Music Academy of the West Presents "Met: Live in HD" Screenings the Month of April
Come out to Santa Barbara this spring and experience HD screenings of your favorite operas at Music Academy of the West! Located less than 2 miles from the Academy, Broughton’s Inn at East Beach is the perfect place to stay for your California weekend getaway.
About Music Academy of the West
Founded in 1947 by a group of visionary Southern California arts patrons and musicians, the Music Academy of the West continues to make a unique and enduring contribution to the world of classical music by cultivating appreciative audiences and advancing the development of the next generation of classical musicians. Initially serving 54 young artists, the Academy’s first four summer sessions took place at Cate School in Carpinteria. Four years later, the Academy relocated to its current home, the former estate of John Percival Jefferson in Santa Barbara, California.
The month of April is an exciting one at Music Academy of the West, with live HD screenings of audience-favorite productions:
Madama Butterfly– Saturday, April 2nd, 9:55am & Sunday, April 17th, 2pm
Anthony Minghella’s breathtaking production has thrilled audiences ever since its premiere in 2006. Kristine Opolais reprises her acclaimed portrayal of the title role, opposite Roberto Alagna as Pinkerton, the naval officer who breaks Butterfly’s heart. Hei-Kyung Hong and Massimo Giordano star in a second set of performances. Karel Mark Chichon conducts.
Manon Lescaut– Sunday, April 3rd, 2pm
Soprano Kristine Opolais and tenor Jonas Kaufmann join forces in Puccini’s obsessive love story. Opolais sings the title role of the country girl who transforms herself into a Parisian temptress, while Kaufmann is the dashing student who desperately woos her. Director Richard Eyre places the action in occupied France in a film noir setting. “Desperate passion” is the phrase Puccini himself used to describe the opera that confirmed his position as the preeminent Italian opera composer of his day. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi leads the stirring score.
- Run time: 3 hours, 8 minutes
- Tickets: $28
Roberto Devereux– Saturday, April 16th, 9:55am
Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky takes on the extraordinary challenge of singing all three of Donizetti’s Tudor queens in the course of a single season, a rare feat made famous by Beverly Sills- and not attempted on a New York stage since. In this climactic opera of the trilogy, she plays Queen Elizabeth I, forced to sign the death warrant of the nobleman she loves, Robert Devereux, and mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca and baritone Mariusz Kwiecien complete the principal quartet in the bel canto masterpiece, conducted by Donizetti specialist Maurizio Benini.
- Run time: 3 hours, 5 minutes
- Tickets: $28
Elektra– Saturday, April 30, 9:55am
The genius director Patrice Chereau (from House of the Death) didn’t live to see his great Elektra production, previously presented in Aix and Milan, make it to the stage of the Met. But his overpowering vision lives on with soprano Nina Stemme- unmatched today in the heroic female roles of Strauss and Wagner- who portrays Elektra’s primal quest for vengeance for the murder of her father, Agamemnon. Legendary mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier is chilling as Elektra’s fearsome mother, Klytamnestra. Soprano Adrianne Pieczonka and bass-baritone Eric Owens are Elektra’s troubled siblings. Chereau’s musical collaborator Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts Strauss’s mighty take on Greek myth.
- Run time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
- Tickets: $28
For more information on upcoming events, follow Music Academy of the West on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Details
“Met: Live in HD” Screenings
Where: Music Academy of the West- Santa Barbara, CA
When: Month of April
Admission: $28
Where to Stay
Inn at East Beach
Whatever makes your ideal California weekend getaway, the Inn at East Beach Hotel in Santa Barbara is here to help you stay well- and well within your budget! 1029 Orilla Del Mar, Santa Barbara, CA, 93103. 805.965.0546.
