The Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Metropolitan Opera of New York and the Filipinas Opera Society Foundation, Inc., in cooperation with the Ayala Malls Cinemas, present the fifth season of the CCP Met Opera in HD which will be screened from December 2017 to May 2018 at the Greenbelt 3 Cinema 3.
The CCP Met Opera in HD series features screenings of the latest operatic productions of the Metropolitan Opera of New York through the high-definition digital video technology and Dolby sound recreating the experience of watching an opera production at the Met “live.”
The season kicks off with Pyotr Ilyich “Peter” Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin on December 5, 2017. Based on the novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin, the story revolves around the aristocratic Eugene Onegin who lives to regret his decision to reject Tatiana’s young love, and his careless incitement of a fatal duel with his bestfriend Lenski, who was courting Olga.
The first offering of the CCP Met Opera in HD Season 5 stars Anna Netrebko as the lovestruck Tatiana, Mariusz Kwiecien and Peter Mattei alternate as the aristocratic Onegin, Alexey Dolgov as Lenski, Elena Maximova as Olga, and Stefan Kocan as Gremin. Robin Ticciati and Joel Revzen alternately conduct.
Georges Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers (Les Pecheurs de Perles), the second offering, will be shown on January 9, 2018. Bizet’s rarely heard opera returned to the Met, through the Penny Woolcock’s acclaimed new production, for the first time in a century on New Year’s Eve in 2015.
Set in ancient times on a village island of Ceylon, the three-act opera narrates how Nadir and Zurga try to keep their vow of eternal friendship which has been tested by their love for the same woman, Leïla, who is torn between finding secular love and keeping her sacred oath as a priestess.
Star soprano Diana Damrau sings Leïla, while Matthew Polenzani and Mariusz Kwiecien portray Nadir and Zurga, respectively, who sing “Au fond du temple saint,” one of opera’s most celebrated duets. Nicolas Testé is the high priest Nourabad and Gianandrea Noseda conducts Bizet’s supremely romantic score.
Roméo et Juliette will be screened on February 13, 2018. It is based on William Shakespeare’s timeless romance story of two young star-crossed lovers whose love and death reconcile their feuding families. The Charles Gounod opera is notable for its series of four duets for the main characters and the waltz song “Je veux vivre” for the soprano.
Diana Damrau, Amanda Woodbury, Pretty Yende alternate as Juliette, while Vittorio Grigolo and Stephen Costello share the role of Roméo. Virginie Verrez and Paula Murrihy play Stephano, Elliot Madore and Yunpeng Wang as Mercutio, and Mikhail Petrenko and Matthew Rose as Frere Laurent. Conductors Gianandrea Noseda and Emmanuel Villaume take care of the music.
Catch Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata, which tells about a Parisian courtesan who sacrifices all for love, on March 13, 2018. Sonya Yoncheva sings the tragic courtesan Violetta, one of opera’s most beloved heroines. She reprises the role she triumphed on the Met stage in 2015, opposite Michael Fabiano (Atalla Ayan as alternate) as her lover Alfredo. Thomas Hampson, Nelson Martinez, George Petean, and Placido Domingo alternate as the father Giorgio Germont. Nicola Luisotti conducts. Carmen Giannattasio and Olga Peretyatko are the alternates for the lead female role.
The screening of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Idomeneo will be on April 10, 2018. Mozart’s first operatic masterpiece has returned to the Met in the classic Jean-Pierre Ponnelle production, conducted by James Levine.
The CCP Met Opera in HD Season 5 culminates with Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier on May 8, 2018. Director Robert Carsen, who also helms the recent Met production Falstaff, places the action at the end of the Habsburg Empire, underscoring the opera’s subtext of class and conflict against a rich backdrop of gilt and red damask, and a beautiful score conducted by Sebastian Weigle.
The staging stars are Günther Groissböck as Baron Ochs, Renée Fleming as Marschallin, Elīna Garanča as Octavian, Erin Morley / Kathleen Kim as Sophie, Matthew Polenzani as A Singer, and Markus Bruck as Faninal.
All screenings will be held at Greenbelt 3 Cinema 3, at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call Greenbelt 3 cinemas Customer Service Hotline: 757-7883 or CCP Sales and Promotions at 832-3706, or e-mailccpsalesandpromo@gmail.com.
