FREDONIA - The 1891 Fredonia Opera House continues the 2012-13 season of Live at the Met high definition opera broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera with Hector Berloiz's grand Trojan War epic, "Les Troyens (The Trojans)," on Saturday at noon.
"This week's Met offering, 'Les Troyens,' is Berlioz's most ambitious work, the summation of his entire artistic career, with a score that ranges from the majestic to the sublime, from stirring ensembles and rousing choruses to inspiring solos and a passionate love duet," said Opera House Executive Director Rick Davis.
Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi leads a rare revival of the epic, which Berlioz based on Virgil's "Aeneid." Marcello Giordani stars as Aeneas, the Trojan hero whose adventures take him from the fall of Troy to the shores of the North African kingdom of Carthage. Deborah Voigt sings Cassandra, the Trojan prophetess who tries to warn her countrymen of the dangers about to befall them; and Susan Graham makes her Met role debut as Dido, the Carthaginian queen who gives her heart to Aeneas with disastrous consequences.
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Hector Berloiz’s grand Trojan War epic, “Les Troyens (The Trojans),” will be screened live in high definition at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House on Saturday, starting at noon. This is the first Met revival of the rarely performed opera of Francesca Zambello’s critically acclaimed 2003 production.
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The five-act epic will be seen in Francesca Zambello's critically acclaimed 2003 production, receiving its first Met revival this season. Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato hosts the transmission and conducts backstage interviews with the stars.
The production lasts five hours. Live at the Met opera broadcasts 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. Additional support comes from Bob and Shirley Coon, Bob and Susan Dilks, Steve and Mary Rees, and DFT Communications.
Tickets to "Les Troyens" are $20 for the general public, $18 for Opera House and Met members, and $15 for students. They are available in advance by calling the box office at 679-1891. They also may be purchased online at fredopera.org. The Opera House also is offering a new flexible opera subscription consisting of nine tickets that can be used however the patron wants. The flexible opera subscription is $161.