Ellsworth, Maine - The “Live in HD” high-definition simulcast series of productions and hi-def encores from The New York Metropolitan Opera continues its 2016 – 2017 season at The Grand on Saturday
January 7th at 1 pm with a presentation of Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco, starring the legendary Plácido Domingo who brings another new baritone role to the Met under the baton of his longtime collaborator James Levine. Tickets are $27.00 for adults, $25.00 for Grand members and $20.00 for students (15 and under).
“The Met: Live in HD,” the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of live transmissions offering a significant portion of the Met season to DownEast and MidCoast Maine communities, continues its eleventh season with two giants of this most dramatic of musical arts overcoming and transcending their own health issues to present one of the Italian composer's most celebrated pieces. The success of Verdi’s third opera, a stirring drama about the fall of ancient Jerusalem at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (aka “Nabucco”), catapulted the 28-year-old composer to international fame. The music and Verdi himself were subsumed into a surge of patriotic fervor culminating in the foundation of the modern nation of Italy. Specifically, the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (“Va, pensiero”), in which the Israelites express their longing for their homeland, came to stand for the country’s aspirations for unity and that exciting era in Italian history, the Risorgimento, or “Resurgence.” And now, this production of Verdi's work is brought to melodic life by Ukranian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska (“Abigaile”), American tenor Russell Thomas (“Ismaele”) and American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton (“Fenena”) with support from a production team that includes Revival Stage Director J. Knighten Smit, Set Designer John Napier, Costume Designer Andreane Neofitou and Lighting Designer Howard Harrison.
“The Met: Live in HD series” is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor, The Neubauer Family Foundation. Global corporate sponsorship of The Met: Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg. Transmission of The Met: Live in HD in Canada is made possible thanks to the generosity of Jacqueline Desmarais, in memory of Paul G. Desmarais Sr. The HD broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builder®.
For more information on the Met opera at The Grand, including the upcoming summer encore of Met favorites, please call the box office at 207-667-9500. For more information on events at The Grand visit The Grand website at
www.grandonline.org or follow The Grand on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Grand-Auditorium/112755987339
Image attached: The cast of the “Live in HD” high-definition simulcast of Verdi’s Nabucco.
