The Met: Live in HD2010-2011 Season in Hong Kong
Dazzling High Definition Screenings of Grand Opera
at HKAPA Bethanie Campus
Begins on Nov 20 with New Production of Das Rheingolddirected by Robert Lepage
Hong Kong (Sept 13, 2010) –The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera’s Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series of live performance transmissions into movie theaters around the worldwill feature 11 productions, the most so far in a single season, beginning on November 20-21 with the Met’s new production of Das Rheingold, directed by Robert Lepage and conducted by James Levine.
“Our live transmissions have made grand opera more accessible and popular,” said Peter Gelb, the Met’s General Manager and the Executive Producer of the live transmissions. “They have helped to make it possible for opera to continue to flourish in a difficult economic time.”
Since its launch in the 2006-07 season, The Met: Live in HD has continually expanded, with dozens of countries and new venues joining the HD network each season. The remarkable expansion from 4 to 46 countries in only four years has been driven by public demand. And in Hong Kong, at the price of a cinema ticket, you can now experience the magic of the Metropolitan Opera!
Member of the Legislative Counciland retired television executive Mrs. Selina Chow said “I've spent my career in the entertainment business and this is truly great entertainment."
Mr. Andrew Simon, principal clarinet of Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra said “I think The Met: Live in HD is fantastic. I was a bit skeptical, but I have been turned into a believer…you will have more sense around acoustics, you will see things in high definition…and it’s a nice social gathering. I am running into a lot of music fans.’
The Met: Live in HDin Hong Kong brings you a great experience of sharing your love of classical singing with good friends at HKAPA Bethanie Landmark Heritage Campus, an unique and elegant venue which is perfect for opera;and catering service would be provided for productions which have a longer duration.
The season begins on November 20-21 with the new production of Das Rheingold, the first of the season’s two installments of Wagner’s epic Der Ring des Nibelungen(The Ring of the Nibelungs), starring Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel in his first American appearance as Wotan. The production, under the direction of Robert Lepage, will be conducted by Met Music Director James Levine, and features Stephanie Blythe and Eric Owens in other leading roles.The Ring’s second installment, Die Walküre,will close the Live in HD season on July 9-10, with Deborah Voigt as Brünnhilde and Jonas Kaufmann as Siegmund – both in Met role debuts; Terfel will once again play Wotan.
In addition to Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, the upcoming season of Live in HD features four other new productions: Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov (December 11-12) starring René Pape, directed by Stephen Wadsworth and conducted by Valery Gergiev; Verdi’s Don Carlo (February 12-13) with Roberto Alagna in the title role,under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin and directed by Nicholas Hytner; and Bartlett Sher’s new production of Rossini’s LeComte Ory (May28-29), starring Juan Diego Flórez and conducted by Maurizio Benini.
Maestro Levine will conduct two other revivals in the series: Donizetti’s comedy Don Pasquale (January 8-9) starring Anna Netrebko as Norina and Verdi’s Il Trovatore (June 25-26), with Sondra Radvanovsky and MarceloÁlvarez. Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West (Mar 5-6), starring Deborah Voigt in the title role, Marcello Giordani as Dick Johnson, and conducted by Nicola Luisotti, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the opera’s world premiere at the Met. The Met: Live in HD series also includes three of the world’s best-known singers in highly acclaimed roles from recent seasons: Susan Graham and Plácido Domingo in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride (April 16-17); Natalie Dessay as the mad heroine in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor (May 14-15). Renée Fleming sings the Countess in Strauss’s Capriccio, adding a new role to her Met repertory (June 11). Patrick Summers conducts both Iphigénie en Tauride and Lucia di Lammermoor, and Andrew Davis leads Capriccio. Casting and details of the season’s Live in HD performances follow below.
The Live in HD series was honored with a prestigious 2008 Peabody Award for its “vividly designed, smartly annotated productions of Hansel and Gretel, Doctor Atomic, Peter Grimes and other operas. The Met used state-of-the-art digital technology to reinvent presentation of a classic art form.”
The Met won a special Emmy Award in January 2009 for “advancing technology through ongoing, live, global transmission of high-definition programming to movie theaters.”
The screening ofThe Met: Live in HDin Hong Kong are presented by the Foundation for the Arts and Music in Asia (FAMA), a non-profit charitable organisation promoting classical vocal music in Asia.
The Met: Live in HD 2010-11 Season
DAS RHEINGOLD(20.11.2010Sat 7pm; 21.11.2010Sun 1pm, 7pm)
–NEW PRODUCTION
Two unparalleled artists join forces to create a groundbreaking new Ring for the Met: Maestro James Levine and director Robert Lepage. Bryn Terfel, singing his first Met Wotan, leads the cast in Das Rheingold, the Ring’s first installment.
BORIS GODUNOV(11.12.2010Sat 7pm; 12.12.2010Sun 11am, 5:30pm)
–NEW PRODUCTION
Bass René Pape takes on one of opera’s most dramatic roles in a production by Stephen Wadsworth. Valery Gergiev conducts Mussorgsky’s tragic historical epic. Aleksandrs Antonenko and Ekaterina Semenchuk are among the other leading artists in a work that is also a showcase for the Met’s formidable chorus.
DON PASQUALE(8.1.2011Sat 7pm; 9.1.2011Sun 1pm, 7pm) – Anna Netrebko sings Norina, the role that made her a Met star, in this comedy by Donizetti, with Matthew Polenzani as Ernesto, Mariusz Kwiecien as Dr. Malatesta, and John Del Carlo in the title role. James Levine conducts the opera for the first time.
DON CARLO(12.2.2011Sat 6pm; 13.2.2011Sun 12nn, 6pm)
–NEW PRODUCTION
Director Nicholas Hytner makes his Met debut with this new production of Verdi’s most ambitious opera. Roberto Alagna sings the title role, joined by Marina Poplavskaya as Elisabeth de Valois, Anna Smirnova as Princess Eboli, Simon Keenlyside as Rodrigo, and Ferruccio Furlanetto as Philip II. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, back after his triumphant Met debut leading Carmen, conducts.
LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST (5.3.2011Sat 7pm; 6.3.2011Sun 1pm, 7pm) – Puccini’s wild west opera stars all-American diva Deborah Voigt as Minnie and Marcello Giordani as Dick Johnson, under the baton of Nicola Luisotti. Lucio Gallo takes the role of the Sheriff Jack Rance. The performances mark the 100th anniversary of the opera’s world premiere at the Met.
IPHIGÉNIE EN TAURIDE (16.4.2011 Sat 7pm; 17.4.2011 Sun 1pm, 7pm) – Susan Graham sings the title role in Gluck’s masterful interpretation of the Greek myth, opposite Plácido Domingo as her brother Oreste and Paul Groves as his friend Pylade. Patrick Summers conducts.
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (14.5.2011 Sat 6:30pm; 15.5.2011 Sun 1pm, 6:30pm) – Natalie Dessay returns to her triumphant portrayal of Donizetti’s fragile heroine in the Met’s hit production, with Joseph Calleja as her lover Edgardo and Ludovic Tézier as her scheming brother, Enrico. Patrick Summers conducts.
LE COMTE ORY(28.5.2011 Sat 7pm; 29.5.2011 Sun 1pm, 7pm)
– NEW PRODUCTION
Rossini’s vocally dazzling comedy soars with bel canto sensation Juan Diego Flórez in the title role. He vies with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, in the trouser role of Isolier, for the love of the lonely Countess Adèle, sung by soprano Diana Damrau. Bartlett Sher, director of the Met’s popular productions of Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Les Contes d’Hoffmann, stages this Met premiere production. Maurizio Benini conducts.
CAPRICCIO(11.6.2011 Sat 7pm; 12.6.2011 Sun 1pm, 7pm) – Renée Fleming dazzled audiences when she sang Capriccio’s final scene on Opening Night of the 2008–09 season. Now she sings Strauss’s entire diva showcase in John Cox’s production, with Andrew Davis conducting.
IL TROVATORE(25.6.2011 Sat 7pm; 26.6.2011 Sun 1pm, 7pm) – David McVicar’s popular production returns with Marcelo Álvarez as the heroic troubadour of the title, with Dmitri Hvorostovsky as his powerful rival and Sondra Radvanovsky as the noble Leonora. Dolora Zajick reprises her interpretation of Azucena, the gypsy fixated on past crimes and vengeance. James Levine conducts.
DIE WALKÜRE(9.7.2011 Sat 5:30pm; 10.7.2011 Sun 11am, 5:30pm)
– NEW PRODUCTION
The second installment of Robert Lepage’s new production of Wagner’s Ring cycle, conducted by James Levine, features Bryn Terfel as Wotan, while Deborah Voigt adds the part of Brünnhilde to her extensive Wagnerian repertoire at the Met. Jonas Kaufmann and Eva-Maria Westbroek star as the Volsung twins, Siegmund and Sieglinde, and Stephanie Blythe is Fricka.
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About FAMA:
The Foundation for Arts and Music in Asia Ltd. was formed to increase the awareness of classical vocal music in Asia and to encourage participation in its promotion by individuals and both private and civic groups The Foundation (FAMA) works with governmental agencies, private individuals and groups on a wide range of activities including the Metropolitan Opera HK broadcasts of live performances and promotes community outreach to raise awareness of vocal music. The Foundation also supports selected individuals in the pursuit of their studies. The Foundation aims to be a supportive mechanism for audience and financial development for other Arts organisations.
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For further information, interviews or high resolution images of The Met: Live in HD, please contact:
Ms. Brenda Lam
Programme Manager
Foundation for the Arts and Music in Asia
Tel: 852 9251 2915
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