HALIFAX, Sept. 25 /CNW/ -- Tickets for the fourth season of The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's popular, award-winning series of live transmissions in movie theaters around the world, are now on sale at select Empire Theatres locations in Atlantic Canada. The 2009-10 season, featuring nine live opera transmissions, kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 (Canada NewsWire Group) --
at 2:00 p.m. AT with a new production of Puccini's Tosca starring Karita Mattila. The production, directed by Luc Bondy in his house debut and conducted by Met Music Director James Levine, features Marcelo alvarez and George Gagnidze in the other leading roles.
More than 900 theaters in 42 countries around the world are participating in The Met: Live in HD this season. A record number of more than 1.8 million Live in HD tickets were sold last season.
Four other new productions are featured in the series, including Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann starring Joseph Calleja in the title role, with Anna Netrebko and Alan Held; Bizet's Carmen starring Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna; Natalie Dessay and Simon Keenlyside in Thomas's Hamlet; and Rossini's Armida starring Renée Fleming. The HD season also includes Verdi's Aida with Violeta Urmana, Dolora Zajick, and Johan Botha; Maria Guleghina and Marcello Giordani in Puccini's Turandot; Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier with Fleming and Susan Graham; and Verdi's Simon Boccanegra starring Placido Domingo, singing the title role for the first time at the Met. James Levine leads four of the HD transmissions. Complete casting and details of the season's Live in HD performances follows below.
All nine high-definition productions will be shown live worldwide on Saturdays through May 1 with an additional Saturday Encore presentation for each. Tickets are available online and at participating theatre box offices. For complete details visit www.empiretheatres.com/met.
The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from the Neubauer Family Foundation. Bloomberg L.P. is the global corporate sponsor of The Met: Live in HD. The HD broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America's luxury home builder(R).
The Met: Live in HD has expanded its distribution in the 2009-10 season to include 42 countries. New countries joining the Live in HD network this season include Bulgaria, Chile, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, and Uruguay.
