Hahn Hall to Screen Simulcast of 'Turandot'
For Immediate Release October 28, 2009
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA – Director Franco Zeffirelli's breathtaking production of Turandot, Giacomo Puccini's final masterpiece, will be the focus of the Metropolitan Opera's next "Live in HD" simulcast at the Music Academy of the West. The Music Academy's Hahn Hall will air the live simulcast at 10 am on Saturday, November 7, followed by encore screenings at 6:30 pm November 7 and at 2 pm on Sunday, November 8. Tickets cost $25. Students with identification pay $10 at the door for the Saturday evening encore screening. Free parking is available on the Music Academy campus.
An epic fairy tale set in a mythical ancient China, Turandot was left unfinished when Puccini suddenly succumbed to complications from throat cancer in 1924, leaving Franco Alfano to complete the opera's final duet. Since its premiere in 1926, it's become a beloved staple of the standard operatic repertoire. Celebrated soprano Maria Guleghina stars as the fatally alluring Princess Turandot, who receives suitors at Peking's Imperial Palace who must answer three riddles to win her hand – or die. Marcello Giordani plays Calàf, son of the exiled King Timur (veteran bass Samuel Ramey) of Tartary, who is struck with Turandot's beauty. Ignoring protests from his father and Liù (Marina Poplavskaya), the servant girl who loves him, Calàf matches wits with the princess, leading to tragedy and transcendent expressions of love. Both visually sumptuous and grand in scale, Mr. Zeffirelli's acclaimed production has been hailed as the ultimate visual spectacle in the Met's repertoire.
The 2009-10 "Live in HD" season at the Music Academy kicked off October 10 with a live simulcast of Puccini's Tosca. Following Turandot, the series will continue on December 19 and 20 with a production of Les Contes d'Hoffmann, starring Joseph Calleja, Anna Netrebko, and Kathleen Kim. Other standout singers appearing this season include Renée Fleming and Susan Graham in Der Rosenkavalier (January 9 and 10); Elīna Garanča and Roberto Alagna in Carmen (January 16 and 17): Plácido Domingo, Adrianne Pieczonka, and Marcello Giordani in Simon Boccanegra (February 6 and 7); Simon Keenlyside and Natalie Dessay in Hamlet (March 27 and 28); and Ms. Fleming in Armida (May 1 and 2).
Metropolitan Opera simulcasts in Hahn Hall begin at 10 am local time on Saturdays, with encore screenings Saturday evenings and at 2 pm Sundays. Complete "Live in HD" schedule information is available online at www.musicacademy.org/about-us/special-events.
For ticket information, call the Music Academy Box Office at 969-8787 and speak directly to Lynn Redmond or leave her a message. For patrons who prefer to purchase tickets in person, the Box Office (temporarily located in Hahn Hall) is open Monday, Thursday, and Friday between 1 and 4 pm. The office is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. In light of ongoing campus seismic retrofit work, patrons are strongly encouraged to order tickets by phone.
Under an agreement announced last year, the Music Academy became one of about 70 nonprofit organizations to participate in the Met's groundbreaking "Live in HD" series. Launched in December 2006, the series features live transmissions of Met Opera performances to select venues in more than 40 countries throughout the world. Most participating venues are movie theaters. The transmissions are in high definition, and performances are captured using robotic cameras and other advanced technologies. As a result, simulcast viewers can see the onstage action from striking angles and enjoy a heightened awareness of the narrative elements of both the performance and the production. Simulcasts also include behind-the-scenes features, live interviews with cast and crew, and insightful short documentaries.
The series has met with impressive commercial and critical success, prompting the Met to increase the number of transmissions and to rapidly expand its pool of participating venues. Music Academy benefactors Leatrice Luria and Leslie Ridley-Tree funded the technology necessary to simulcast the Met transmissions in Hahn Hall.
Founded in 1947, the Music Academy of the West is among the nation's preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classical musicians. The Academy provides these promising musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and frequent performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, guest conductors, and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and Fellows receive full scholarships (tuition, room, and board). Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many enjoy careers as prominent solo artists. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West presents more than 200 public events annually, including performances by faculty, visiting artists, and Fellows; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and fully staged opera. The Music Academy began screening live performances by the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera at Hahn Hall in October 2008. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
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