Music Academy to Screen Met Opera Films
For Immediate Release August 21, 2009
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA – The Music Academy of the West will screen high-definition films of three memorable Metropolitan Opera productions at Hahn Hall this month. The Academy will present Rossini's Barber of Seville at 7 pm Thursday, August 27; Puccini's Madama Butterfly at 7 pm Friday, August 28; and Mozart's The Magic Flute at 2 pm Saturday, August 29. Hahn Hall is on the Academy grounds, located at 1070 Fairway Road in Santa Barbara. Tickets cost $20 each.
Starring Joyce Di Donato as Rosina and Music Academy alumnus Juan Diego Florez as Count Almaviva, Barber of Seville was filmed in March 2007 and has a running time of two hours and 46 minutes. Madama Butterfly, which features Patricia Racette and Marcello Giordani along with Academy alumna Edyta Kulczak, was filmed last March and has a running time of two hours and 25 minutes. Filmed in December 2006, The Magic Flute features Academy alumna Wendy Bryn Harmer and has a running time of one hour and 52 minutes. The screenings of Barber of Seville and Madama Butterfly will each include an intermission.
The 2009-10 "Met: Live in HD" series at the Music Academy will get under way with Puccini's Tosca, featuring soprano Karita Mattila, on Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11. The live simulcast will be presented at 10 am on Saturday followed by an encore screening on Sunday at 2 pm. The series will include a total of nine simulcasts and nine encore screenings at Hahn Hall through May 2. A complete series schedule is available online at www.musicacademy.org/about-us/special-events.
Launched in December 2006, the Met's groundbreaking "Live in HD" series features live transmissions of Met Opera performances to select venues in 17 countries throughout the world. The transmissions are in high definition, and performances are captured using robotic cameras and other advanced technologies. Simulcasts also include behind-the-scenes features, live interviews with cast and crew, and insightful short documentaries.
For more information, call 969-8787.
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 broadcasting live performances by the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera at Hahn Hall in October 2008. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
