The Met Opera: Live in HD returns with Donzetti masterpiece Anna Bolena
Tuesday 25 October 2011, 5:31PM
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The Met Opera: Live in HD returns with Donzetti masterpiece Anna Bolena
“Anna Netrebko scores a huge success in her most challenging role yet…she can melt our hearts one moment…then pin us to the backs of our seats the next.” –Associated Press
“Ms. Netrebko dispatched Donizetti’s cabaletta, all brilliant coloratura runs and vehement phrases, with a defiance that brought down the house.”—The New York Times
The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD 2011-12 season will screen at 30 cinemas around New Zealand this November, returning with the Met’s premiere production of Donizetti’s masterpiece Anna Bolena.
One of opera’s greatest stars, acclaimed soprano Anna Netrebko takes on the title role, considered one of opera’s most demanding parts - both dramatically and vocally. She is joined by fellow Russians, power-house mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova as Bolena’s lady-in-waiting and romantic rival Giovanna (Jane Seymour) and bass Ildar Abdrazakov as the evil Enrico (Henry VIII).
Directed by David McVicar and conducted by Marco Armiliato, the production is based on the final, tragic days of Anne Boleyn and has been a dramatic and vocal showcase for some of the greatest sopranos in operatic history. McVicar, whose staging of Il Trovatore was a best-selling Live in HD presentation last season, has created a production that strives to evoke the world of the Tudors in historically accurate period detail, from costumes to sets. Anna Bolena screens in select New Zealand cinemas from Thursday 3 November.
The Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of transmissions to movie theatres around the world features some of opera’s greatest stars including Stephanie Blythe, David Daniels, Natalie Dessay, Joyce DiDonato, Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Jonas Kaufmann, Mariusz Kwiecien, René Pape, Marina Poplavskaya, Bryn Terfel and Deborah Voigt.
The 2011-12 season features 11 transmissions, including Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Wagner’s Siegfried and Gotterdammerung, Glass’s Satyagraha, Handel’s Rodelinda, Gounod’s Faust, The Enchanted Island, Verdi’s Ernani and La Traviata and Massenet’s Manon, screening from November 2011 through to May 2012.
This season, approximately 1,600 cinemas in 51 countries around the world will participate in The Met: Live in HD. New countries added this year will include China, Cyprus, the Dominican Republic, Israel, Morocco, and the territory of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Last year, a record number of more than 2.6 million Live in HD tickets were sold to opera lovers across the globe.
Joyce Di Donato, David Daniels, Plácido Domingo, Danielle de Niese, and Luca Pisaroni will star in The Enchanted Island, a world premiere work inspired by the musical pastiches and masques of the 18th century. Devised and written by Jeremy Sams with a story drawn from Shakespeare, The Enchanted Island showcases arias and ensembles by Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau, and others. William Christie conducts; the production is directed by Phelim McDermott.
Other highlights of the season include Netrebko singing her second title role this season in the new production of Massenet’s Manon (conducted by Principal Guest Conductor Fabio Luisi, directed by Laurent Pelly, and also starring Piotr Beczala and Paulo Szot); Tony Award-winning directors Michael Grandage and Des McAnuff make their respective Met debuts with new productions of Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Gounod’s Faust; Philip Glass’s opera based on the life of Gandhi, Satyagraha, in an inspiring production by McDermott that stars Richard Croft; Renée Fleming in one of her greatest portrayals, the title role in Handel’s virtuosic Rodelinda, also starring Stephanie Blythe and Andreas Scholl; Verdi’s Ernani, starring rising soprano Angela Meade opposite experienced Verdians Marcello Giordani, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and Ferruccio Furlanetto; and Natalie Dessay in her Met role debut as Violetta in Willy Decker’s theatrically compelling production of Verdi’s La Traviata, with Hvorostovsky and Matthew Polenzani.
The Met’s 2011-12 season will be launched with a premiere gala evening featuring an advanced screening of Anna Bolena on 2 November at The Bridgeway Cinema, 122 Queen Street, Northcote Point, Auckland at 7pm. A limited number of tickets are available from the box office (visit www.bridgeway.co.nz or phone (09) 481 0040. Tickets are $50.00 and include refreshments served prior to the screening from 630pm and during intermission.
For complete information on locations and tickets, visit www.nzmetopera.com, www.rialtodistribution.com or contact your local cinema. Tickets are $28 & $33 and are on sale in cinemas now. Cinemas participating are as follows:
Arthouse Cinema
New Plymouth
www.arthousecinema.co.nz
(06) 757 3650
Basement Cinema
Rotorua
www.basementcinema.co.nz
(06) 350 1400
Bridgeway Cinema
Auckland
www.bridgeway.co.nz
(09) 481 0040
Cathay Cinema
Keri Keri
www.cathaycinemas.co.nz
(09) 407 4428
Cinecafe
Akaroa
www.cinecafe.co.nz
(03) 304 7678
Cinema Gold
Havelock North
www.cinemagold.co.nz
(06) 877 5751
Cinema Gold
Palmerston North
www.cinemagold.co.nz
(06) 353 1902
Circus Cinemas
Martinborough
www.circus.net.nz
(06) 306 9442
Downtown Cinemas Coastlands
Paraparaumu
www.dtcoastlands.co.nz
Dorothy Browns
Arrowtown
www.dorothybrowns.com
(03) 442 1964
Focal Point
Levin
www.focalpointcinema.co.nz
(06) 366 0330
Geraldine Cinemas
Geraldine
(03) 693 8118
Hollywood Sumner
Christchurch
www.hollywoodcinema.co.nz
(03) 326 6102
Lido Cinemas Hamilton
www.lidocinema.co.nz
(07) 838 9010
Light House Cinema
Petone
www.lighthousepetone.co.nz
(04) 939 2061
Majestic Theatre
Taihape
(06) 388 0868
Matakana Cinema
www.matakanacinemas.co.nz
(09) 423 0218
Monterey Cinemas
Howick
www.montereycinemas.co.nz
NBS Theatre
Westport
www.nbstheatre.co.nz
(03) 789 4219
Movieworld 3
Oamaru
www.movieworld3.co.nz
(03) 434 1070
Odeon Multiplex
Gisborne
(06) 867 3339
Penthouse Cinemas
Wellington
www.penthousecinema.co.nz
(04) 384 3157
Regent Cinema
Greymouth
www.regentgreymouth.co.nz
(03) 768 0920
Rialto Cinemas
Dunedin
www.rialto.co.nz
(03) 474 2200
Rialto Cinemas
Newmarket
www.rialto.co.nz
(09) 369 2417
Rialto Cinemas
Tauranga
www.rialtotauranga.co.nz
(07) 577 0445
ShoreLine Cinemas
Waikanae
www.shorelinecinema.co.nz
(04) 902 8070
Starlight Cinemas
Taupo
www.starlightcinema.co.nz
(07) 377 1085
State Cinemas Nelson
www.starlightcinema.co.nz
(07) 377 1085
Toptown Cinemas
Blenheim
www.toptowncinemas.co.nz
(03) 577 8273
ENDS
For more information please contact Safia van der Zwan – 021 247 7839, safia@rialtodistribution.com