From my Inbox to you. Below you can find the cost of tickets and the schedule. For lots more information visit the “Met Opera Series” page at VWCC’s web site. If you have a particular favorite on the list you want to talk about, feel free to do so in the comments. —MikeA

2012-13 Live in HD Schedule

Tickets for general admission seating for the 2012-2013 season will be available as follows: August 24 to Qualified Met members, Friday, August 31 to Opera Roanoke subscribers and Tuesday, September 4 to the General Public.

• $18      Met Members, Opera Roanoke Subscribers and Senior Citizens
• $20      Adult
• $10      Students (with current valid school ID)
• $10      Children

Tickets may be purchased individually online or at the door one hour prior to performance. Contact Opera Roanoke for season subscriptions.

Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore - New Production

October 13, 2012; 12:55 PM (Approx. run time 3:02)

Anna Netrebko and Matthew Polenzani star in Bartlett Sher’s new production of one of the greatest comic gems in opera, as the fickle Adina and her besotted Nemorino. Mariusz Kwiecien is the blustery sergeant Belcore and Ambrogio Maestri is Dulcamara, the loveable quack and dispenser of the elixir. Maurizio Benini conducts.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on September 4th.

Verdi’s Otello

October 27, 2012; 12:55 PM (Approx. run time 3:27)

Verdi’s Shakespearean masterpiece returns to the Met with Johan Botha in the title role opposite the acclaimed Desdemona of star soprano Renée Fleming. Semyon Bychkov conducts.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on September 4th.

Adès’s The Tempest – Met Premiere

November 10, 2012; 12:55 PM (Approx. run time 3:30)

Composer Thomas Adès conducts the Metropolitan Opera premiere of his own work, with baritone Simon Keenlyside starring as Prospero. Director Robert Lepage recreates the interior of 18th-century La Scala in this inventive staging.

Tickets go on sale October 29th.

Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito

December 1, 2012; 12:55 PM (Approx. run time 3:13)

The virtuosic Elīna Garanča sings Sesto in Mozart’s drama set in ancient Rome. Giuseppe Filianoti is the noble Tito and Barbara Frittoli is Vitellia, in this handsome revival of one of the composer’s final masterpieces. Harry Bicket conducts.

Tickets go on sale November 12th.

Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera – New Production

December 8, 2012; 12:55 PM (Approx. run time 3:54)

Director David Alden’s dreamlike setting provides a compelling backdrop for this dramatic story of jealousy and vengeance. Marcelo Álvarez stars as the conflicted king; Sondra Radvanovsky is Amelia, the object of his secret passion; and Dmitri Hvorostovsky is her suspicious husband. Kathleen Kim is the page Oscar, and Stephanie Blythe sings the role of the fortune-teller Ulrica. Fabio Luisi conducts.

Verdi’s Aida

December 15, 2012; 12:55 PM (Approx. run time 3:54)

The Met’s unforgettable production of Verdi’s ancient Egyptian drama stars Liudmyla Monastyrska as the enslaved Ethiopian princess caught in a love triangle with the heroic Radamès, played by Roberto Alagna, and the proud Egyptian princess Amneris, sung by Olga Borodina. Fabio Luisi conducts.

Tickets go on sale November 12th.

Berlioz’s Les Troyens

January 5, 2013; 12:00 PM (Approx. run time 5:41)

The Met offers a rare opportunity to witness Berlioz’s vast epic, last performed at the Met in 2003. Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, and Dwayne Croft lead the starry cast, portraying characters from the Trojan War. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi marshals the large-scale musical forces.

Tickets go on sale December 17th.

Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda – Met Premiere

January 19, 2013; 12:55 PM (Approx. run time 3:15)

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, one of the world’s most exciting singers, takes on the virtuosic bel canto role of the doomed Mary, Queen of Scots. Director David McVicar turns to the second opera of Donizetti’s Tudor trilogy, which explores regal characters at fateful moments of their lives. Elza van den Heever sings Elizabeth I, and Maurizio Benini conducts.

Tickets go on sale December 17th.

Verdi’s Rigoletto – New Production

February 16, 2013; 12:55 PM (Approx. run time 3:31)

Director Michael Mayer has placed his new production of Verdi’s towering tragedy in Las Vegas in 1960. In this production, inspired by the antics of the Rat Pack, Piotr Beczala is the womanizing Duke of Mantua, Željko Lucic is his tragic sidekick, Rigoletto, and Diana Damrau is Rigoletto’s daughter, Gilda.

Tickets go on sale January 21st.

Wagner’s Parsifal – New Production

March 2, 2013; 12:00 PM (Approx. run time 5:40)

Jonas Kaufmann stars in the title role of the innocent who finds wisdom in François Girard’s new vision for Wagner’s final masterpiece. His fellow Wagnerian luminaries include Katarina Dalayman as the mysterious Kundry, Peter Mattei as the ailing Amfortas, Evgeny Nikitin as the wicked Klingsor, and René Pape as the noble knight Gurnemanz. Daniele Gatti conducts.

Tickets go on sale February 18th.

Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini

March 16, 2013; 12:00 PM (Approx. run time 3:57)

Zandonai’s compelling opera, inspired by an episode from Dante’s Inferno, returns in the Met’s ravishingly beautiful production, last seen in 1986. Dramatic soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek and tenor Marcello Giordani are the doomed lovers. Marco Armiliato conducts.

Tickets go on sale February 17th.

Handel’s Giulio Cesare – New Production

April 27, 2013; 12:00 PM (Approx. run time 4:31)

The opera that conquered London in Handel’s time comes to the Met in David McVicar’s lively production. The world’s leading countertenor, David Daniels, sings the title role opposite Natalie Dessay as an irresistibly exotic Cleopatra. Baroque specialist Harry Bicket conducts.

Tickets go on sale March 18th.