The Metropolitan Opera will be coming to Monmouth University's Pollak Theatre in HD video via satellite. These broadcasts--shown at over 850 theaters in 36 countries around the world, and seen by over one million people this year--are live performances right from the stage of the Met. The excellent camera work brings you closer to the stage than most of us are ever likely to get, and the first-rate acting and imaginative staging means that these are not only beautiful musical events but total theatrical experiences as well. Their purpose is to demystify this art form, too often seen as stuffy and remote. With the brilliant color from a new HD projector, Pollak's superb sound system, plus subtitles, the operas are accessible and contemporary as never before.
The first, open-to-the-public broadcast is this Saturday, March 21 at 1:00 p.m. with Bellini's La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker). The music is beautiful, and the production innovative. It's about suspicion and love, set as a play within a play, starring young, attractive, world famous singers. Recession-proof pricing ($5 special for MU students) means that it is great entertainment value.
Full Schedule follows:
La Cenerentola – Rossini
Saturday, May 9, 2009 (12:30 p.m.)
Running time 3 hours / one intermission
Hot on the heels of her triumphant Met debut as Rosina in last season’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Elīna Garanča portrays another Rossini charmer in this bel canto Cinderella story. Lawrence Brownlee is her Prince Charming. Veteran baritone Alessandro Corbelli demonstrates his impeccable comic timing to match the gravitas of Met favorite John Relyea.
Conductor: Maurizio Benini; Production: Cesare Lievi; Elīna Garanča, Lawrence Brownlee, Simone Alberghini, Alessandro Corbelli, John Relyea
The Met: Live in HD ENCORE DATES:
Friday, March 27 at 7:00 p.m. for Madama Butterfly
Sunday, April 19 at 1:00 p.m. for La Sonnambula
Wednesday, May 27 at 7:00 p.m. for La Cenerentola