As part of the fifth season of the Metropolitan Opera (the Met) in New York screening exclusively at select Ster-Kinekor and Cinema Nouveau theatres, Wagner’s Siegfried will release on 25 November.
“Our fifth season of opera has had the public glued to our big screens, with the first two releases, Anna Bolena and Don Giovanni, coming out as part of the Top 10 Cinema Nouveau titles during their respective release weekends. These widespread attendances are testament to the appeal of opera to our local audiences, and we are excited about the release of Siegfried this November, and are confident that this celebrated opera will be greatly received,’ says Raksha Singh of Ster-Kinekor Theatres.
Siegfried, filmed in HD, is the third installment in the Met’s new Ring cycle staged by Robert Lepage and follows the adventures of opera’s ultimate hero, a valiant warrior who literally does not know the meaning of the word fear.
Met principal conductor Fabio Luisi leads an all-star cast featuring Jay Hunter Morris in his first Met performance of the title role, one of the most challenging in the entire operatic canon.
Deborah Voigt returns as the warrior maiden, Brunnhilde, Bryn Terfel is the mysterious Wanderer, Patricia Bardon is the ancient earth goddess Erda, and Gerhard Siegel and Eric Owens are the nefarious brothers Mime and Alberich.
The entire principal cast – with the exception of Morris and Siegel – all made role debuts in this production. The live transmission, hosted by soprano Renee Fleming, was directed by Gary Halvorson.
Siegfried’s running time is approximately 6 hours, including two intermissions.
The other opera productions to look forward to this season are:
Satyagraha composed by Glass 9 December 2011
Rodelinda composed by Handel 23 December 2011
Faust composed by Gounod 6 January 2012
The Enchanted Island composed by various 10 February 2012
Gotterdammerung composed by Wagner 2 March 2012
Ernani composed by Verdi 16 March 2012
Manon composed by Massenet 27 April 2012
La Traviata composed by Verdi 4 May 2012
These will be released at the following sites:
Cinema Nouveau – Gateway
Cinema Nouveau – Cavendish
Cinema Nouveau – V&A
Cinema Nouveau – Rosebank
Cinema Nouveau – Brooklyn
Ster-Kinekor – Irene Mall
Ster-Kinekor – Shelly Beach
Ster-Kinekor – The Bridge
Ster-Kinekor – Vincent Park
Ster-Kinekor – Somerset
Ster-Kinekor – Bedford centre
