The first full week of December is mostly, but not completely, about the Met.  

Saturday 12/3, obviously you’re going to gather around the radio for the opening of the Saturday broadcast season, which is Rodelinda and you know the chat will be lively. On the 4th, Walton’s The Bear looks interesting at Zankel Hall. The Met’s season premiere of Madama Butterfly is on the 5th, followed by a repeat of Faust on the 6th: it might be interesting to see how much of the staging is going away now that Des McAnuff is permanently out of town. Set your alarm clock on the 7th and get down to Big Cinemas Manhattan for La Scala’s opening night Don Giovanni with the dream team cast and an intriguing Robert Carsen production. (Remember intriguing productions?) Change things up at the end of the week with Iolanta (Dicapo) on the 8th and Barber of Seville (Amore Opera) on the 9th.