Puccini at the Movies
Posted by Matt Dobkin on 4/26/2007On Saturday opera lovers across the U.S. and Canada and as far away as Sweden and Japan will experience the Met on the big screen at our latest live movie theater performance transmission. They will be settling into their seats to watch the Met’s sixth and final HD transmission of the season: Puccini’s “Il Trittico” in a hit new production by Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien (who introduces the broadcast).This trio of one-acters is the largest production (with four stunning sets) in the Met’s repertory, elbowing out Zeffirelli’s staging of Puccini’s “Turandot.” Met Music Director James Levine conducts a stellar cast, including triple-threat Stephanie Blythe (appearing in all three operas), Alessandro Corbelli, Barbara Frittoli, Massimo Giordano, Maria Guleghina, Salvatore Licitra, Olga Mykytenko, and Juan Pons.Ever wonder what it takes to sing on the Met stage? Award winning filmmaker Susan Froemke followed a group of aspiring young singers as they competed in the early rounds of the Met’s National Council Auditions in San Antonio, Texas. This short behind-the-scenes documentary will be a special intermission feature of this exciting live transmission.Next season’s eight HD transmissions are bookended by Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón in Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” (December 15, 2007) and Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez in Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment” (April 26, 2008).