THE MET: LIVE IN HD PRESENTS LA BOHÈME BY PUCCINI DURING APRIL, EXCLUSIVE TO CINEMA NOUVEAU AND SELECT STER-KINEKOR THEATRES

 “[Vittorio Grigolo] sang with warmth and vigor, in his element as a passionate, boyish Rodolfo. Making her house debut was Anita Hartig, an admirable soprano who has sung the role of Mimi recently at Covent Garden and La Scala. She imbued her singing with both a shy plaintiveness and ardency in “Mi chiamano Mimì. “ — The New York Times

The highly successful Season VII of Live in HD from The Metropolitan Opera in New York, launched exclusively at Cinema Nouveau and select Ster-Kinekor theatres in November last year. The season runs through to June this year, and features ten magnificent productions.

 During April and May, another glorious production will be screened at Cinema Nouveau and select Ster-Kinekor cinemas in the form of the classic love story, La Bohème, from the pen of Puccini, from 26 April, for a limited season.

An exciting young cast stars in Franco Zeffirelli’s breathtaking production of La Bohème, the most-performed opera in Met history.  Italian star tenor Vittorio Grigolo makes his Live in HD debut as the passionate poet Rodolfo, and Romanian soprano Anita Hartig makes her highly anticipated Met debut as his fragile lover, Mimì. Susanna Phillips sings the flirtatious Musetta and Massimo Cavalletti is the painter, Marcello, in this performance led by Italian conductor Stefano Ranzani in his first Met performance of Puccini’s beloved opera.

Featuring a cast of hundreds, a glorious onstage snow scene, and a detailed reconstruction of the Latin Quarter in Paris, this broadcast marks 15 million viewers for the Live in HD series, which now reaches 66 countries worldwide.

La Bohème, the passionate, timeless, and indelible story of love among young artists in Paris, can stake its claim as the world’s most popular opera. It has a marvelous ability to make a powerful first impression (even to those new to opera) and to reveal unsuspected treasures after dozens of hearings.

At first glance, La Bohème is the definitive depiction of the joys and sorrows of love and loss; on closer inspection however, it reveals the deep emotional significance hidden in the trivial things (a bonnet, an old overcoat, a chance meeting with a neighbour) that make up our everyday lives.

The opera is written by Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), who was immensely popular in his own lifetime and whose mature works remain staples in the repertory of most of the world’s opera companies. His operas are celebrated for their mastery of detail, sensitivity to everyday subjects, copious melody, and economy of expression. Puccini’s librettists for La Bohème, Giuseppe Giacosa (1847–1906) and Luigi Illica (1857–1919), also collaborated with Puccini on his two other most enduringly successful operas, Tosca and Madama Butterfly.

The libretto sets the action in Paris, circa 1830. This is not a random setting, but rather reflects the issues and concerns of a particular time and place. After the upheavals of revolution and war, French artists had lost their traditional support base of aristocracy and church and were desperate for new sources of income. The rising bourgeoisie took up the burden of patronising artists and earned their contempt in return.

The story, then, centres on self-conscious youth at odds with mainstream society, feeling themselves morally superior to the rules of the bourgeois (specifically regarding sexual mores) and expressing their independence with affectations of speech and dress. The Bohemian ambience of this opera is clearly recognisable in any modern urban centre, with La Bohème capturing perfectly this ethos in its earliest days.

La Bohème had its Met premiere while the company was on tour in Los Angeles (the same city where it received its American premiere) in 1900. Nellie Melba sang Mimì and improbably added the mad scene from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lamermoor as an encore after the final curtain (a practice she maintained for several other performances). This production lasted until 1952, when it was replaced by one designed by Rolf Gerard and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who insisted his name be removed after a disagreement with some of the singers.

The current spectacular production by Franco Zeffirelli was unveiled in 1981 with an impressive cast that included Teresa Stratas, José Carreras, Renata Scotto, Richard Stilwell, and James Morris, with James Levine conducting. As the most performed opera in the Met’s history, La Bohème was presented at the Met in 58 consecutive seasons after its first appearance and has been performed in all but six seasons since 1900.

“Hartig was a strong dramatic force, conveying a sense of the vibrant, joyful spirit fighting against the oppressive fatigue of her illness. She brought the sort of glowing, mellifluous sound that makes Puccini’s writing light up. A tight, even vibrato and warm tone, paired with sculpted phrases made Hartig’s performance the one of the standout debuts of the season.” — New York Classical Review

As with La Bohème, these grand opera productions are filmed at the magnificent Metropolitan Opera House in New York, home to some of the most talented singers, conductors, composers, orchestra musicians, stage directors, designers, visual artists, choreographers and dancers from around the world.  Their past productions have received great acclaim and have gained recognition around the world. Now, and as it has done since Live in HD began, Cinema Nouveau continues to provide audiences with the exclusive opportunity to witness these spectacular and award-winning near-live broadcasts in South Africa.

This glorious production that will be screened exclusively at Cinema Nouveau and select Ster-Kinekor theatres countrywide from Saturday, 26 April: Gateway Nouveau, Durban; V&A Nouveau in Cape Town; Somerset Mall, Cape Town; Blue Route Mall, Cape Town; Garden Route Mall, George; Rosebank Nouveau in Johannesburg; Bedford Centre, Johannesburg and at Brooklyn Nouveau, Pretoria.  Their release onto the big digital cinema screen affords South African lovers of opera the unique opportunity to become an integral part of these ‘near-live’ and breathtaking performances.

The running time of La Bohème is approximately 3hrs, 25mins, with two intermissions.

To book tickets and for more information, please visit: www.cinemanouveau.co.za| mobi-site: www.sterkinekor.mobi |Ticketline: 082 16789 (VAS rates apply) | Facebook: CinemaNouveau| Follow us on Twitter: @nouveaubuzz. Download theSK App to your smart phone for updates and to make bookings via your mobile phone.  

Video clip:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqEOdBVtGUE

Images for all The Met: Live in HD productions are available on the following site:www.skpictures.co.za

La Bohème – Puccini  (releases on 26 April 2014)

Conductor: Stefano Ranzani

Production: Franco Zeffirelli

Set Designer: Franco Zeffirelli

Costume Designer: Peter J. Hall

Lighting Designer: Gil Wechsler

Cast: Anita Hartig (Mimì), Susanna Phillips (Musetta), Vittorio Grigolo (Rodolfo), Massimo Cavalletti (Marcello), Patrick Carfizzi (Schaunard), Oren Gradus (Colline), Donald Maxwell (Benoit/Alcindoro)

An exciting young cast stars in Franco Zeffirelli’s classic production of La Bohème, the most-performed opera in Met history.  Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo stars as the passionate writer Rodolfo, and Romanian soprano Anita Hartig makes her Met debut as his consumptive lover, Mimì. Susanna Phillips sings the flirtatious Musetta and Massimo Cavalletti is the painter Marcello in this performance, led by rising conductor Stefano Ranzani.

Upcoming productions:

Così fan tutte – Mozart  (releases on 24 May 2014)

Conductor: James Levine

Production: Lesley Koenig

Designer: Michael Yeargan

Lighting Designer: Duane Schuler

Cast: Susanna Phillips (Fiordiligi), Isabel Leonard (Dorabella), Danielle de Niese (Despina), Matthew Polenzani (Ferrando), Rodion Pogossov (Guglielmo), Maurizio Muraro (Don Alfonso)

James Levine conducts the first Live in HD performance of Mozart’s barbed romance Così fan tutte. Lesley Koenig’s sleek production will star Susanna Phillips and Isabel Leonard as the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella; Matthew Polenzani and Rodion Pogossov as their fiancés, Ferrando and Guglielmo; Danielle de Niese as their feisty maid Despina; and Maurizio Muraro as the cynical Don Alfonso.

La Cenerentola – Rossini  (releases on 07 June 2014)

Conductor: Fabio Luisi

Production: Cesare Lievi

Designer: Maurizio Balò

Lighting Designer: Gigi Saccomandi

Choreographer: Daniela Schiavone

Cast: Joyce DiDonato (Angelina), Juan Diego Flórez (Don Ramiro), Pietro Spagnoli (Dandini), Alessandro Corbelli (Don Magnifico), Luca Pisaroni (Alidoro)

Joyce DiDonato sings her first Met performances of the title character in Rossini’s Cinderella story, La Cenerentola, with bel canto master Juan Diego Flórez as her dashing prince. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi leads a cast that also includes Pietro Spagnoli in his Met debut as the servant Dandini, Alessandro Corbelli as Cenerentola’s stepfather Don Magnifico, and Luca Pisaroni as Don Ramiro’s tutor, Alidoro.