The season begins with a new production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle in his first Live in HD performance. Nina Stemme stars as Isolde—a touchstone role she has sung with major opera companies around the world. Her Tristan is Australian heldentenor Stuart Skelton, who sang Siegmund in the Met’s Ring cycle in 2013. The cast also includes Ekaterina Gubanova as Brangäne and Evgeny Nikitin as Kurwenal (both in Met role debuts), with René Pape reprising King Marke, a role he has sung to acclaim in three previous Met seasons. The staging, by Mariusz Treliński (who directed the 2015 Met double bill of Iolanta and Bluebeard’s Castle), is a co-production with the Festival Hall Baden-Baden, Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera, and China National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) Beijing.