as hosts for the series, conducting live interviews with cast members, crew and production teams, and introducing the popular behind-the-scenes features; altogether, the worldwide audience is given an unprecedented look at what goes into the staging of an opera at one of the world’s great houses.

Individual tickets to each of the operas in the season are $20 ($18 Opera House members, $10 students). A flexible subscription of eight tickets which can be used however you want — one at a time to eight different operas, all at once for eight people, or anything in between — is available for $142. Tickets may be purchased in person at the Opera House Box Office or by phone at 716-679-1891, Tuesday-Friday, 1-5 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online anytime at www.fredopera.org.

The Opera House is equipped with assistive listening headsets for the hearing-impaired. Simply request one from any usher or Opera House staff member.

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported not-for-profit organization located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.