From New York and Moscow to Belfast

From New York andxa0 Moscow toxa0xa0Belfast

Puccini’sxa0great operaxa0‘TOSCA,’ from the Metropolitan Opera

Thexa0classic romantic balletxa0‘LE CORSAIRE’xa0from The Bolshoi Ballet

[caption id="attachment_44030" align="alignleft" width="260"] The Bolshoi Ballet performs Le Corsaire[/caption]

November sees two great classics of opera and ballet screenedxa0 from two of the world’s major cultural capitals toxa0Belfastxa0as part of Classical Arts Ireland’s 2013-14 season of live satellite events reports George Fleeton.

Onxa0Saturday 9 Novemberxa0at 6pmxa0, inxa0Odeon Belfastxa0and thexa0Odyssey Cinema,xa0 one of the greatest of all Italian operas – Puccini’sxa0‘Tosca’xa0-xa0comes live from the stage at the Met . Record Irish audiences are expected as part of a global audience in 64 countries of over 300,000.

A classic drama of love, intrigue, betrayal and corrupt power set against a background of political revolution, Puccini’s glorious and dramatic music has madexa0Toscaxa0one of the most enduringly polular operas of all time. The magnificentxa0Patricia Racettexa0is the tempestuous diva Floria Tosca.xa0 The great French tenorxa0Roberto Alagnaxa0sings Tosca’s lover, the painter, Cavaradossi andxa0George Gagnidzexa0is the corrupt, sadistic and lustful Scarpia.xa0xa0 This powerful work is conducted byxa0Riccardo Frizza.

xa0Onxa0Sunday 17 November at 3pmxa0the focus switches to Moscow when Bolshoi Ballet presents one of the greatxa0 lavish spectacle ballets from its repertoire -xa0‘Le Corsaire.’xa0(The Pirate). This can be seen at both thexa0Odyssey Cinemaxa0and atxa0Queens Film theatre

Thisxa0exotic tale of the beautiful slave-girl Medora who is sold by a slave dealer to a local Pasha, but is resucedxa0 by Conrad,xa0 a pirate chief with whom she falls in love, has all the ingredients of a classic exotic adventure-romance. It features some of the most famous individual scenes in Ballet, including the famousxa0le Corsairexa0 Pas de deux.

[caption id="attachment_44028" align="alignright" width="250"] Tosca – Patricia Racette as Tosca and Roberto Alagna as Cavaradossi, (Photo by Ken Howard).[/caption]

With music by Adolphe Adam,xa0this Bolshoi production by Yuri Burlaka and Alexeixa0 Ratmansky is one of the most lavish (and expensive)xa0 ballet revivals ever staged.xa0 Featuring up to 120 dancers , glorious costumes, a staged shipwreck, and magnificent dancing, xa0 it has all of the exotic color and dramatic sweep that the epic adventure story requires.

xa0xa0www.classicalartsireland.com

THE MET: LIVE IN HD worldwide

The pioneeringxa0Met: Live in HDxa0has been a global phenomenon since it began seven years ago, and set a template for a whole new way of experiencing live entertainment. More than three and a half million tickets were sold during the 2010-11 season. ‘The Met: Live in HD’ can now be seen in more than 1,600 venues in over 60 countries.

CLASSICAL ARTS IRELAND

CAI is a not-for-profitxa0voluntary organisation established in 2011. CAI promotes and develops a range of activities in Opera in Ireland, and in the related fields of Ballet and Classical Music. This includes an annual season of live satellite HD screenings transmitted to venues in communities all over Ireland.

Live in HD 2013-14

VENUES   

FULL CAI 2013-14xa0SEASON SCHEDULE

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