Wednesday, October 03, 2012

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UNCW announces the 2012-13 Met: Live in HD season. The series begins Oct. 13 with the live transmission of Donizetti's comedy L'Elisir d'Amore, starring Anna Netrebko, Matthew Polenzani, and Mariusz Kwiecien in a new production by Bartlett Sher, to UNCW's Lumina Theater. Twelve classical performances will stream to 1,900 theaters in 60 countries. Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Jamaica, Madagascar and Qatar are joining the HD distribution network for the first time.

"In addition to bringing grand opera directly from our stage into communities across the nation and around the world, our HD programs energize our performers, who know that a sizeable percentage of the global population of opera fans are watching and listening to them," says Peter Gelb, the Met's General Manager.

All 12 high-definition productions will be shown live with the exception of Aida, which will be shown in a tape-delayed performance on Sunday, Dec. 16. Most operas begin at 12:55 p.m. EST, with some operas beginning earlier in the afternoon; exact starting times appear on the schedule below. For complete information on locations and tickets, visit www.uncw.edu/metopera.

The Met: Live in HD Complete 2012-13 Schedule

*Saturday, October 13, 2012 - L'ELISIR D'AMORE   (12:55 p.m. ET)
Anna Netrebko and Matthew Polenzani star in Bartlett Sher's new production of one of the greatest comic gems in opera, as the fickle Adina and her besotted Nemorino. Mariusz Kwiecien is the blustery sergeant Belcore and Ambrogio Maestri is Dulcamara, the loveable quack and dispenser of the elixir. Maurizio Benini conducts.

Saturday, October 27, 2012 - OTELLO (12:55 p.m. ET)
Verdi's Shakespearean masterpiece returns to the Met with Johan Botha in the title role opposite the acclaimed Desdemona of star soprano Renée Fleming. Semyon Bychkov conducts.

*Saturday, November 10, 2012 - THE TEMPEST (12:55 p.m. ET)
Composer Thomas Adès conducts the Metropolitan Opera premiere of his own work, with baritone Simon Keenlyside starring as Prospero. Director Robert Lepage recreates the interior of 18th-century La Scala in this inventive staging.

Saturday, December 1, 2012 - LA CLEMENZA DI TITO (12:55 p.m. ET)
The virtuosic Elīna Garanča sings Sesto in Mozart's drama set in ancient Rome. Giuseppe Filianoti is the noble Tito and Barbara Frittoli is Vitellia, in this handsome revival of one of the composer's final masterpieces. Harry Bicket conducts.

*Saturday, December 8, 2012 - UN BALLO IN MASCHERA (12:55 p.m. ET)
Director David Alden's dreamlike setting provides a compelling backdrop for this dramatic story of jealousy and vengeance. Marcelo Álvarez stars as the conflicted king; Sondra Radvanovsky is Amelia, the object of his secret passion; and Dmitri Hvorostovsky is her suspicious husband. Kathleen Kim is the page Oscar, and Stephanie Blythe sings the role of the fortune-teller Ulrica. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi conducts.

Sunday, December 16, 2012 - AIDA (12:55 p.m. ET) ENCORE
The Met's unforgettable production of Verdi's ancient Egyptian drama stars Liudmyla Monastyrska as the enslaved Ethiopian princess caught in a love triangle with the heroic Radamès, sung by Roberto Alagna, and the proud Egyptian princess Amneris, sung by Olga Borodina. Fabio Luisi conducts.

Saturday, January 5, 2013 - LES TROYENS (12 noon ET)
The Met offers a rare opportunity to witness Berlioz's vast epic, last performed at the house in 2003. Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, and Marcello Giordani lead the starry cast, portraying characters from the Trojan War. Fabio Luisi marshals the large-scale musical forces.

*Saturday, January 19, 2013 - MARIA STUARDA (12:55 p.m. ET)
Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, one of the world's most exciting singers, takes on the virtuosic bel canto role of the doomed Mary, Queen of Scots. Director David McVicar turns to the second opera of Donizetti's Tudor trilogy, which explores regal characters at fateful moments of their lives. Elza van den Heever sings Elizabeth I, and Maurizio Benini conducts.

*Saturday, February 16, 2013 - RIGOLETTO (12:55 p.m. ET)
Director Michael Mayer has placed his new production of Verdi's towering tragedy in Las Vegas in 1960. Piotr Beczala is the womanizing Duke, Željko Lucic is his tragic sidekick, Rigoletto, and Diana Damrau is Rigoletto's daughter, Gilda.

*Saturday, March 2, 2013 - PARSIFAL (12:00 p.m. ET)
Jonas Kaufmann stars in the title role of the innocent who finds wisdom in François Girard's new vision for Wagner's final masterpiece. His fellow Wagnerian luminaries include Katarina Dalayman as the mysterious Kundry, Peter Mattei as the ailing Amfortas, Evgeny Nikitin as the wicked Klingsor, and René Pape as the noble knight Gurnemanz. Daniele Gatti conducts.

Saturday, March 16, 2013 FRANCESCA DA RIMINI (12:00 p.m. ET)
Zandonai's compelling opera, inspired by an episode from Dante's Inferno, returns in the Met's ravishingly beautiful production, last seen in 1986. Soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek and tenor Marcello Giordani are the doomed lovers. Marco Armiliato conducts.

*Saturday, April 27, 2013 - GIULIO CESARE (12:00 p.m. ET)
The opera that conquered London in Handel's time comes to the Met in David McVicar's lively production. The world's leading countertenor, David Daniels, sings the title role opposite Natalie Dessay as Cleopatra. Baroque specialist Harry Bicket conducts.

*New Production

Tickets are on sale now online at www.uncw.edu/metopera (or call 910.962.3195). Season tickets are $235 - includes all twelve operas and a one year membership in OLLI at UNCW. Individual tickets are $30 for adults, $20 for OLLI at UNCW members and $15 for children

Contact: Amy Keith, Program Coordinator
Osher Lifelong Institute at UNCW
910.962.4034
keithaw@uncw.edu