Puccini’s best-loved work, with its unforgettable period designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman, returns to The Royal Opera House stage with an outstanding cast. La bohème is one of the most famously melodious and eternally popular of all operas. The carefree attitude of youth and the harsh realities of life are poignantly contrasted through the tender affair of Mimì (Greek soprano Alexia Voulgaridou) and Rodolfo (South Korean tenor Wookyung Kim), from the heights of first meeting through to the tragic end.

The production is one of The Royal Opera Company’s most loved, bringing to life Paris of 1830 in detailed sets and costumes as we travel with the characters between bare attic, crowded café and a wintry street right on the city’s edge. The international cast is under the expert baton of Christian Badea, a conductor especially noted for his interpretations of Puccini. With that composer’s mastery of orchestral colour matched to the superb playing of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, La bohème is an evening of great sound, engrossing imagery and stirring romantic drama.

“Sold out audiences. Irresistible!” - Musicalcriticism

La bohème was captured before a live audience at Royal Opera House Covent Garden in December 2009.

Tickets will be available at $19.95 + tax per adult, $16.95 + tax per senior and $9.95 + tax per child.  For cinema locations and to purchase advance tickets throughout Canada and the USA visit www.digiscreen.ca. For Landmark Cinemas in Alberta and BC, go to www.landmarkcinemas.com. For independent theatres in Vancouver and Waterloo please visit www.festivalcinemas.ca, www.princesscinemas.com.

from the Stage of

SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE THEATRE in London!

“Captivated the audience to a degree that I would not have thought possible! It’s a treat!” – The Independent

In cinemas Saturday February 27^th, theatre fans will be treated to the third captivating West End production in High Definition from the most spectacular of London’s theatre venues, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on the Thames. The Bard’s Love’s Labour’s Lost is the final exciting Globe Theatre productions to be presented this winter at select Landmark Cinemas locations and other select theatres in Canada this winter. Distributed worldwide by DigiScreen, the highly acclaimed production appears on select Canadian screens as part of an ongoing cinema series from the world’s great stages presented by The Royal Opera House’s Opus Arte.

Artistic director Dominic Dromgoole graces the Globe Theatre stage with a revival of a previous critical and popular triumph: his extraordinary production of Love’s Labour’s Lost. Shakespeare’s celebration of the claims of young love is a festive parade of every weapon in the youthful playwright’s comic arsenal – from excruciating cross-purposes to silly impersonations, drunkenness, bustups and pratfalls. It’s also his most joyful banquet of language, groaning with puns, rhymes, bizarre syntax, grotesque coinages and parody. The King of Navarre and his courtiers have forsworn every kind of pleasure. But a visit from the Princess of France and her lovely entourage soon has this all-male ‘academe’ tearing up its own rulebook. The revival of Love’s Labour’s Lost provides the Globe Theatre with the occasion to re-weave its enchanting spell over new audiences around the

world.

“Entirely enchanting!” – The Times

Love’s Labour’s Lost was captured before a live audience at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in October 2009

Tickets will be available at $19.95 + tax per adult, $16.95 + tax per senior and $9.95 + tax per child.  For cinema locations and to purchase advance tickets throughout Canada visit www.digiscreen.ca. F

or Landmark Cinemas in Alberta and BC, go to www.landmarkcinemas.com. For independent theatres in Bracebridge and Waterloo please visit www.norwoodtheatre.com, www.princesscinemas.com.

“As heart-warming an evening as any I have spent at Glyndebourne!” - Opera Magazine

In cinemas Saturday February 13^td, opera fans will be treated to the second intoxicating production in High Definition from Glyndebourne Festival Opera. L’ELISIR D’AMORE will be presented at select Landmark Cinemas locations and other select theatres in Canada and the USA this winter. Distributed worldwide by DigiScreen, the highly acclaimed production appears on select Canadian screens as part of an ongoing cinema series from the world’s great stages presented by The Royal Opera House’s Opus Arte.

Director Annabel Arden has created a huge hit for Glyndebourne with her irresistible production of L’elisir d’amore. Set in an idyllic vision of a southern Italian village square, Donizetti’s delightful opera tells of the romantic rivalry between the penniless Nemorino (Peter Auty) and the bumptious Sergeant Belcore (Massimo Cavaletti) for the love of the beautiful, bookish Adina (Adriana Kucerova), whose reading of the tale of Tristan and Isolde makes poor lovesick Nemorino think that the wonder-working Dr. Dulcamara might have just the potion his heart requires.

Witty, charming and ultimately deeply touching, this is Italian opera at its intoxicating best. The score bubbles over with high spirits, the action is genuinely funny and though, as in all the best comedies, the laughter is occasionally tinged with tears, true love eventually wins the day - all thanks to a bottle or two of Bordeaux. No wonder  L’ELISIR D’AMORE has long been among Donizetti’s most popular works.

L’ELISIR D’AMORE was captured before a live audience at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in August 2009. Glyndebourne’s trademark has long been exquisitely detailed productions richly developed by an extensive rehearsal process that focuses on the ensemble. Since the 1930’s, the popular annual opera festival has flourished, residing in the grand English country house Glyndebourne near Lewes, in East Sussex.

Tickets will be available at $19.95 + tax per adult, $16.95 + tax per senior and $9.95 + tax per child.  For cinema locations and to purchase advance tickets throughout Canada visit www.digiscreen.ca. For Landmark Cinemas in Alberta and BC, go to www.landmarkcinemas.com. For independent theatres in Vancouver and Waterloo please visit www.festivalcinemas.ca, www.princesscinemas.com.

In cinemas Saturday January 30^th, theatre fans will be treated to the second enchanting West End production in High Definition from the most spectacular of London’s theatre venues, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on the Thames. The Bard’s AS YOU LIKE IT is the second of three exciting Globe Theatre productions that will be presented at select Landmark Cinemas locations and other select theatres in Canada this winter. Distributed worldwide by DigiScreen, the highly acclaimed production appears on select Canadian screens as part of an ongoing cinema series from the world’s great stages presented by The Royal Opera House’s Opus Arte.

A much-loved comedy of love, intrigue and mistaken identity and one of the hits of the Globe Theatre season, AS YOU LIKE IT stars the superb Naomi Frederick as the heroine Rosalind, one of Shakespeare’s best-loved characters. Rosalind is the daughter of a banished duke. She falls in love with Orlando at a wrestling match. Her usurping uncle, jealous of her popularity banishes her from court. Disguised as a boy she leaves with her cousin Celia and the jester Touchstone, to seek out her father in the Forest of Arden. To her great surprise, she encounters Orlando in the woods and, under the guise of a young man, must counsel him in the art of love and wooing. AS YOU LIKE IT runs the glorious gamut of pastoral romance: cross-dressing and love-notes; poetry and brilliant conversation; gentle satire, slapstick and passion. A stellar cast, a handful of brilliantly devised characters and some of the Bard’s most beautiful poetry make this an enchanting summer evening at the Globe by the Thames. Award-winning Thea Sharrock directs at the Globe for the first time and creates a magical night at the theatre.

“So charming, so beautifully done! Immensely cheering!” - Daily Mail

ROMEO AND JULIET was captured before a live audience at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in October 2009

The Globe’s ROMEO & JULIET was presented in cinemas in November 2009. In March 2010, audiences can look forward to the wonderful production of LOVE’S LABOURS LOST from the Globe Theatre.

Tickets will be available at $19.95 + tax per adult, $16.95 + tax per senior and $9.95 + tax per child.  For cinema locations and to purchase advance tickets throughout Canada visit www.digiscreen.ca. For Landmark Cinemas in Alberta and BC, go to www.landmarkcinemas.com. For independent theatres in Vancouver, Bracebridge and Waterloo please visit www.festivalcinemas.ca, www.norwoodtheatre.com, www.princesscinemas.com.

- The Telegraph

In cinemas Saturday January 23^rd, dance fans will experience the thrill of seeing The Royal Ballet’s stupendous production of SWAN LAKE from Royal Opera House Covent Garden. SWAN LAKE will be presented at select Landmark Cinemas locations and other select theatres in Canada this winter. Distributed worldwide by DigiScreen, the highly acclaimed production appears on select Canadian screens as part of an ongoing cinema series from the world’s great stages presented by The Royal Opera House’s Opus Arte.

It’s a sumptuous treat for audiences - The Royal Ballet’s revival of Anthony Dowell’s romantic production of SWAN LAKE whose designs were inspired by Imperial Russia of 1895, when the ballet was first performed. The legendary production is quite simply ballet’s most famous work with some of its best loved music.

SWAN LAKE is the classic story of love and betrayal. It is Siegfried’s birthday and his mother gives him a crossbow and an ultimatum to get married! An evil magician keeps beautiful women as swans on the lake - but by night they can resume human form. Siegfried falls in love with one of the Swans, Odette, who is actually a Princess. The spell can only be broken by someone who’ll love her truly forever.

The production at Covent Garden recreates closely the choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Argentine prima ballerina Marianela Nuñez is on stunning form as Odette, superbly partnered by the gifted Thiago Soares as the Prince. Wondrous choreography, unforgettable moonlit images of ethereal swans, palace balls. breath-taking dancing and Tchaikovsky’s glorious music, under the expert baton of Boris Gruzin, make for an extraordinary evening of inspiration and romance.

SWAN LAKE was captured before a live audience at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in October 2008

Tickets will be available at $19.95 + tax per adult, $16.95 + tax per senior and $9.95 + tax per child.  For cinema locations and to purchase advance tickets throughout Canada visit www.digiscreen.ca. For Landmark Cinemas in Alberta and BC, go to www.landmarkcinemas.com. For independent theatres in Vancouver and Waterloo please visit www.festivalcinemas.ca, www.princesscinemas.com.

This December, select Canadian cinema audiences will enjoy an uplifting and glorious experience: the most popular of all oratorios Handel’s Messiah is sung by the world’s greatest choir (Choir of King’s College Cambridge) in Britain’s most iconic chapel (Chapel of King’s College).  The special 75-minute performance is sure to enthrall audiences during the Christmas season.

Under the direction of Stephen Cleobury, the Choir’s presentation of Handel’s Messiah was the centerpiece of King’s College’s 10-day Easter celebration of 2009.  Internationally recognized as the pre-eminent representative of the great British church music tradition, the Choir owes its existence to King Henry VI who envisaged the daily singing of services in his magnificent chapel. To this day, this remains the Choir’s raison d’être. Today’s Choir has millions of music fans worldwide thanks to its special radio broadcasts, many acclaimed recordings and its international touring programme.

Messiah is performed by The Choir of King’s College at the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, one of the most important medieval buildings in Britain.  The architectural majesty of the Chapel has lent its acoustical magic to the much admired and loved Choir for the last five centuries. The performance was captured live at the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge in High Definition and Full Surround Sound on April 5, 2009

Tickets will be available at $19.95 + tax per adult, $16.95 + tax per senior and $9.95 + tax per child.  For cinema locations and to purchase advance tickets throughout Canada visit www.digiscreen.ca. For Landmark Cinemas in Alberta and BC, go to www.landmarkcinemas.com. For independent theatres in Vancouver, Bracebridge and Waterloo please visit www.festivalcinemas.ca, www.norwoodtheatre.com, www.princesscinemas.com.

Starting Saturday December 4^th, select cinemas will present the Christmas season family favourite from The Royal Ballet at Royal Opera House Covent Garden - THE NUTCRACKER in High Definition. Never before seen on screens outside of London, The Royal Ballet’s exquisite THE NUTCRACKER composed by Tchaikovsky and staging by Sir Peter Wright will be presented at select Cineplex and Landmark Cinemas locations as well as other select independent theatres in Canada this December. Distributed worldwide by DigiScreen, the highly acclaimed production appears on over 100 select Canadian screens as part of an ongoing cinema series from the world’s great stages presented by The Royal Opera House’s Opus Arte.

A magician with secrets, an enchanted gift, a battle with the Mouse King, a guiding angel and a visit through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets: it must be the seasonal favourite, The Nutcracker. The ballet draws on all the imagination and fantasy of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story of Christmas eve, when young Clara creeps downstairs for one of her presents, but finds herself instead at the start of a night of magical adventures. The designs for this now classic production create the real world of the 19th-century - even when the Christmas tree magically grows and the toy soldiers come to life to fight the Mouse King! The beautifully coloured imaginings of the fantasy Sugar Garden and its celebratory dances make a fabulous contrast - the Sugar Plum Fairy is just one of the delights you might discover here - and Peter Wright’s production tells the story clearly from its mysterious start to its happy conclusion. Tchaikovsky’s music is some of the most instantly memorable of all ballet, with a wealth of famous melodies. This is classical ballet at its most approachable and visually entrancing, with something for everyone to enjoy, from the youngest in the family to the oldest. It’s a present to unwrap yourself this Christmas for that bit of extra magic.

THE NUTCRACKER was captured before a live audience at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in Dec 2008.

Tickets will be available at family pricing: child $9.25, seniors $11.50 and general admission $12.50.  For cinema locations and to purchase advance tickets throughout Canada visit www.digiscreen.ca. For participating Theater chains across Canada visit the following links: www.cineplex.com/events and www.landmarkcinemas.com.

For independent theatres in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta and the NorthWest Teritories, please visit www.digiscreen.ca

DIGISCREEN is proud to announce the partnership with DIGIMA for the distribution of alternative content in digital cinemas in Italy.

A multi-year agreement was signed today for exclusive distribution throughout Italy. Digima will book screening events from DIGISCREEN’s prestigious catalogue of operas, ballets, concerts and theatre by major world class opera houses, orchestras, choirs and theatres. Presentations include the masterpieces of William Shakespeare from the Globe Theatre in London; major productions from the stages of  Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro Real Madrid, and Gran Teatre del Liceu; and concerts from King’s College Cambridge. New content will be screened in all Italian cinemas equipped with Digima’s digital technology.
The 2009-1010 season includes a total of 20 new special events from DigiScreen’s international catalogue of more than 60 productions from the world’s great stages. The series will launch in December 2009 with the Christmas atmosphere of the ballet The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky from The Royal Ballet from The Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, followed by The Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake; L’Elisir d’Amore by Donizetti from Glyndebourne Festival Opera; La Bohème from The Royal Opera in London, Manon from Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; Tchaikovsky’s The Tsarina’s Slippers from The Royal Opera House and many others.

DIGIMA is currently the leading company in Italy for technical innovation in the field of cinema, thanks to long experience in computing and telecommunications services. It offers exhibitors and distributors the delivery of digital systems, kits, automation room, maintenance, 24×7 phone support and management of the supply chain of the film product (acquisition of audiovisual content and file conversion, production and delivery of digital copies in the room via broadband or satellite).

DIGISCREEN is one of the largest companies worldwide for the management and distribution rights of operas, ballets and entertainment events recorded at the most prestigious theatres and auditoriums in the world. DigiScreen’s catalog is continuously updated and is constantly expanding: more than 400 theatres around the world screen presentations from DIGISCREEN, including major U.S. Canadian, British and European film circuits.

Digima SpA - Via 42 Martiri, 165 - Verbania - Tel. 0323.586730 - Fax 0323.586937

Web Site: www.digimaonline.com - email: info@digimaonline.com

Informazioni per la Stampa: Alice Tentori - Tel. 340.5645912 - atentori@digimaonline.com

In cinemas Saturday November 28^th, theatre fans will be treated to their first opportunity of experiencing passionate West End productions in High Definition from the most spectacular of London’s theatre venues, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on the Thames. ROMEO AND JULIET is the first of three exciting Globe Theatre productions that will be presented at select Landmark Cinemas locations and other select theatres in Canada this fall and winter. Distributed worldwide by DigiScreen, the highly acclaimed production appears on select Canadian screens as part of an ongoing cinema series from the world’s great stages presented by The Royal Opera House’s Opus Arte.

From the historic Globe Theatre, comes the acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET, directed by artistic director Dominic Dromgoole. A violent street brawl between their rival families is the prelude to Romeo’s (Adetomiwa Edun) first encounter with Juliet (Ellie Kendrick). Despite this, and the fact that Juliet has been promised to another man in marriage, they fall in

love. Renewed violence between their two families threatens to drive them apart and a hidden tragedy begins to unfold. Rising young West End star Adetomiwa Edun shines as a cheeky, athletic Romeo with magnetism to spare. 18-year-old Ellie Kendrick, who received great acclaim for her recent performance as Anne Frank in the BBC dramatisation of The Diary of Anne Frank, is a revelation as the vivacious Juliet. Friar Laurence is played by Maori actor Rawiri Paratene - one of New Zealand’s best known actors, who is recognised internationally for his endearing performance in the Oscar nominated film, The Whale Rider.

With its wonderful combination of lyricism, suspense and dramatic changes of mood, Shakespeare’s heartbreaking tale is one of the greatest of all love stories. On the banks of the Thames, in London’s famous West End theatre district, ROMEO AND JULIET shone as one of the hits of the Globe’s summer season. The Globe theatre, a stunning reproduction of the original Globe theatre built a mere 200 yards from the original site, is a destination for Shakespeare lovers from around the world.

“The audience were rapt!” - Observer

“Powerfully conveys the play’s spirit of reckless vitality! The performances shine!” - The Mail on Sunday

ROMEO AND JULIET was captured before a live audience at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in August 2009

In early 2010, audiences can look forward to two more great productions from the Globe Theatre, Shakespeare favourites AS YOU LIKE IT and LOVE’S LABOURS LOST.

Tickets will be available at $19.95 + tax per adult, $16.95 + tax per senior and $9.95 + tax per child.  For cinema locations and to purchase advance tickets throughout Canada visit www.digiscreen.ca. For Landmark Cinemas in Alberta and BC, go to www.landmarkcinemas.com. For independent theatres in Vancouver, Bracebridge and Waterloo please visit www.festivalcinemas.ca, www.norwoodtheatre.com, www.princesscinemas.com.

About Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

www.shakespeares-globe.org

The project to rebuild Shakespeare’s Globe was initiated by the American actor, director and producer Sam Wanamaker after his first visit to London in 1949. Twenty-one years later he founded what was to become the Shakespeare Globe Trust, dedicated to the reconstruction of the theatre and the creation of an education centre and permanent exhibition. After 23 years spent tirelessly fundraising, advancing research into the appearance of the original Globe and planning the reconstruction with the Trust’s architect Theo Crosby, Sam Wanamaker died, the site having been secured, the exhibition undercroft structurally complete and a few timber bays of the theatre in place. Three and a half years later the theatre was completed. Based on printed panoramas, written accounts, building contracts, a sketch, suggestive descriptions included in the plays themselves and the archaeological excavation of the Rose Theatre and The Globe Theatre in 1989, the new Globe is a product of painstaking reconstruction. The new 20-sided theatre was constructed using authentic 16th-century building practices where feasible and the roof is made of water reed thatch, based on samples found during the excavation.

The first Theatre was built in Shoreditch in 1576 by actor-manager James Burbage, the first purpose-built playhouse in London. Shakespeare joined the resident troupe at the Theatre in the 1580s and the company (later known as the Chamberlain’s and then the King’s Men) flourished there for 20 years. The theatre was demolished in 1598 and its timbers carried over the river to relocate at a site near the Rose. Shakespeare was one of four actors who bought a share in the Globe to help finance its construction. By early 1599 the theatre was up and running and for 14 years it thrived, presenting many of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. In 1613, the Globe burned down during a performance of Henry VIII and was re-built again, It remained the home for Shakespeare’s old company until the closure of all the theatres under England’s Puritan administration in 1642. No longer of use, it was demolished to make room for tenements in 1644. The Shakespeare Globe Trust’s reconstruction is as faithful to the original as modern scholarship and traditional craftsmanship can make it. The Globe Theatre is a unique international resource dedicated to the exploration of Shakespeare’s work and the playhouse for which he wrote, through the connected means of performance and education.

]]> http://www.digiscreen.ca/upcoming-show/878/feed/ http://www.digiscreen.ca/upcoming-show/in-cinemas-for-the-first-time-glyndebourne-festival-opera-its-production-of-falstaff-is-quite-simply-wonderful/ http://www.digiscreen.ca/upcoming-show/in-cinemas-for-the-first-time-glyndebourne-festival-opera-its-production-of-falstaff-is-quite-simply-wonderful/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:19:44 +0000 Blair Haynes http://www.digiscreen.ca/?p=867 This Fall, Opus Arte and DigiScreen offer cinema opera fans their first exciting chance to see the highlight productions from the world renowned Glyndebourne Festival Opera. On Saturday, November 14th, Glyndebourne’s acclaimed production of FALSTAFF lights up the screen when Verdi’s delightful portrait of one of Shakespeare’s best loved characters presents at select Landmark Cinemas locations and other select theatres in Canada. Distributed worldwide by DigiScreen, the highly acclaimed production appears on select Canadian screens as part of an ongoing cinema series from the world’s great stages presented by The Royal Opera House’s Opus Arte.

Verdi’s astounding score takes on new life in Richard’s Jones’s darkly funny production of the much-loved masterpiece Falstaff. Verdi’s final opera, Falstaff is a mercurial, nimble-footed and profusely tuneful portrait of Shakespeare’s Fat Knight. The libretto combines three parts Merry Wives of Windsor to two parts Henry IV, with a sprinkling of fairy dust from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A witty farce, the opera follows Falstaff’s attempted seduction of two local ladies who then exact their wily revenge on him. In Jones’s hands, Shakespeare’s Windsor becomes a delightful half-timbered England complete with busty barmaids, Brownies and Eton schoolboys boating on the Thames.

A strongly international cast is led by the exciting British baritone Christopher Purves in the larger-than-life role of the corpulent Falstaff, whose profligate presence both outrages and inspires the leaner, meaner citizens of Windsor. His Falstaff is an unforgettable, brilliantly original creation and the triumphant production is vintage Glyndebourne.

“Verdi’s score explodes with comic invention! Exceptional singing!” - Daily Express

“Quite simply wonderful!” - Musicalcriticism

FALSTAFF was captured before a live audience at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in June 2009. Since the 1930’s, the popular annual opera festival has flourished, residing in the grand English country house Glyndebourne near Lewes, in East Sussex.

Tickets will be available at $19.95 + tax per adult, $16.95 + tax per senior and $9.95 + tax per child.  For cinema locations and to purchase advance tickets throughout Canada visit www.digiscreen.ca. For Landmark Cinemas in Alberta and BC, go to www.landmarkcinemas.com. For independent theatres in Vancouver and Waterloo please visit www.festivalcinemas.ca, www.princesscinemas.com.

About Glyndebourne Festival Opera

www.glyndebourne.com

The curtain rose on the first performance of the Opera Festival at Glyndebourne on 28th May, 1934. It was the culmination of one man’s obsession with the idea of presenting ‘not the best we can do, but the best that can be done anywhere’. The words are John Christie’s, owner of the estate at Glyndebourne, which he had inherited in 1920. He ‘felt that it [opera] was almost non existent…in England, so we ought to begin to bring it here’. He designed the theatre to hold 300 people, a reasonable orchestra pit and a stage furnished with the most modern technical and lighting equipment. He eventually found the men that he wanted for his opera house - conductor Fritz Busch from Dresden and producer Carl Ebert from Berlin who had left Germany because they could not work under the Hitler regime. The first season lasted for two weeks, with six performances of Le nozze di Figaro and six of Così fan tutte. The first performance of Figaro was unlike anything that the audience had experienced before, and whatever their reason for coming, an audience which had certainly arrived in a mood of scepticism returned knowing that it had enjoyed a unique experience. It was not only that they had enjoyed a good dinner during the long interval and a walk in a garden surrounded by beautiful downland scenery, but they had witnessed the creation of an entirely new standard of operatic performance. It was a standard achieved by endless rehearsal and by attention to detail - in the orchestra, the singing, the acting, the scenery and costumes. There were no star names among the singers; the secret of the success of the first Glyndebourne performances was the quality of the ensemble, which was built on the principle of choosing the best singers for the parts, no matter where they came from. These remain the trademarks of Glyndebourne to this day.  Glyndebourne Festival Opera is a cherished international institution.