Merola Opera Program to Screen CARMEN, 10/26

The Merola Opera Program and the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch will present the second season of Merola Goes to the Movies, the free, opera-on-film series.

Georges Bizet's legendary opera Carmen will be screened on Sunday, October 26th at 1 pm in the Koret Auditorium at the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch (100 Larkin Street).

Each film is preceded by a short, pre-screening talk by a Merola representative, who will give an insider's look at the opera and interesting facts about the making of the film.

With a smoldering score by Bizet, the world's most popular opera comes to vibrant life with opera superstars Placido Doming and Julia Migenes-Johnson in the lead roles. Carmen is caught in an obsessive love triangle and torn between a young soldier and a swaggering toreador, where she pays the ultimate price for love.

The cast includes Plácido Domingo, Julia Migenes-Johnson, Ruggero Raimondi, Faith Esham, François Le Roux and others.

Admission is free. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Guests are welcome to enter a free drawing where you can win Merola Opera Program prizes.

For 57 years, the Merola Opera Program has been regarded as the foremost opera training program for aspiring singers, coaches and stage directors. As the cornerstone of San Francisco Opera's training and performance programs for promising young artists, Merola has served as a proving ground for hundreds of artists, including Ruth Ann Swenson , Deborah Voigt , Anna Netrebko, Patricia Racette, Sylvia McNair, Thomas Hampson, Carol Vaness, Joyce DiDonato, Susan Graham, and Dolora Zajick among many others.

For information about Merola Goes to the Movies, please visit www.Merola.org or call the Merola Opera Program at 415.565.6427.