The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Massenet: Thaïs (2006– ) watch online HD

To me, Massenet's masterpiece will always be Manon. However, Thais is memorable for its beautiful Meditation, and one of the most affecting final scenes of any opera. The story this said is engaging if not quite as plausible as Manon or Werther, and Massenet's music is always beautiful. I have always liked the Met productions, even with some not so good ones like their Tosca and Hansel and Gretel, and having always liked Renee Fleming I was all for seeing this production.

And it was wonderful, one of my personal favourites of the Metropolitan Opera:Live in HD broadcasts. The costumes look absolutely lovely, especially Fleming's dresses and she looks amazing in them and the sets are striking and effective in their simplicity. There is a lot in common with the Met broadcasts and it is that generally the High definition looks fantastic. It is no exception here. I had seen this production a little under a year ago, and loved it then. Then like Met's La Rondine I thought I would watch it again, and I loved it just as much and found even more impressive things about it.

Musically this Thais is superb. The orchestra are nearly always reliable, and they perform with real sensitivity and beauty here, David Chan in particular deserves credit for his truly gorgeous rendition of the famous Meditation. Jesus Lopez-Cobos really astounded me with how musical and nuanced his conducting was.The staging is mostly very good. For anyone not familiar with the final scene or not knowing what to expect, I advise you to bring a packet of tissues with them. This scene never fails to affect me on an emotional level, and boy does this production not disappoint. The Mirror scene is also interestingly staged and I liked how erotic the ballet sequences are.

The performances are of really high quality. Of the principals it is Renee Fleming who dominates. She is stunning in every sense of the word, sensual in look, creamy in vocal tone and colour and arresting in acting. She also manages the high Ds in the final scene with ease, they didn't sound shrill to me, like some sopranos can be above the stave, which was a good thing. Athanael may be a role too heavy for him, however Thomas Hampson(in dread-locks) does sing and act the part in a conscientious way, acting with intelligence and singing with great musicianship and a pleasing sound and exudes a great chemistry with Fleming.

Nicias is somewhat thankless as a role, however Michael Schade performs it very well, even if he is slightly stiff. Overall, a wonderful production. And for those wanting to hear more of Thais, I recommend the Beverly Sills-Sherrill Milnes recording, Sills is past prime but sings beautifully despite the role being perhaps too heavy for her lyric instrument, but Milnes is outstanding; I also heard a rare clip of them doing the final scene live and it is one of those occasions where that particular scene gets to me every time. 10/10 Bethany Cox

These days, I rarely get to see an opera that I have never seen before: one where I do not even know the story and the ending. It was a great treat to see this sumptuous version of Thaïs from the Met. Massenet's opera is rarely performed and is best known for the Méditation violin solo during the Act II entr'acte. Plácido Domingo explains during his introduction that the opera is not often heard because few sopranos can manage it. Cue Renée Fleming.

The libretto is apparently based on a novel by Anatole France and is set in 4th century Alexandria. The monk Athanaël dreams of the beautiful courtesan Thaïs, played by Renée Fleming. I have that dream too. Athanaël, sung by baritone Thomas Hampson, resolves to save Thaïs's soul. He comes to her at a vulnerable time when she is wondering when her beauty will fade. He offers her eternal life, which seems a good deal at the time. I suppose, in the context of the Christian belief in the resurrection of the body, this makes some sort of sense. Athanaël escorts Thaïs to a nunnery, where her soul is saved. Too late, Athanaël realises that it was her body that interested him, not her soul: "Nothing is real but earthly love".

Renée Fleming's singing of Massenet's sumptuous and erotic music is, well, sumptuous and erotic. She wears a succession of designer dresses including a sensational figure-hugging number with diaphanous cut-outs. The scene in which she stands in front of the mirror and contemplates her mortality is the outstanding one for me. The dreadlocked Thomas Hampson does his best with the sanctimonious Athanaël: "I will wear the trappings of hell to defeat the devil". Maybe that is why this role is for a baritone rather than a tenor.

When Athanaël persuades Thaïs to accompany him to the nunnery she insists on taking one little luxury with her. We appear to be straying into Desert Island Discs territory here. The luxury item turns out be be a statuette of Eros shaped suspiciously like a dildo. Maybe she has her fingers crossed when she promises to be virtuous.