Monmouth University is pleased to announce it will host the Metropolitan Opera’s groundbreaking series—The Met: Live in HD—on March 21 and May 9. Live broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera from Lincoln Center in New York City will be shown on Pollak Theatre’s large screen. Single tickets are $22 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $10 for students/children.

Dr. Frederick McKitrick, chair of the Department of History and Anthropology and one of the organizers of the series, said: “We are thrilled to host these broadcasts for the entire region as it's part of our broader goal to make Monmouth a destination for the arts. The quality of our brand new HD projection equipment and sound system is state-of-the-art. So, this is a great way to experience opera for both long-time fans and those seeing opera for the first time.”

These HD movie broadcasts deliver “the best seats in the house” for the exciting spectacle of live grand opera from one of the world’s great opera houses. The Met: Live in HD is expanding the appeal and reach of opera around the world, and has been met with both critical and popular acclaim.

Of the inaugural transmission in December 2006, the Los Angeles Times proclaimed, “The Met’s experiment of merging film with live performance has created a new art form.”

Using robotic cameras and state-of-the-art technology, The Met: Live in HD captures the onstage action from striking angles and heightens attention to the narrative elements of both performance and production. Behind-the-scenes features, live interviews with cast and crew, insightful short documentaries, and bird’s-eye views of the productions offer an unprecedented look at what goes into the staging of an opera.

In 2009, the Met won a special Emmy Award for “advancing technology through ongoing, live, global transmission of high-definition programming to movie theaters.” During the 2007-08 season, the series reached approximately 935,000 people—more than the number of people who saw performances in the opera house over an entire season. Now seen in more than 850 theaters in 36 countries, The Met: Live in HD is expected to reach 1.3 million people around the world this season.

As part of Monmouth University’s commitment to the arts, Monmouth will also host an additional nine live broadcasts and encore showings next season, beginning in October.

Schedule:

La Sonnambula (New Production) – Bellini
Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 1 p.m.
Running time is 2 hours 40 minutes / one intermission

Mary Zimmerman, who directed Natalie Dessay in last season’s hit production of Lucia di Lammermoor, underlines La Sonnambula’s dual elements of sleep and wakefulness in an intriguing staging set in the present. Bellini’s hauntingly lyrical score soars as performed by Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez, back from their sensational run together in La Fille du Régiment.

Conductor: Evelino Pidò; Production: Mary Zimmerman; Natalie Dessay, Juan Diego Flórez, Michele Pertusi

La Cenerentola – Rossini
Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 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

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