The Sun Valley Opera has sealed a deal with Metropolitan Theaters, based in Los Angeles and which own the Big Wood 4 Cinema, to bring the acclaimed series "The Met: Live in HD" to the Hailey theater.
"We have been working on this for the last three years," said Sun Valley Opera Co-President Frank Meyer. "We are really glad we can have this in the community."
"The Met: Live in HD" will feature 12 live Saturday presentations, which will broadcast exclusively at the Big Wood 4 Cinema in Hailey beginning Saturday, Oct. 9, through Saturday, May 14.
The live broadcast will kick off this Saturday with Wagner's "Das Rheingold" at 11 a.m. in Hailey. Admission is $22 for adults and $15 children under 18.
"Each production is a different team of people who are the top performers, directors, cinematographers and artists in the world," Meyer said. "Most people don't know about this series, but when they see it, they love it."
Meyer said some of the operas are harder to understand than others but the concept of the satellite broadcast works because it is done so well. There are real intermissions with backstage interviews and a peek into the behind the scenes of what it takes to create the performance.
< "This series will be interesting," Meyer said. "It may contribute to us being a richer arts community."
Meyer said the series was sold out in Seattle when he tried to go see it.
"It will give people a taste of what it is like to see opera and, hopefully, encourage them to see opera live," Meyer said. "There are subtitles and the director of the films knows he has to satisfy the layman with a lot of glitz, too."
The series will also present new operas including "Nixon in China," which is targeted toward young performers and a younger audience.
The Sun Valley Opera will present English tenor Alfie Boe in concert in the Sun Valley Inn Limelight Room on Saturday, March 19, at 8 p.m. General admission tickets are $25-$75, available at seats@sunvalley.com. Diva tickets are $125 and up and can be purchased by calling 622-2135. A diva party will precede the concert. In addition, the Sun Valley Opera will present a "Midsummer's Night Serenade" to celebrate the Sun Valley Opera's 10th anniversary. The show will take place at the Sun Valley Pavilion on Sunday, July 10, at 8 p.m. General admission tickets start at $28 and diva tickets are $125 and up. The diva party will take place on July 9 in a private home. For tickets, visit seats@sunvalley.com and for diva tickets call 726-0991 or visit sunvalleyopera.com.
Sabina Dana Plasse: splasse@mtexpress.com
Screening schedule
All film screenings take place on Saturdays at the Big Wood 4 Cinema in Hailey. Tickets are $22 for adults, $20 for seniors and $15 for children over 18. For details, call 726-0991.
Oct. 9, Wagner's "Das Rheingold" at 11 a.m.
Oct. 23, Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" at 10 a.m.
Nov. 13, Donizetti's "Don Pasquale" at 11 a.m.
Dec. 11, Verdi's "Don Carlo" at 11 a.m.
Jan. 8, Puccini's "La Fanciulla Del West" at 10:30 a.m.
Feb. 12, Adam's "Nixon in China" at 11 a.m.
Feb. 26, Gluck's "Iphigenie en Tauride" at 11 a.m.
March 19, Donizetti's "Lucia Di Lammermoor" at 11 a.m.
April 9, Rossini's "Le Comte Ory" at 11 a.m.
April 23, Strauss's "Capriccio" at 11 a.m.
April 30, Verdi's "Il Trovatore" at 11 a.m.
May 14, Wagner's "Die Walkure" at 11 a.m.
Photo by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera
Gerhard Siegel as Mime and Eric Owens as Alberich perform in Robert Lepage's production of Wagner's "Das Rheingold."
