Ridgefield Playhouse to present Met Opera Summer Encore Verdi's MACBETH

The summer brings encore presentations of some of the most popular Met Operas back to the big screen at The Ridgefield Playhouse as part of Craig's Fine Jewelry Live in HD and Classical Series. On Friday, June 23 at 6pm, it's the production the New York Times hails as "the sleeper hit of the Metropolitan Opera season with a dream cast - The Met Opera ENCORE in HD: Les Pecheurs de Perles.

Bizet's gorgeous opera of lust and longing set in the Far East returns. Soprano Diana Damrau stars as Leïla, the beautiful Hindu priestess pursued by rivAl Pearl divers competing for her hand. Her suitors are tenor Matthew Polenzani and baritone Mariusz Kwiecien, who sing the lilting duet "Au fond du temple saint," which opera fans know and adore. Director Penny Woolcock explores the timeless themes of pure love, betrayal, and vengeance in a production that vividly creates an undersea world on the stage of the Met. Conductor Gianandrea Noseda brings his romantic flair to the lush score from the composer of Carmen.

Another fan favorite returns on Wednesday, June 28 at 6:30 pm - The Met Opera Encore in HD: Verdi's Macbeth. Star soprano Anna Netrebko created a sensation with her riveting performance as the malevolent Lady Macbeth, the central character in Verdi's retelling of Shakespeare's tragedy. She is joined by Željko Lu?i?, who brings dramatic intensity and vocal authority to the title role of the honest general driven to murder and deceit by his ambitious wife. The great René Pape is Banquo and Joseph Calleja gives a moving performance as Macduff. Adrian Noble's powerful production provides an ideal setting for this dark drama, which is masterfully presided over by Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi.

The legendary Plácido Domingo brings another new baritone role to the Met under the baton of his longtime collaborator James Levine in The Met Opera Encore in HD: Verdi's Nabucco on Wednesday, July 12 at 6pm. Liudmyla Monastyrska is Abigaille, the warrior woman determined to rule empires, and Jamie Barton is the heroic Fenena. Dmitri Belosselskiy is the stentorian voice of the oppressed Hebrew people. The success of Verdi's third opera, a stirring drama about the fall of ancient Jerusalem at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (Nabucco), catapulted the 28-year-old composer to international fame. The music and Verdi himself were subsumed into a surge of patriotic fervor culminating in the foundation of the modern nation of Italy. Specifically, the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves ("Va, pensiero"), in which the Israelites express their longing for their homeland, came to stand for the country's aspirations for unity and that exciting era in Italian history, the Risorgimento, or "Resurgence."

The Craig's Fine Jewelry Live in HD Series is underwritten by Lori and John Berisford, Jeanne Cook, Anita and Nicholas Donofrio, Liz and Steven Goldstone, Sabina and Walter Slavin?
With Support from The Ridgefield Press and Whistle Stop Bakery

For tickets ($25, $20 Members/Seniors, $15 Students - tickets are free for children 18 and under) call or visit the box office, 203-438-5795 or go online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse, located at 80 East Ridge Road in Ridgefield, is a not for profit 501 (c)(3) whose mission is to present a variety of performing arts to the community and the surrounding area that they can enjoy and experience at a varied price point.

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