Opera House launches Met Live season with ‘Cosi fan tutte’

Live at the Met, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live, high definition (HD) opera transmissions to theaters around the world, returns for the 2026-27 season at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center on Saturday at 1 p.m., with a new production of Wolfgang Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte."

For Mozart's satirical comedy of fickle young love, one of the composer's most sublime creations, Phelim McDermott has created a "colorful, inventive" (The New York Times) staging, inspired by Coney Island in the 1950s. Set at a boardwalk amusement park, the two pairs of lovers at the heart of the tale find themselves on one emotional - and literal - thrill ride after another.

Soprano Federica Lombardi and mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey sing Fiordiligi and Dorabella, opposite tenor Duke Kim and baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky as Ferrando and Guglielmo. Bass-baritone Gerald Finley reprises his portrayal of the cynical Don Alfonso, with soprano Ana María Martínez as the witty maid Despina.

Live at the Met is the Metropolitan Opera's series of opera performances transmitted live from the stage of the Met in New York into theaters and event spaces worldwide. When the series launched in 2006, the Met was the first arts company to experiment with alternative cinema content.

Individual tickets to each of the operas in the Live at the Met season are 20,(18 Opera House members, $10 students). Tickets may be purchased in person at the Opera House Box Office or by phone at 716-679-1891, Tuesday-Friday, 12-4:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online anytime at www.fredopera.org.

Part of Arts in the Afternoon, which is sponsored by Dr. James M. & Marcia Merrins, Live at the Met is underwritten with support from Daniel S. Kaufman and Timothy W. Beaver.

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 Performing Arts Center is a member-supported not-for-profit performing arts center with a mission to "present the performing arts for the benefit of our community and region ... providing access to artistic diversity ... and high quality programming at an affordable price." It is located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.