As animated on the big screen, the Live in HD simulcasts offer an up-close and personal look at the opera’s staging — beads of sweat-on-the-brow, and all — that is truly thrilling. Moreover, with the easy-to-read supertitles, it is simple to follow the story line, even if the libretto is one of opera’s more notoriously convoluted plots. Additionally, the Saturday afternoon simulcasts are often shown again on the following Wednesday evenings, with an encore screening. The transmissions are accompanied by engrossing intermission segments — behind the scenes, say, with the scenic or costume department, or an interview with a popular tenor or soprano, or an informative segment about a modern composer. It is always a rewarding afternoon, culturally, educationally, and visually.

Fathom Events is one of the largest overall distributors of content to movie theaters and is well-known for its domestic presentations of event-cinema, including high-definition performances of not only the Metropolitan Opera, but also dance and theater productions, such as performances of the Bolshoi Ballet and England’s National Theatre; additionally, Fathom presents screenings of classic films.

Tickets for The Met Live in HD 2018-19 season can be purchased online at Fathom Events or at participating theater box offices. For a complete list of theater locations, visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change). Details on ordering tickets for the 2018-19 broadcasts vary from country to country.

The Met Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor, the Neubauer Family Foundation. Global sponsorship is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Transmission in Canada is made possible through the generosity of Jacqueline Desmarais, in memory of Paul G. Desmarais, Sr.  Within months of their initial live transmissions, many of the operas from the Live in HD programs are shown on the Public Broadcasting System. The PBS series, Great Performances at the Met, is produced in association with PBS and WNET, with support from Toll Brothers, one of America’s luxury home builders. Additional funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The 2018-19 season began in early October with a broadcast of Aida, and continues with the following roster:

SAMSON ET DALILA (Camille Saint-Saëns) – New Production / First Time in HD

Saturday, October 20, 2018 – 12:55 p.m. ET/ 11:55 a.m. CT/ 10:55 a.m. MT/ 9:55 a.m. PT
Encores: Wednesday, October 24 – 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. local time

Saint-Saëns’s biblical epic Samson et Dalila stars Elīna Garanča and Roberto Alagna in the title roles; the pair was last seen together by HD audiences in the acclaimed 2010 transmission of Bizet’s Carmen. Laurent Naouri co-stars as the High Priest, with Elchin Azizov as the Philistine King Abimélech and Dmitry Belosselskiy as the Old Hebrew. Darko Tresnjak, the Tony Award–winning director of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, makes his Met debut directing the first new Met production of the opera in 20 years. Sir Mark Elder conducts.

LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST  (Giacomo Puccini) – Revival

Saturday, October 27, 2018 – 12:55 p.m. ET/ 11:55 a.m. CT/ 10:55 a.m. MT/ 9:55 a.m. PT
Encores: Wednesday, October 31 – 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. local time

Soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek sings Puccini’s gun-slinging heroine in this romantic epic of the Wild West, alongside star tenor Jonas Kaufmann in the role of the outlaw Dick Johnson. Baritone Željko Lučić is the vigilante sheriff Jack Rance, and Marco Armiliato conducts.

MARNIE  (Nico Muhly/Libretto Nicholas Wright) – Met Premiere / First Time in HD

Saturday, November 10, 2018 – 12:55 p.m. ET/ 11:55 a.m. CT/ 10:55 a.m. MT/ 9:55 a.m. PT
Encores: Wednesday, November 14 – 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. local time

Nico Muhly’s Marnie, based on Winston Graham’s novel, which in turn inspired Alfred Hitchock’s suspenseful thriller, has its U.S. premiere at the Met this season. Isabel Leonard stars in the title role opposite Christopher Maltman as her blackmailing husband Mark Rutland, Iestyn Davies as his brother Terry, Janis Kelly as Mrs. Rutland, and acclaimed mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves as Marnie’s mother. Robert Spano makes his company debut conducting.

THE MAGIC FLUTE  (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) – Revival; a special presentation of the festive opera for the holiday season, and not a simulcast of a live opera that afternoon.

Encore: Saturday, December 1, 2018 – 12:55 p.m. local time

Julie Taymor’s dazzling production returns to select cinemas this holiday season in an encore presentation of the company’s first-ever Live in HD transmission. James Levine conducts a winning ensemble including Matthew Polenzani, Nathan Gunn and René Pape in this abridged, English-language version of Mozart’s classic fable.

LA TRAVIATA (Giuseppe Verdi) – New Production

Saturday, December 15, 2018 – 12:55 p.m. ET/ 11:55 a.m. CT/ 10:55 a.m. MT/ 9:55 a.m. PT  
Encores: Wednesday, December 19 – 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. local time

Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Verdi’s timeless tragedy La Traviata. Directed by Michael Mayer, this new production features a dazzling 18th-century setting that changes with the seasons. Diana Damrau is the doomed heroine Violetta, opposite Juan Diego Flórez as her lover, Alfredo, and Quinn Kelsey as Alfredo’s protective father, Giorgio Germont.

ADRIANA LECOUVREUR (Francesco Cilea) – New Production / First Time in HD

Saturday, January 12, 2019 – 12:55 p.m. ET/ 11:55 a.m. CT/ 10:55 a.m. MT/ 9:55 a.m. PT
Encores: Wednesday, January 16 – 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. local time

For the first time at the Met, Anna Netrebko sings the title role of Adriana Lecouvreur, the great 18th-century actress in love with the military hero Maurizio, sung by Piotr Beczała. Gianandrea Noseda conducts Cilea’s tragedy, directed by Sir David McVicar, with the action partially set in a working replica of a Baroque theater. The cast also features Anita Rachvelishvili as the Princess of Bouillon, Adriana’s rival for Maurizio’s affections; Ambrogio Maestri as Michonnet, Adriana’s faithful friend; and Carlo Bosi as the duplicitous Abbé.

CARMEN (Georges Bizet) – Revival

Saturday, February 2, 2019 – 12:55 p.m. ET/ 11:55 a.m. CT/ 10:55 a.m. MT/ 9:55 a.m. PT
Encores: Wednesday, February 6 – 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. local time
Saturday, February 9 – 12:55 p.m. local time

Clémentine Margaine is opera’s ultimate seductress, opposite Roberto Alagna, who captivated Live in HD audiences as Don José in 2010. Louis Langrée conducts Sir Richard Eyre’s lively production, a favorite in the Met’s repertoire.

LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT (Gaetano Donizetti) – Revival

Saturday, March 2, 2019 – 12:55 p.m. ET/ 11:55 a.m. CT/ 10:55 a.m. MT/ 9:55 a.m. PT
Encores: Wednesday, March 6 – 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. local time

Bel canto stars Pretty Yende and Javier Camarena team up for a feast of vocal fireworks on the Met stage. Maurizio Muraro is Sergeant Sulplice, with Stephanie Blythe as the outlandish Marquise of Berkenfield. Enrique Mazzola conducts.

DIE WALKÜRE (Richard Wagner) – Revival

Saturday, March 30, 2019 – 12:00 p.m. ET/ 11:00 a.m. CT/ 10:00 a.m. MT/ 9:00 a.m. PT
Encores: Wednesday, April 3 – 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. local time

The second installment of Wagner’s Ring cycle, Die Walküre, stars heroic soprano Christine Goerke as the warrior goddess Brünnhilde, whose encounter with the mortal twins Siegmund and Sieglinde, sung by Stuart Skelton and Eva-Maria Westbroek, leads her on a journey from Valhalla to earthbound humanity. Philippe Jordan conducts.

DIALOGUES DES CARMÉLITES (Francis Poulenc) – Revival / First Time in HD

Saturday, May 11, 2019 – 12:00 p.m. ET/ 11:00 a.m. CT/ 10:00 a.m. MT/ 9:00 a.m. PT
Encores: Wednesday, May 15 – 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. local time

Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads an accomplished ensemble in Poulenc’s devastating modern masterpiece of faith and martyrdom. Isabel Leonard is the young Blanche de La Force, opposite Met legend Karita Mattila as the First Prioress.

© 2018  Ruth J. Katz  All Rights Reserved

The post The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD Returns for the 2018-19 Season appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Once thought of as the domain of cultural elitists, opera has garnered a wider audience because of these accessible broadcasts, available in nearly 2,000 select US and international movie theaters; domestically, the series is presented through Fathom Events and its Digital Broadcast Network. To date, over 22 million tickets have been sold in 73 countries, with the average ticket price hovering at about $23. Not bad, for a full-scale, lavish, stunningly staged production.

As animated on the big screen, the Live in HD simulcasts offer an up-close and personal look at the opera’s staging – beads of sweat-on-the-brow, and all – that is truly thrilling. Moreover, with the easy-to-read supertitles, it is simple to follow the story line, even if the libretto is one of opera’s more notoriously convoluted plots. Additionally, the Saturday afternoon simulcasts are often shown again on the following Wednesday evenings, with an encore screening. The transmissions are accompanied by engrossing intermission segments–behind the scenes, say, with the prop or costume department, or an interview with a popular tenor or soprano, or an informative segment about a modern composer. It is always a rewarding afternoon, culturally, educationally, and visually.

Fathom Events is one of the largest overall distributors of content to movie theaters and is well-known for its domestic presentations of event-cinema, including high-definition performances of not only the Metropolitan Opera, but also dance and theater productions, such as the Bolshoi Ballet and England’s National Theatre, as well as classic film presentations.

Tickets for The Met: Live in HD 2017-18 season can be purchased online at FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. For a complete list of theater locations, visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change). Details on ordering tickets for the 2017-18 Live in HD series vary from country to country.

Still to come this season are: Tosca (January 27); L’Elisir d’Amore (February 10); La Bohème (February 24); Semiramide (March 10); Così Fan Tutte (March 31); Luisa Miller (April 14); Cendrillon (April 28).

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor, The Neubauer Family Foundation. Global sponsorship of The Met: Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline Desmarais, in memory of Paul G. Desmarais Sr.  Within months of their initial live transmissions, the Live in HD programs are shown on the Public Broadcasting System. The PBS series, Great Performances at the Met, is produced in association with PBS and WNET, with support from Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builder. Additional funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Also on screen January 13th and 17th (check local listings for times), courtesy of Fathom Events, is the film, The Opera House, by award-winning documentary filmmaker Susan Froemke.  It chronicles a significant period of the Metropolitan Opera’s rich history and a time of noteworthy change for New York. Featuring rarely seen archival footage, stills, recent interviews, and a soundtrack of extraordinary Met performances, the film chronicles the creation of the Met’s storied home of the last 50 years, against the backdrop of the artists, architects, and politicians who shaped the cultural life of New York City in the ’50s and ’60s. Among the notable figures in the film are famed soprano Leontyne Price, who opened the new Met in 1966 in Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra; Rudolf Bing, the Met’s imperious General Manager, who engineered the move from the old house to the new one; Robert Moses, the unstoppable city planner who bulldozed an entire neighborhood to make room for Lincoln Center; and Wallace Harrison, whose quest for architectural glory was never fully realized.

TOSCA (Giacomo Puccini) NEW PRODUCTION

January 27, 2018 at 12:55 p.m. ET

Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume; Production: Sir David McVicar; Set and Costume Designer: John Macfarlane; Lighting Designer: David Finn; Choreographer: Leah Hausman; Cast: Sonya Yoncheva (Tosca), Vittorio Grigolo (Cavaradossi), Sir Bryn Terfel (Scarpia), Patrick Carfizzi (Sacristan)

L’ELISIR d’AMORE (Donizetti)

February 10, 2018 at 12:00 p.m. ET

Conductor: Domingo Hindoyan; Production: Bartlett Sher; Set Designer: Michael Yeargan; Costume Designer: Catherine Zuber; Lighting Designer: Jennifer Tipton; Cast: Pretty Yende (Adina), Matthew Polenzani (Nemorino), Davide Luciano (Belcore), Ildebrando D’Arcangelo (Dulcamara)

LA BOHÈME (Puccini)

February 24, 2018 at 12:30 p.m. ET

Conductor: Marco Armiliato; Production: Franco Zeffirelli; Set Designer: Franco Zeffirelli; Costume Designer: Peter J. Hall; Lighting Designer: Gil Wechsler; Cast: Sonya Yoncheva (Mimì), Susanna Phillips (Musetta), Michael Fabiano (Rodolfo), Lucas Meachem (Marcello), Alexey Lavrov (Schaunard), Matthew Rose (Colline), Paul Plishka (Benoit/Alcindoro)

SEMIRAMIDE (Rossini) FIRST TIME IN HD

March 10, 2018 at 12:55 p.m. ET

Conductor: Maurizio Benini; Production: John Copley; Set Designer: John Conklin; Costume Designer: Michael Stennett; Lighting Designer: Gil Wechsler; Cast: Angela Meade (Semiramide), Elizabeth DeShong (Arsace), Javier Camarena (Idreno), Ildar Abdrazakov (Assur), Ryan Speedo Green (Oroe)

COSÌ FAN TUTTE (Mozart) NEW PRODUCTION

March 31, 2018 at 12:55 p.m. ET

Conductor: David Robertson; Production: Phelim McDermott; Set Designer: Tom Pye; Costume Designer: Laura Hopkins; Lighting Designer: Paule Constable; Cast: Amanda Majeski (Fiordiligi), Serena Malfi (Dorabella), Kelli O’Hara (Despina), Ben Bliss (Ferrando), Adam Plachetka (Guglielmo), Christopher Maltman (Don Alfonso)

LUISA MILLER (Verdi) FIRST TIME IN HD

April 14, 2018 at 12:30 p.m. ET

Conductor: Bertrand de Billy; Production: Elijah Moshinsky; Set and Costume Designer: Santo Loquasto; Lighting Designer: Duane Schuler; Cast: Sonya Yoncheva (Luisa), Olesya Petrova (Federica), Piotr Beczala (Rodolfo), Plácido Domingo (Miller), Alexander Vinogradov (Walter), Dmitry Belosselskiy (Wurm)

CENDRILLON (Massenet) MET PREMIERE

April 28, 2018 at 12:55 p.m. ET

Conductor: Bertrand de Billy; Production: Laurent Pelly; Set Designer: Barbara de Limburg; Costume Designer: Laurent Pelly; Lighting Designer: Duane Schuler; Cast: Joyce DiDonato (Cendrillon), Alice Coote (Le Prince Charmant), Stephanie Blythe (Madame de la Haltière), Kathleen Kim (La Fée), Laurent Naouri (Pandolfe)

© Ruth J. Katz 2017 All Rights Reserved

The post The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD Returns to Cinemas appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The Live in HD performances are affecting, intimate, and imminently accessible.  Presented in a larger-than-life fashion on the massive screen against the opera house’s facade, each opera is fully translated with subtitles, so no need to try to divine what is happening, which can be particularly vexing in some of opera’s more complicated, convoluted, logic-defying, plot-twisting libretti. The first evening is the 1975 film of “The Magic Flute” (“Die Zauberflöte”), as conceived by Ingmar Bergman, and it is presented as a joint venture of the Met and the Film Society of Lincoln Center.  The Met has added a film for the first evening’s viewing each season for the past several years—last year, it was “West Side Story.”

Operatic superstars abound in these Live in HD productions—Diana Damrau, Peter Mattei, Piotr Beczała, Susanna Phillips, Eric Owens, Kristine Opolais, Juan Diego Flórez, Nına Stemme, Roberto Alagna, Anna Netrebko, Plácido Domingo, and Thomas Hampson, to name but a baker’s dozen of the many who comprise the star-studded roster.  So, come early, bring your dinner (and a cushion to put on the hard plastic chair seat), make new friends with those around you, and enjoy the fabuloso gift of The Met: Live in HD that is bestowed upon us. It is made possible by generous support from the Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust, with additional funding provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation; the original transmissions of The Met: Live in HD are supported by a grant from its founding sponsor, The Neubauer Family Foundation, with global corporate sponsorship provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Curtain times vary, see the schedule below:

The Magic Flute

Friday, August 25, 8 pm
Director Ingmar Bergman was a lifelong fan of Mozart’s late operatic masterpiece “Die Zauberflöte” (“The Magic Flute”), having seen the work as a young boy. He went on to create a cinematic version of the opera, sung in his native Swedish, that blends 18th-century stagecraft with fairy-tale adventure. For the film, maestro Eric Ericson conducted the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and a cast that included a number of young Scandinavian artists, most notably baritone Håkan Hagegård—who sang nearly 90 performances for Met audiences—as the charming bird catcher Papageno.
Approximate running time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Rigoletto

Saturday, August 26, 8 pm
Željko Lučić stars as the brooding title character in Michael Mayer’s neon-bedecked production, which updates the action to Las Vegas in 1960. (The Duke’s henchman are appropriately decked out in brocade tuxedos that speak to the era perfectly!) Diana Damrau is his impetuous daughter, Gilda, alongside Piotr Beczała as the licentious Duke. Original transmission: February 16, 2013
Approximate running time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Il Barbiere di Siviglia

Sunday, August 27, 7:45 pm
Baritone Peter Mattei stars as Figaro (and for my money, he’s the best Figaro I have ever seen!), the title barber of Seville, in Bartlett Sher’s uproarious, joyous production. Joyce DiDonato and Juan Diego Flórez complete the star-studded bel canto cast. Original transmission: March 24, 2007
Approximate running time: 2 hours 45 minutes

L’Amour de Loin

Monday, August 28, 8 pm
Susanna Phillips, Tamara Mumford, and Eric Owens star in the Met premiere production of Kaija Saariaho’s 21st-century masterpiece, brought to life in a spellbinding staging by Robert Lepage, who uses extraordinary LED lighting on the set. Susanna Mälkki conducts this mesmerizing score. Original transmission: December 10, 2016
Approximate running time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Manon Lescaut

Tuesday, August 29, 8 pm
Soprano Kristine Opolais gives an enthralling performance as the mercurial title character opposite tenor Roberto Alagna as her passionate young lover, the Chevalier des Grieux. Fabio Luisi (another one of my favorites) leads Puccini’s heartbreaking early masterpiece, updated to a more contemporary time. Original transmission: March 5, 2016
Approximate running time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Roberto Devereux

Wednesday, August 30, 8 pm
Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky delivers a tour-de-force performance as Queen Elizabeth, the third queen of Donizetti’s perilous triplet-queen operas; “Maria Stuarda” and “Anna Bolena” are the other two operas. She performs alongside superstars Elīna Garanča, Matthew Polenzani, and Mariusz Kwiecien. The production’s black and gold sets are breathtaking.  Original transmission: April 16, 2016
Approximate running time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Tristan und Isolde

Thursday, August 31, 8 pm (Act I) and
Friday, September 1, 8 pm (Acts II and III)
Sir Simon Rattle conducts Wagner’s meditation on transcendent love, with an acclaimed cast led by Nına Stemme and Stuart Skelton. Mariusz Treliński’s insightful production sets the timeless tale against a backdrop of modern-day warfare; the near-chiaroscuro set and costumes are elegant. Original transmission: October 8, 2016
Approximate running time for Act I: 1 hour 45 minutes
Approximate running time for Acts II–III: 2 hours 35 minutes

Eugene Onegin

Saturday, September 2, 8 pm
Anna Netrebko and Peter Mattei deliver gripping performances in Tchaikovsky’s moving opera about unrequited love. Robin Ticciati conducts one of the composer’s most popular scores. Original transmission: April 22, 2017
Approximate running time: 2 hours 40 minutes

Nabucco

Sunday, September 3, 8 pm
As the title king of Babylon, Plácido Domingo adds another role to his historic Met career, joining forces once again with Music Director Emeritus James Levine. The Metropolitan Opera Chorus delivers a poignant performance of Verdi’s famous “Va, pensiero,” just about the only chorus (or aria, duet, trio, quartet, for that matter) that is encored at the Met, giving the sensational chorus its due. Original transmission: January 7, 2017
Approximate running time: 2 hours 25 minutes

La Traviata

Monday, September 4, 8 pm
Verdi’s timeless tragedy stars Sonya Yoncheva as the conflicted courtesan who hopes that pure love can save her from self-destruction. Michael Fabiano is her beloved Alfredo and Thomas Hampson is the imperious father standing in the way of their happiness. This is a modern-day update and another one that is stark in its use of chiaroscuro, but brightened by the occasional bolt of vermillion and by a pair of bathrobes stitched from a veritable flower-bed of fabric); however, despite its interest, it has me hankering for the two older Zeffirelli, lush, traditional productions. Original transmission: March 11, 2017
Approximate running time: 2 hours 20 minutes

© Ruth J. Katz  2017 All rights reserved

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