Asheville – A number of audience-favorite operas, such as Carmen, Romeo and Juliette, and Madame Butterfly, can be seen at local movie theaters. The performances are transmitted “live” from The Metropolitan Opera stage to cinemas nationwide. You will be watching the production as it is being performed in New York City. Locally these productions can be seen at The Carolina Cinemark Theater at 1640 Hendersonville Road or the Regal Biltmore Grande at 292 Thetford Street in Biltmore Park. These live opera high definition transmissions usually include special interviews—perhaps an interview with the Maestro or main characters— and behind the scene glances during intermission. The performances of these well known operas with renowned singers take place on Saturdays at 1:00 pm with an encore viewing again the following Wednesday. The full schedule can be seen at https://www.fathomevents.com/series/the-met-live-in-hd/
Bizet’s familiar and well-loved opera, Carmen, will be simulcast to screens nationwide on Saturday January 27th, with the encore on Wednesday, January 31st. This production under the direction of Carrie Cracknell with Daniele Rustioni conducting will be staged in a modern day setting. Young Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina will be singing the part of Carmen and Piotr Beczala her troubled lover Don Jose. Soprano Angel Blue will have the part of the loyal Macaéla and bass Barton Kyle Ketelsen, the swaggering Escamillo. Since her debut as Carmen at the Royal Opera House, Akhmetshina is making waves in the operatic world. Beczala is considered a highly sought-after tenor and a constant guest in the world’s leading opera houses. Bizet’s heart-pounding score will be sung in French with English subtitles and lasts 3 hours and 45 minutes with one intermission.
On March 9th, Verdi’s La Forza Del Destino, (the Force of Destiny) is also set in the contemporary world.The Director Mariusz Trelinski delivers the company’s first new Forza in nearly 30 years. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts this dramatic tale of ill-fated love with stellar soprano star Lise Davidson as the noble Leonora. “The score is full of energy and drama in every bar, and a wonderful showcase for our fabulous orchestra and chorus,” says Nézet-Séguin. The distinguished cast also features tenor Brian Jagde as Leonora’s forbidden beloved, Don Alvaro and baritone Igor Golovatenko as her vengeful brother, Don Carlo. Verdi’s epic drama of tormented heroines addresses a difficult to answer question: Do we have free will or are we puppets in the hands of fate? “It tells a vast story that spans many years, a story about the profound transformation of its protagonists,” says Treliński, an experienced hand at staging epic operas at the Met. Verdi, of course, makes all of the action audible. This will be sung in Italian with English subtitles and lasts 4 hours and 20 minutes with two intermissions.
Romeo and Juliette with its lyrical haunting melodies will be performed in local theaters on Saturday, March 23, with an encore performance the following Wednesday, March 27th. For a quick musical memory refresher go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEVGLXVhhns. A chorus tells of the endless feud between the Montague and Capulet families, and the love of their children Romeo and Juliette, as adapted from the Shakespeare play. Radiant Nadine Sierra and tenor sensation Benjamin Bernheim come together as the star-crossed lovers. Sierra is an acclaimed Latina soprano, who was born and raised in Florida. Sierra’s performance of Romeo and Juliette follows her performance in Verdi’s La Traviata in Paris. She was named the Richard Tucker Award Winner in 2017 and was awarded the 2018 Beverly Sills Artist Award by the Metropolitan Opera. French tenor Bernheim made his Met Opera Debut in 2022, after having sung on major stages in Europe including Opera National de Paris, Teatro alla Scala, and the Royal Opera House in London. He has been hailed as having “The most beautiful tenor voice since Luciano Pavarotti” by the Suddeutsche Zeitung, a German newspaper. The Music Director will again be Yannick Nézet-Sequin. The songs will be sung in French with English subtitles, and lasting 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Fathom Events
Fathom Events is a leader in the entertainment industry as a distributor of various types of content throughout North America. It is a joint venture between AMC, Regal Cinemas (Cineworld), and Cinemark, the three largest domestic movie theater chains. It brings these productions to a theater near you for viewing. Besides the Live in HD Metropolitan Opera productions, there are Big Screen Classic movies shown once a month and other amazing broadcasts of interest. Some of the movies, coming up in 2024 are Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (Jan. 28th, 29th, 31st), Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle and Rex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins in Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady (Feb. 4th and 5th), Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, and Hattie McDaniel in the Southern epic Gone with the Wind, (April 7th, 8th and 10th). Be sure to go to www.fathomevents.com to find and buy tickets for a production of your choice as shown on a large screen—a treat is in store.