FREDONIA - The 1891 Fredonia Opera House will screen Gioachino Rossini's comic opera "Le Comte Ory" as part of its Live at the Met Summer Encore Series on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
"We're very excited to be presenting encore broadcasts of six of the Metropolitan Opera's classic Live in HD transmissions," said Opera House executive director Rick Davis. "These six summer operas offer a great way for opera buffs to relive some of the Met's best-loved productions from the past few seasons. They also provide a great way for people who don't know how they feel about opera to give the genre a try."
Rossini's comedy soars with Juan Diego Florez in the title role, a scheming young count who vies with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, in the trouser role of Isolier, for the love of the lonely Countess Adele, sung by soprano Diana Damrau. Bartlett Sher, director of the Met's popular productions of "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" and "Les Contes d'Hoffmann," describes the world of Le Comte Ory as "a place where love is dangerous. People get hurt. That can be very funny and very painful. Rossini captures both - with the most beautiful love music he ever wrote."
Article Photos
Tenor Juan Diego Florez is the title character in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Rossini’s “Le Comte Ory.” This comic opera encore will be screened in high definition at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House on Thursday, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Photo by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera
This live in HD telecast was originally seen live in theaters on April 9, 2011. The performance made headlines the world over when, less than an hour before curtain time, Florez assisted in the delivery of his first child. He welcomed the baby boy into the world, then raced to the Met to sing the opera's title role.
Live at the Met live opera broadcasts and summer encores screenings are made possible by Dr. James M. and Marcia Merrins, who funded the purchase of the satellite transmission and projection equipment used in the series. Support for the series also comes from the United Arts Appeal of Chautauqua County.
Tickets to the Live at the Met Summer Encores Series operas are $15 and are available in advance by calling or visiting the Opera House Box Office at 679-1891 from 1-5 p.m. They also may be purchased online anytime at fredopera.org. The series continues with Mozart's "Don Giovanni" on June 28; Offenbach's "Les Contes D'Hoffman" on July 12; Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" on July 19; and Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" on July 26.