As part of the acclaimed Opus Arte Cinema series, audiences across Canada will be treated to a special presentation of Rameau’s opera CASTOR AND POLLUX. This stylish masterwork was captured live and in high definition from the Netherlands Opera at Het Musiektheater, Amsterdam and will be presented at selected cinemas Saturday April 25 & Sunday April 26.
De Nederlandse Opera (DNO) is a collossal success story in Amsterdam and regularly lends its productions to foreign companies such as the Metropolitan Opera, the Lincoln Center Festival in New York, and the Adelaide Festival in Australia. Castor And Pollux is arguably Jean-Philippe Rameau’s finest creation in the tragédie lyrique style and one of The Netherlands Opera’s recent hit productions.
Its libretto, based in mythology, focuses on an unusual theme: the self-sacrificing love between Castor (Finnur Bjarnason), who is mortal, and his immortal brother, Pollux (Henk Neven). When Castor is killed while defending his beloved Télaire (Anna Maria Panzarella) from an attempted abduction, Pollux resolves to give up his immortality and take Castor’s place in the Underworld. After passionate debate over who will live and who will die, the brothers are eternally united, transformed into the constellation Gemini.
Throughout Castor And Pollux, music, theatre, dance and spectacle are brought together in a spectacular fashion that foreshadows Wagner’s dream of total music theatre. The strikingly luminous sets, depicting a stylized version of the constellation, give this fabulous production, staged by Pierre Audi a glorious 21st-century baroque look. The terrific score is deftly brought to life by Les Talens Lyriques, conducted by Christophe Rousset, Véronique Gens sparkles as the spurned Phébé in a bravura Act Four performance.
‘A popular hit! … Beautiful and polished. Gens’s performance is radiant!’ - Bloomberg.com
The captured live performance will be presented across Canada on 25 & 26 April, at Empire Theatres and select locations. For details screenings, please go to www.digiscreen.ca and locate the participating theatre in your area.
Montreal distributor DigiScreen Corporation in partnership with Royal Opera House’s Opus Arte, releases 16-20 HD productions throughout the year.
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.empiretheatres.com/opusarte. For Landmark Cinemas in Alberta and BC, go to www.landmarkcinemas.com. For independent theatres in Vancouver, Waterloo and Montreal please visit www.festivalcinemas.ca, www.princesscinemas.com.
For more information about The Netherlands Opera please visit www.dno.nl.
For more information about DigiScreen, please visit www.digiscreen.ca.
