Met Live Debuts with 'Macbeth,' Featuring a Starry Cast in Thrilling Drama

POTSDAM, NY (10/02/2014)(readMedia)-- The Met: Live in HD will open its 2014-15 season with Verdi's thrilling drama, "Macbeth," based on Shakespeare's classic work on Saturday, Oct. 11.

Anna Netrebko leads a star-studded cast, as the charismatic villainess, alongside Željko Lu?i? as the doomed Macbeth. Joseph Calleja portrays the noble Macduff, and René Pape returns to the Metropolitan Opera stage as Banquo.

Conducted by Fabio Luisi, "Macbeth" features artistic direction from Adrian Noble, formerly of the Royal Shakespeare Company. The production is already getting rave reviews.

"This was Anna Netrebko's first Lady Macbeth at the Met, and she grabbed the role by the throat and did not let go," the New York Classical Review said. "Luisi led a thrilling performance from the pit, weaving spooky atmospheres and wringing every drop of drama from the score."

Verdi's "Macbeth" will screen live from the Metropolitan Opera stage at 12:55 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11 at Potsdam's Roxy Theater. There will be an encore screening at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19.

The opera will be performed in Italian, with English subtitles. The approximate running time is three hours, 15 minutes, including intermission.

The 2014-15 season of The Met: Live in HD is sponsored in the North Country by SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music and J.S. Cinemas.

All productions will be shown live worldwide on Saturdays. There will also be encore presentations offered on Sundays locally. Doors open a half-hour before show time, and there is immediate seating for advance ticket holders.

In The Met: Live in HD, robotic cameras, strategically placed around and behind the stage, capture the beauty and power of live performance from striking angles, and heighten attention to both performance and production. Intermission features and English subtitles bring the stories to life.

Tickets prices are the lowest available in the nation: $18 for an adult, $15 for senior citizens, $12 for students and $9 for youth age 18 and under.

Tickets are available by calling the Community Performance Series Box Office at (315) 267-2277, or visiting the Roxy Theater or Northern Music & Video in downtown Potsdam or the CPS Box Office in the lobby of SUNY Potsdam's Performing Arts Center. You can also reserve tickets online by visiting www.cpspotsdam.org.

For more information on the 2014-15 The Met: Live in HD season, visit the Metropolitan Opera website at www.metopera.org/hdlive.

For more information about SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution.

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Posted Thursday October 02, 2014 at 12:11 pm by SUNY Potsdam
Last Updated Tuesday October 07, 2014 at 02:52 pm