The Metropolitan
Opera:
A Rare Roberto Devereux
Fathom Events Live in HD Presentation
Ruth J. Katz
had
the good fortune this season to attend the opening gala (March 24) of
the Metropolitan Opera's production of Roberto Devereux, which
the august opera house had never staged before hard to believe.
The legendary Met, founded in 1880, has mounted La Bohème,
the most popular opera in its repertoire, nearly 1,300 times, and yet
poor Roberto Devereux has had nary an airing, at least up until
this 2015-2016 season. What a frisson of excitement it generated as
it swanned into the opera house's canon. (The
New York Times review will give you an inkling of the buzz this production has
generated and the endless curtain calls at the conclusion of
the production would attest to that exhilaration.)
![a scene from Donizetti's Roberto Devereux at the Metropolitan Opera](http://www.travelingboy.com/ruth/metropolitan_opera01.jpg)
A scene from Donizetti's Roberto Devereux. Photo
by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera.
Roberto Devereux is one of the three operas that
are regarded as the Tudor Queens trilogy, along with its cousins Maria
Stuarda and Anna Bolena, all from the cornucopic pen of Gaetano
Donizetti. Additionally, it was a momentous staging because it marked
another first: The Illinois-bred soprano Sondra Radvanovsky sang all
three queens in one season all to raves. It was a staggeringly
gorgeous production with a lush set by the Glaswegian director Sir David
McVicar and with costumes that will take your breath away.
![Sondra Radvanovsky and Matthew Polenzani in a scene from Roberto Devereux](http://www.travelingboy.com/ruth/metropolitan_opera02.jpg)
Sondra Radvanovsky as Elisabetta and Matthew Polenzani
in the title role of Donizetti's Roberto Devereux. Photo
by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera.
If you are feeling green with envy, do not fret: This
is a production that you can still see at the opera house (through mid-April)...but
even better news, for everyone outside the greater Metropolitan area
and virtually all around the world, you can experience it on April 16,
Live in HD, in more than 2,000 movie houses in some 70 countries. Additionally,
if you miss the April 16th performance, here in the States, you may
be fortunate enough to catch the encore the following week on Wednesday.
There is, also, a Live in HD Summer Encore program, soon to be announced.
![Elina Garanca as Sara in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux](http://www.travelingboy.com/ruth/metropolitan_opera03.jpg)
Elīna Garanča as Sara in Donizetti's Roberto
Devereux. Photo by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera.
Fathom
Events is the U.S. partner for the Metropolitan Opera series and
has been screening the Emmy- and Peabody-Award-winning series, The
Met Live in HD, on Saturday afternoons for ten years now. Experiencing
an opera on the big screen is a way to soak up the performance in a
close-up, personal way another dimension of an opera presentation
from what is arguably one of the greatest opera houses in the world.
Some may contend an HD performance is no substitute for being physically
in the opera house; true, but it is assuredly counterpoint to a live
viewing. And if you live in Timbuktu, or you are traveling, then this
is as good as it gets. And in many ways, the Live in HD performances
are more educational and thought-provoking. "The Metropolitan Opera
continues to astound and entertain audiences around the world thanks
to their Live in HD series," observed Kymberli Frueh, Fathom Events
vice president of programming. "This series continues to be a cornerstone
of Fathom's programming and we are thrilled to be celebrating ten years
with another fantastic season."
![Sondra Radvanovsky as Elisabetta and Mariusz Kwiecien as the Duke of Nottingham in Roberto Devereux](http://www.travelingboy.com/ruth/metropolitan_opera04.jpg)
Sondra Radvanovsky as Elisabetta and Mariusz Kwiecień
as the Duke of Nottingham in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux. Photo
by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera.
Fathom Events, a recognized leader in the alternative
entertainment industry, has been bringing one-of-a-kind cinematic experiences
to a wide audience for years and offers a diverse
group of presentations in addition to the opera. The screenings
are high-quality, affordable, and world-class: Sporting events, theatrical
presentations (Broadway and the West End, anybody?), socially relevant
documentaries, classic films, pre-recorded concerts, comedy acts, and
original programming featuring the biggest names in radio and television,
just to highlight the tip of the proverbial iceberg. (Some years ago,
I was traveling in Scotland, and by happenstance I managed to find a
movie theater to see a presentation of a Met opera, much to my delight!)
![Sondra Radvanovsky as Elisabetta and Matthew Polenzani in the title role of Roberto Devereux](http://www.travelingboy.com/ruth/metropolitan_opera05.jpg)
Sondra Radvanovsky as Elisabetta and Matthew Polenzani
in the title role of Donizetti's Roberto Devereux. Photo
by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera.
The Met's magical staging makes the productions highly
intimate, with skillful camera work (the Met uses something like eight
cameras strategically placed in the house), creating performances as
immediate as possible. Clearly, audiences all over the world must be
in agreement, as the Met has garnered $18 million in ticket sales in
the first nine years of the Live in HD program. "The HD transmissions
stimulate opera lovers, and they are a catalyst for the singers, too,"
noted Met general manager Peter Gelb. "Knowing that a global audience
is watching and listening, our opera stars are inspired to give their
greatest performances." Since Live in HD began, the Met through
Fathom Events has presented 89 live performances or operas, ranging
from classics by popular luminaries like Verdi and Puccini to less well-known
operas from Bellini and Berlioz to more modern-day operas from Thomas
Adès and Philip Glass.
![a scene from Donizetti's Roberto Devereux.](http://www.travelingboy.com/ruth/metropolitan_opera06.jpg)
A scene from Donizetti's Roberto Devereux. Photo
by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera.
So, if you are not in New York City between now and
the end of the Roberto Devereux run, you should make a date with
your local cinema whether in America or Australia, or anywhere
else on the globe to view the Live in HD performance. Or, listen
to the opera on April 11, when the performance will be broadcast live
on the Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 74; and the April
4th performances will also be streamed on the Met's web site, www.metopera.org.
![Elina Garanca as Sara in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux](http://www.travelingboy.com/ruth/metropolitan_opera07.jpg)
Elīna Garanča as Sara in Donizetti's Roberto
Devereux. Photo by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera.
However, the smart money is on Fathom's April 16th Live
in HD performance (and simultaneously, that broadcast is also available
on the radio, broadcast live on the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera
International Radio Network). The broadcast will be hosted by the beloved
soprano Deborah Voigt, who presides over the highly acclaimed intermission
features, as well. These entr'acte, behind-the-scenes segments are a
favorite of the Live in HD presentations. Viewers get treated via the
live cameras to the scene changes back stage, to informal interviews
with the some of the cast, and fascinating features, sometimes with
the conductor; or with Donald Palumbo, the director of the Met's outstanding
chorus; or perhaps with artists in the scenic department or costume
shop. It is a rare, sneak peek at the Behemoth machinery of the Met.
![Mariusz Kwiecien as the Duke of Nottingham and Matthew Polenzani as Roberto Devereux](http://www.travelingboy.com/ruth/metropolitan_opera08.jpg)
Mariusz Kwiecień as the Duke of Nottingham
and Matthew Polenzani in the title role in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux.
Photo by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera.
To locate a theater near you, and to purchase tickets,
use the Fathom
Web site, which can pinpoint a nearby location and allow you to
purchase tickets. As opera singers say to each other instead
of the good-luck "break a leg" that is proffered among actors
in theater "in bocca al lupo," meaning "in
the mouth of the wolf"... or good luck! And watch this space for
more info about the Live in HD performances for the Summer Encore series
or next year's international Live in HD roster.
(And just for the record, although I have rightfully
touted the brilliance of the Roberto Devereux production here,
it's worth pointing out that there are still a few other Live in HD
productions from the Met: On April 2nd, the highly praised Anthony Minghella
staging of Puccini's Madama Butterfly will be screened with soprano
Kristine Opolais in the title role and tenor Roberto Alagna as the unfaithful
Pinkerton. On April 30th, Strauss's Elektra is on the docket,
featuring the extraordinary Wagnerian soprano Nina Stemme in the title
role, the legendary Waltraud Meier as Elektra's fearsome mother, and
bass-baritone Eric Owens as Elektra's brother, Orest; the production
is conducted by the renowned Esa-Pekka Salonen. Performances of each
begin at 12:55 ET.)
©2016 Ruth J. Katz; All Rights Reserved
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