HD Live in Schools

The Met’s HD Live in Schools program brings opera to students across the nation and around the world. Through opera performances, interdisciplinary classroom resources, and virtual interactions with Met stars, the HD Live in Schools program is dedicated to making opera both accessible and thrilling to young audiences.

The Met’s HD Live in Schools program was established in 2007, building on the company’s Emmy and Peabody Award–winning Live in HD transmissions, which use the latest in satellite and high-definition technology to transmit opera in real time to movie theaters across the globe.

For the first time during the 2007–08 season, the Met utilized new media technology to transmit live, high-definition opera performances into five New York City public high schools at no charge to the students. The program’s aim was to make opera more accessible to students, particularly in underserved populations, and to encourage teachers, parents, and younger audiences to experience opera as a form of both entertainment and education.

Building on the success of its first season, HD Live in Schools began expanding into school districts across the country in the fall of 2008, with students attending performances at their own local movie theaters. HD Live in Schools is now an active part of students’ education in 66 districts in all 50 states across the country, bringing together an ever-expanding network of young opera lovers with over 175,000 students participating to date.

Participating school districts receive tickets to HD Live in Schools broadcasts at local movie theaters, access to Met Opera on Demand, educator guides with curricular resources and interdisciplinary classroom activities, access to virtual professional development workshops, opportunities to meet Met artists in video chats, and media and publicity opportunities. Supported through a partnership with the New York City Department of Education, the HD Live in Schools program is free for participating schools and districts.