The first telecast, Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème, featured Luciano Pavarotti as Rodolfo and Renata Scotto as Mimì, with James Levine conducting (all three were interviewed during intermission), and Tony Randall as the host.

Celebrated singers featured on Live from the Met included Plácido Domingo (who performed in Manon Lescaut, Turandot, Tosca, Francesca da Rimini, and others), Luciano Pavarotti (in La Boheme, L'Elisir d'Amore, Ernani, Idomeneo, and others), Renata Scotto (in Manon Lescaut, Francesca da Rimini, and Il Trittico), Leontyne Price (in Aida, La Forza del Destino), Jose Carreras (in La Boheme and Bizet's Carmen), Samuel Ramey (in Carmen and others), Eva Marton (in Turandot and others), Leona Mitchell (in Ernani, Carmen, Turandot), Kathleen Battle (in Le Nozze di Figaro, L'Elisir d'Amore and others), Beverly Sills, Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Sherrill Milnes, and Renee Fleming.

In contrast, Georges Bizet's Carmen, Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme, Il Tabbaro, and Tosca, Richard Strauss' Elektra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro, and Gaetano Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore were performed seasons apart on two separate occasions a piece.

Hosts included Tony Randall, Speight Jenkins,[2] Alexander Scourby,[3] Joanne Woodward, F. Murray Abraham, and Garrick Utley.

In 1988 the program title was changed to The Metropolitan Opera Presents to reflect the fact that the performances were now taped prior to broadcast.