Metropolitan Opera at the Roses

A brand new season of thrilling performances from New York’s famous Metropolitan Opera will be shown live, in full high-definition glory, at the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury, kicking-off in January.

Opera lovers across Gloucestershire will no longer have to hop on a plane to New York to appreciate the thrill of seeing a Metropolitan Opera performance, as the latest season of stunning performances are being shown live on the Roses Theatre’s big screen in Tewkesbury.

Cinemas across the country will be broadcasting the Metropolitan Opera’s 2010 spring season of operas in high-definition, live from the Met’s famous Diamond Circle in New York as part of The Met: Live.

As well as watching the full length operas, screenings include specially produced features which give audiences a unique look behind-the-scenes – including interviews with artists, directors and stage managers, as well as short Met documentaries.

The big screen transmissions offer an opportunity for Gloucestershire residents to experience world-class opera on the doorstep – whether you’re a dedicated fan or are curious to give the art form a first time try.

In 2010, the Metropolitan Opera screenings at the Roses will be shown on the following dates:

Hamlet

Saturday 27 March 2010, the pre-show starts at 4.15pm

This new production of Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet, conducted by Louis Langrée, stars Simon Keenlyside and Natalie Dessay as two of the Bard’s most unforgettable characters, with an extended ‘mad scene’ that organisers say is among the greatest in opera.

Armida

Saturday 1 May 2010, the pre-show starts at 5.15pm

Rossini was inspired by the mythical story of a sorceress who enthralls men in her island prison, with Renée Fleming starring in the title role opposite no fewer than six tenors. Tony Award-winner Mary Zimmerman returns to direct this new production of a work she describes as ‘a buried treasure, a box of jewels,’ in a fanciful and magical tale conducted by Riccardo Frizza.