Film
Ernani
Verdi's fiery early masterpiece, filmed at the Met with Pavarotti in glorious form. A love triangle (make that a love quadrangle) set against plots, duels, and dynastic scheming, but what matters is the singing—raw, urgent, technicolor arias that remind you why people fall in love with opera. Pure vocal spectacle, beautifully conducted.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you hear a big voice as a pleasure in itself and will happily sit through long stretches of heroic singing for the thrill of tenor and baritone trading arias head to head.
Skip it if you need the plot to drive the evening, because its tangled grudges matter less here than the singing.
What it asks of you: Roughly two hours and twenty minutes of sitting still with the voices, where the music carries nearly everything and the pace stays deliberate.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
La traviata1982
Another Zeffirelli Met production with Pavarotti, but this one pivots on heartbreak rather than intrigue. The intimacy is devastating, and you'll hear why Pavarotti became a household name.
But Tragedy doesn't move everyone, and if you came for swashbuckling adventure, this trades swords for handkerchiefs.
Il Trovatore1988
Verdi at peak ferocity: feuding families, a gypsy curse, mistaken identity, and a soprano role that demands absolute fearlessness. The music crackles. Plácido Domingo leads a fearless cast.
But The plot is genuinely confusing and stays that way. If you need the story to track, you'll spend the whole second act frustrated.
Otello1986
Shakespeare filtered through Verdi's genius: raw passion, jealousy, and racial poison in a marriage. Plácido Domingo commands the stage utterly. This is opera at its most psychologically gripping.
But It's relentlessly dark and ends in devastation. There's no comic relief, no moment to catch your breath.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Ernani
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
A Dangerous Method2011
Both explore how passion—sexual, intellectual, artistic—overwhelms reason. Both are about men unable to resist a woman's pull. But one sings it, and the other sits in the dark and whispers it.
Not opera, not singing: a chamber drama about Freud, Jung, and a patient who becomes a lover. Raw, tense, beautifully acted. It captures the intellectual and erotic intensity that opera often tries to sing around.
But It's dialogue-heavy, deliberately austere, and slow. If you're coming from the Pavarotti glamour, this will feel like you've entered a locked room with three people arguing quietly.
More like this (3)
Don Carlo1985
A vast, sprawling opera about forbidden love and political intrigue across generations. The sheer ambition is thrilling, and the cast—including Luciano Pavarotti—is stacked with vocal giants.
But At over four hours, it demands serious commitment. Even opera-lovers sometimes find the middle act a slog.
Macbeth1987
Shakespeare plus Verdi equals gothic fury. A possessed performance from Sherrill Milnes, witches who actually terrify, and music that channels genuine evil. Visceral and strange.
But The production design is deliberately grotesque. If you need beauty, not horror, this will unsettle rather than delight you.
Aida1985
The most nakedly gorgeous opera ever written: spectacle, star-crossed lovers, war, and music that unfolds like a dream. Zubin Mehta conducts, and the production is sumptuous.
But It's all surface beauty sometimes. The plot is threadbare, and the colonial-era spectacle doesn't age well when you think about it.
People
Cast
Luciano PavarottiErnani
Leona MitchellDonna Elvira
Sherrill MilnesDon Carlos
Ruggero RaimondiDon Ruy Gómez de Silva- Charles AnthonyDon Riccardo
- Richard VernonJago
- Jean KraftGiovanna
MET OrchestraOrchestra
Directing
- Kirk BrowningDirector
- Pier Luigi SamaritaniDirector
Production
- Michael BronsonExecutive Producer
- Peter GelbGeneral Manager
- Clemente D'AlessioProducer