The Royal Opera House has announced a new cinema venture that will see select opera and ballet performances at the much-lauded venue screened in over 700 cinemas worldwide.
Entitled Royal Opera House Cinema, the scheme marks the first time that the venue’s established cinema season has offered Royal Opera and Royal Ballet titles exclusively. In a similar vein to the National Theatre’s NT Live, several performances in the season will be screened across the world live.
The 2011/2012 programme includes live performances of Faust, The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo And Juliet and La Fille Mal Gardée, and pre-recorded performances of Adriana Lecouvreur, Tosca, Cendrillon and Il Trittico. There will also be a 3D screening of Madam Butterfly.
Announcing the venture last night at the Covent Garden venue, Tony Hall, Royal Opera House Chief Executive, said, “This evening marks an exciting milestone for the Royal Opera House. It’s a moment to celebrate our move into cinema, which, for us, is about sharing our work with the UK and the rest of the world.”
Since the Royal Opera House began screening its work in 2007, more than 40,000 people have attended its Summer Big Screens seasons and a further 150,000 people have been able to watch performances worldwide, from Alaska to Australia.
Cinema goers in over 22 countries will be able to watch world-class opera singers including Angela Gheorghiu, Joyce DiDonato, Jonas Kaufmann, Bryn Terfel, and Royal Ballet Principles Lauren Cuthbertson, Sergei Polunin and Steven McRae on the big screen as part of the season.
For full listings and information of cinemas participating in Royal Opera House Cinema – which includes over 140 venues in the UK – visit the Royal Opera House’s website.
CM