POTSDAM, NY (04/30/2012)(readMedia)-- The Metropolitan Opera will present worldwide movie theater screenings of Robert Lepage's new production of Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" for the first time in May, through The Met: Live in HD.

Along with the complete Ring cycle, the series will kick off with a presentation of a new documentary, "Wagner's Dream," which chronicles the creation of this ambitious screening. The series will begin on May 7 with a screening of the documentary, directed by award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke, followed by the four operas of Wagner's epic masterpiece.

Sponsored by SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music and J.S. Cinemas locally, The Met: Live in HD will offer the Ring cycle screenings at the Roxy Theater in downtown Potsdam.

The Met: Live in HD Ring cycle schedule is as follows:

• "Wagner's Dream": Monday, May 7, 6:30 p.m.
• "Das Rheingold": Wednesday, May 9, 6:30 p.m.
• "Die Walküre": Monday, May 14, 6:30 p.m.
• "Siegfried": Wednesday, May 16, 6:30 p.m.
• "Götterdämmerung": Saturday, May 19, noon

Met Music Director James Levine conducts the first two installments, "Das Rheingold" and "Die Walküre," and Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi is on the podium for "Siegfried" and "Götterdämmerung."

"Wagner's Dream" shows the high stakes as visionary director Robert Lepage, along with some of the world's greatest operatic artists, tackles Wagner's Ring cycle. The documentary gives an intimate look at the enormous theatrical and musical challenges of staging opera's most monumental work. Tickets for "Wagner's Dream" are $8, or free with the purchase of tickets for the entire series.

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

If you order tickets for all four operas, you can see the documentary for free. For more information, call the CPS Box Office at (315) 267-2277 or visit www2.potsdam.edu/cps/eventpgs/ring.html.

To learn more about The Met: Live in HD, visit www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/liveinhd/LiveinHD.aspx.

For more information about The Crane School of Music, 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, and is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2011-12.

-www.potsdam.edu/crane-

Posted Monday April 30, 2012 at 10:00 am by SUNY Potsdam
Last Updated Monday May 07, 2012 at 11:10 am