The Metropolitan Opera’s Emmy and Peabody award-winning The Met: Live in HD series returned to movie theatres for a fourth season this fall featuring nine LIVE operas that began October 10th with a new production of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca starring soprano Karita Mattila. The critically-acclaimed series is be transmitted live in high definition expanding by more than 50 new theatres to nearly 500 movie theatres and performing arts centers in the United States through a renewed agreement with National CineMedia. Each live performance takes place on Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. EST followed by an evening pre-recorded encore presentation the third Wednesday after the live performance. “We are pleased that the success of The Met: Live in HD series continues to grow and that more people than ever can now enjoy the transmissions ” says Metropolitan Opera general manager Peter Gelb. The Metropolitan Opera and Fathom NCM’s alternative entertainment and events division present the 2009-10 season of The Met: Live in HD featuring live transmissions of four new productions including the aforementioned Tosca Les Contes d’Hoffmann Hamlet and the Met premiere of Armida in addition to opera favorites Aida Turandot Der Rosenkavalier Carmen and Simon Boccanegra. The Met: Live in HD theatres include select AMC Entertainment Inc. Celebration! Cinema Cinemark Holdings Inc. Clearview Cinemas Cobb Theatres Georgia Theatre Company Goodrich Quality Theatres Hollywood Theatres Kerasotes Showplace Theatres Malco Theatres Marcus Theatres National Amusements and Regal Entertainment Group movie theatres as well as independent theatres including Arena Theatre The Arlington Theatre Carolina Theatre El Raton Theatre The Grand Theatre Ocean Reef Cultural Center Palace 9 Cinema Penn Cinema Rose Theatre The Society of the Four Arts Theatre Strand Theatre State Theatre in State College Pennsylvania and the State Theatre in Traverse City Missouri. The Met: Live in HD series was honored with a prestigious Peabody Award for its “vividly designed smartly annotated productions of Hansel and Gretel Doctor Atomic Peter Grimes and other operas ”and the use of “state-of-the-art digital technology to reinvent the presentation of a classic art form.” In addition the Met won a special Emmy Award in January 2009 for “advancing technology through ongoing live global transmission of high-definition programming to movie theatres.” The Met: Live in HD is expanding the appeal and reach of opera around the world and has been met with both critical and popular acclaim. Using robotic cameras and state-of-the-art technology The Met: Live in HD captures the onstage action from striking angles and heightens attention to the narrative elements of both performance and production. The series offers behind-the-scenes features live interviews with cast and crew insightful short documentaries and bird’s-eye views of the productions offering an unprecedented look at what goes into the staging of an opera. The Met: Live in HD 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. “Fathom continues to transform movie theatres into community centers by offering various and diverse forms of entertainment – from the more informative inspirational and cultural to comedic light hearted and serious ” says Shelly Maxwell senior vice president of NCM Fathom. “The Met: Live in HD series has proven to be a tremendous success and we are excited to continue our exclusive U.S. partnership with the Met bringing an amazing fourth season to local movie theatres in hundreds of communities.” Details on the operas are available on the Met’s web site at www.metopera.org/hd Fathom Events www.fathomevents.com National CineMedia www.ncm.com
