Nobody less than Anna Netrebko takes on the role of the beautiful blind girl who experiences love for the first time in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, while Nadja Michael is the unwitting victim of the diabolical Bluebeard, played by Mikhail Petrenko. Both operas are directed by acclaimed Polish film director Mariusz Trelinski, who was inspired by classic noir films of the 1940s. Iolanta also stars Piotr Beczala. Valery Gergiev conducts this “successful, engrossingly moody pairing of operas” (Financial Times). The great Renée Fleming stars as the beguiling femme fatale who captivates all Paris in Lehár’s The Merry Widow, seen in a lavish new staging by Broadway virtuoso director and choreographer Susan Stroman. Stroman and her design team have created "a colorful production, enlivened by sprightly dancing" (NY Times) in an art-nouveau setting. Andrew Davis conducts a cast that also includes Nathan Gunn as Danilo and Kelli O’Hara as Valencienne. The delightful operetta is performed in English. All titles from the “Met live in HD” series are available for TV, distributed by Clasart Classic.