The Metropolitan Opera: Hamlet

After over a century out of the Met’s repertoire, audiences were thrilled to discover just what a sensational evening in the theater Thomas’s Hamlet can be. Simon Keenlyside’s riveting performance as the tortured Prince of Denmark in Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser’s starkly brooding production had critics raving that Keenlyside’s superb singing, coupled with his deftly delineated three-dimensional Hamlet, was one of the greatest examples of operatic drama of our time. The cast includes Marlis Petersen as the long suffering Ophélie, who brilliantly shows why her mad scene is so justly famous, along with Jennifer Larmore and James Morris as Gertrude and Claudius.

Directed by Brian Large, The Metropolitan Opera: Hamlet leans on a strong ensemble — Simon Keenlyside, Marlis Petersen, Jennifer Larmore — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about music titles of 2010.