Met Opera and National Theatre Encore Screenings Continue This Fall at Ridgefield Playhouse

The Ridgefield Playhouse will continue to give patrons the thrill of the world class theater and opera performances this fall with encore screenings of The Met Opera and London's National Theater. Highlights include National Theatre's King Lear starring Sir Ian McKellan, The Met Opera's Il Trovatore and Cavalleria Rusticana.

This summer while Broadway and The Met have been shut down, The Playhouse was able opera and theater fans a way to experience performances in socially-distanced and safe way.

From "contactless" ticket purchases to new ways to order concessions via mobile site before the movie or from your seat - patrons were happy with their new theater going experience. The positive feedback was tremendous with one patron writing about the film that she attended "So pleased to see that it was not crowded, no lines, we were seated apart from others, and everyone wore masks. I chose to wear gloves. Thank you for making it safe, and comfortable. And what a treat to see a movie after four months!"

Opera's favorite double bill returns on Sunday, September 27 at 2pm, in an evocative production by Sir David McVicar, who sets the action across two time periods but in the same Sicilian village. Marcelo Álvarez rises to the challenge of playing the dual tenor roles of Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana and Canio in Pagliacci. Sopranos Eva-Maria Westbroek (Cavalleria Rusticana) and Patricia Racette (Pagliacci) sing the unlucky heroines in these two verismo staples. Then, on Sunday, September 27 at 2pm, a remarkable cast takes the stage in Verdi's supreme showcase of Italianate singing in this encore presentation of Il Trovatore from the 2015-16 season. Soprano Anna Netrebko is the passionate young noblewoman Leonora, with tenor Yonghoon Lee as the outlaw Manrico and late baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky as the menacing Count di Luna. Dolora Zajick completes the quartet of principals in her signature role of Azucena. Marco Armiliato conducts Sir David McVicar's production.

Captured live from London's West End in 2018, see Sir Ian McKellen's 'extraordinarily moving portrayal' (Independent) of King Lear when it returns to the big screen on Sunday, September 20 at 2pm. Jonathan Munby directs this 'nuanced and powerful' (The Times) contemporary retelling of Shakespeare's tender, violent, moving and shocking play. Considered by many to be the greatest tragedy ever written, King Lear sees two ageing fathers - one a King, one his courtier - reject the children who truly love them. Their blindness unleashes a tornado of pitiless ambition and treachery, as family and state are plunged into a violent power struggle with bitter ends.

For more information or to purchase touchless print at home ticket ($25, Members & Seniors $20, Students $15, Children 18 & under FREE) go online to www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org or, you can visit or call the box office (203) 438-5795.

The Playhouse is currently doing socially distanced seating, so all patrons will be seated by an usher on a first come first served basis and concession/bar can be ordered via our mobile site so that you can pick it up on the way in, or get notified when it is ready for you to pick up once in the theater.

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