Maria Guleghina plays the ruthless Chinese princess of the title, whose hatred of men is so strong that she has all suitors who can’t solve her riddles beheaded.           

Marcello Giordani sings Calàf, the unknown prince who eventually wins her love and whose solos include the famous “Nessun dorma.”

The production is directed by Franco Zeffirelli and Andris Nelsons is the conductor.

As a pre-show treat, First Crush will offer a delicious opera lunch featuring a cup of soup, sandwich or wrap with half salad, dessert, tea or coffee and one glass of wine or unlimited other beverage. This $27 value is specially priced at $20 including tax and tip.

Seating is limited. Reservations can be made by calling 315-265-WINE and should be made at least two days in advance of the opera.  

The Met’s wildly popular series of live, high-definition performance transmissions to nearly 1,000 venues in dozens of countries around the world has won a Peabody and Emmy Award. It delivers the grandeur and excitement of world-class opera in startling high definition and digital surround sound with the benefit of English subtitles.

Employing several robotic cameras and state-of-the-art technology, “The Met: Live in HD” captures the onstage action from striking angles and heightens attention to the narrative elements of both performance and production. Behind-the-scenes features, live interviews with cast and crew, insightful short documentaries and bird’s-eye views of the productions offer an unprecedented look at what goes into the staging of an opera.

This is the second year a venue in northern New York will feature the performances thanks to a collaborative effort between SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music and The Roxy.

The 09-10 season also will feature “Les Contes d'Hoffmann” (December 19 and January 31), “Der Rosenkavalier” (January 9 and February 21), “Carmen” (January 16 and February 28), “Simon Boccanegra” (February 6 and March 21), “Hamlet” (March 27 and March 28) and “Armida” (May 1 and May 2).

Each live performance will take place on a Saturday, with an encore performance shown on a Sunday. Every performance begins at 1 p.m.

Ticket prices for live and encore performances are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and $12 for students.

Tickets are available at the CPS Box Office in person in the Sara M. Snell Music Theater Lobby, by phone at (315) 267-2277 or online at www.cpspotsdam.org; or in person at Northern Music & Video or The Roxy Theater, both located in downtown Potsdam.