Met Opera Offers Free Outdoor 'Lucia' Simulcast, 9/24

On the heels of a notably strong box office opening, the Metropolitan Opera launches its 2007-08 season with a wide range of public outreach events and programs.  For the second year in a row, the Met presents its groundbreaking opening-night relay to Times Square. On Monday, September 24, the gala performance of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor will be transmitted live onto giant outdoor screens in Times Square and Lincoln Center's Josie Robertson Plaza.

The new production, conducted by Met Music Director James Levine and directed by Tony winner Mary Zimmerman, stars Natalie Dessay and Marcello Giordani.  The performance will also be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera on Sirius Satellite Radio (Channel 85) and streamed live from the Met's website, www.metopera.org.

The Met's Opening Night Gala performance of Lucia di Lammermoor will be held on Monday, September 24 at 6:30PM.  Last year, Anthony Minghella's new production of Madama Butterfly made international headlines when it was presented on three screens in Times Square.  Lucia di Lammermoor will be seen on at least four screens: Toys "R" Us, Reuters, NASDAQ, and Panasonic's AstroVision screen.  Approximately 1,500 seats will be available for the public on a first-come first-served basis, with additional standing room provided.  The Times Square relay is free, and tickets are not required.

A simultaneous outdoor relay of the performance will be presented on Lincoln Center's Josie Robertson Plaza, drawing an additional potential audience of 2,000.  Advance tickets are required for attendance to the broadcast in Lincoln Center Plaza and will be available at the Met box office beginning at 12 noon on Sunday, September 23. Tickets are available on a first-come first-served basis, free of charge, with a limit of two tickets per person.

The Met will host the first of the season's three free Open Houses on Thursday, September 20, for the final dress rehearsal of Lucia di Lammermoor.  The Open House and Opening Night Gala performance are dedicated to the memory of the late Beverly Sills.  The Arnold and Marie Schwartz Gallery Met will debut its first solo exhibition on September 19, with Guillermo Kuitca: Stage Fright, showcasing opera-inspired works by the world-renowned Argentine artist.

One of the company's most successful new audience development initiatives, the Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Rush Ticket program, continues in the 2007-08 season and expands to include all standard-priced, non-gala performances from Mondays through Thursdays, beginning on September 25 with the first performance of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette.  The program offers 200 Orchestra-level seats – normally priced at $100 per ticket – for $20 per ticket, two hours before curtain on the day of the performance.  The tickets, limited to two per person, are available on a first-come, first-served basis.  In addition, a new provision this season sets aside 50 of the rush tickets for senior citizens (65 years or older), allowing them to purchase by phone or on the Met's website, beginning at noon each day, and avoid having to wait in line.  The senior tickets are then held at the Met's box office for pick-up with identification and are available any time before curtain on the day of the performance.

For complete information visit www.metopera.org.