The 1891 Fredonia Opera House will screen its first Live at the Met Summer Encore Series opera Gaetano Donizetti's Anna Bolena on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
"We're very excited to be presenting encore broadcasts of six of the Metropolitan Opera's classic Live in HD transmissions," said Opera House Executive Director Rick Davis. "These six summer operas offer a great way for opera buffs to relive some of the Met's best-loved productions from the past few seasons. They also provide a great way for people who don't know how they feel about opera to give the genre a try."
In Anna Bolena, Metropolitan Opera star soprano Anna Netrebko takes on the legendary title role in Donizetti's bel canto masterpiece, which has been a musical and dramatic showpiece for many of history's greatest singers. The opera, based on the final tragic days of Anne Boleyn, made its Met premiere in this 2011 production by David McVicar.
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Ildar Abdrazakov is Enrico and Anna Netrebko is the title character in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena. This opera encore will be screened in high definition at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House on Thursday, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Powerhouse Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova sings the role of Giovanna Seymour, Bolena's lady-in-waiting and romantic rival. Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov is the cruel King Enrico (Henry) VIII. Stephen Costello and Tamara Mumford are the queen's allies, Lord Percy and Smeaton. Italian conductor Marco Armiliato leads the Met Orchestra in what is widely considered one of Donizetti's finest scores.
The Associated Press says Netrebko "scores a huge success in her most challenging role yet she can melt our hearts one moment with a soft high C of great delicacy, then pin us to the backs of our seats the next with a ferocious outburst of notes."
The New York Times notes that she performed "with a defiance that brought down the house."
Live at the Met opera broadcasts and Summer Encores screenings are made possible by Dr. James M. and Marcia Merrins, who funded the purchase of the satellite transmission and projection equipment used in the series. Support for the series also comes from the United Arts Appeal of Chautauqua County.
Tickets to the Live at the Met Summer Encores Series operas are $15 and are available in advance by calling or visiting the Box Office at 679-1891 Tuesday Friday, 1-5 p.m.
They also may be purchased online anytime at www.fredopera.org. The Series continues with Rossini's Le Comte Ory on June 21; Mozart's Don Giovanni on June 28; Offenbach's Les Contes D'Hoffman on July 12; Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor on July 19; and Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier on July 26.
Chautauqua County's only performing arts center presenting its own programming year-round, the 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported not-for-profit organization located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.
