Amy Wood and Barry Coulter
The Royal Opera House's production of "Andrea Chénier" to Columbia Theatres in Cranbrook at the end of the month for a limited two-screening engagement.
The opera is making its Canadian debut at 30 cinemas nation-wide, including Cranbrook, on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m., with an encore performance on Monday, March 9, at 6:30 p.m.
Jonas Kaufmann stars as Andrea Chénier, the pre-romantic poet embroiled in the French revolution in this stunning opera. Conducted by Antonio Pappano and directed by David McVicar, the new production for The Royal Opera is a fictionalized account of the life of Chénier, opening during the opulence of pre-revolutionary France and coming to its climatic end in the final days of the "Reign of Terror." The story begins in 1789 at a lavish winter garden party in Paris where Chénier falls in love with the beautiful aristocratic Maddalena, sung by Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek. Six years later Maddalena has lost everything and France has descended into a city consumed by suspicion and fear.
Composed by Umberto Giordano, the opera,not seen at Covent Garden since 1985, is famed for its challenging tenor role and big arias. Staged to great visual effect from the palaces to the streets of Paris in a swath of patriotic colours "Andrea Chénier" will be an evocative production not to be missed.
Tickets for The Royal Opera's production of "Andrea Chénier" are: Adult $22.99, Senior $19.99, Child $19.99.
Columbia Theatres in Cranbrook is this winter and spring bringing in several lavish film productions of opera and theatre. These include:
• "Der Fliegende Hollander" by the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Saturday, March 21, 10 a.m. and Monday March 30, 6:30 p.m.
• Shakespeare's "MwacBeth," by the Shakespeare Globe Theatre London, Saturday, March 28.
• "Exhibition on Screen - Vermeer" by the National Gallery London, Saturday, April 4, 10 a.m.
• Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," by the Globe Theatre London, Saturday, April 11, 10 a.m.
• "Swan Lake" (Tchaikovsky), by the Royal Ballet, Saturday, April 18, 10 a.m.
• "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny" (Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht) by the Royal Opera, Saturday, April 25, 10 a.m., and Monday, May 4, 6:30 p.m.
• "La Fille Mal Gardee" (Frederick Ashton), by the Royal Ballet, Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m.
• "La Boheme" (Puccini) by the Royal Opera, Saturday July 11, 10 a.m. and Monday, July 20, 6:30 p.m.
• "Guillaume Tell" (Rossini) by the Royal Opera, Covent Garden,Saturday, August 8, 10 a.m., and Monday, August 17, 6:30 p.m.