Ridgefield to Screen the Met's TURANDOT

Metropolitan Opera Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Franco Zeffirelli's celebrated production of Turandot, which stars Christine Goerke in the title role of the icy Chinese princess who has renounced all men. Roberto Aronica sings Calàf, the suitor who risks his head for her hand and sings the famed aria "Nessun dorma." Eleonora Buratto is the slave girl Liù, and James Morris is Calàf's long-lost father, Timur. Turandot comes to The Ridgefield Playhouse on the big screen in HD on Monday, October 14th at 2pm, part of the Classical Series underwritten by Jeanne Cook, Liz & Steven Goldstone, and Sabina & Walter Slavin, with support from Whistle Stop Bakery.

Puccini's final masterpiece takes place in Peking, China in the mythical past. Outside the Imperial Palace, a mandarin reads an edict to the crowd: Any prince seeking to marry Princess Turandot must answer three riddles. If he fails, he will die. The most recent suitor, the Prince of Persia, is to be executed at the moon's rising. Among the onlookers are the slave girl Liù, her aged master, and the young Calàf, who recognizes the old man as his long-lost father, Timur, vanquished King of Tartary. Only Liù has remained faithful to him, and when Calàf asks her why, she replies that once, long ago, Calàf smiled at her. The mob cries for blood but greets the rising moon with a sudden fearful silence. As the Prince of Persia goes to his death, the crowd calls upon the princess to spare him. Turandot appears in her palace and wordlessly orders the execution to proceed. Transfixed by the beauty of the unattainable princess, Calàf decides to win her, to the horror of Liù and Timur.

The Metropolitan Opera is a vibrant home for the most creative and talented singers, conductors, composers, musicians, stage directors, designers, visual artists, choreographers, and dancers from around the world. The Ridgefield Playhouse offers free tickets to The Metropolitan Opera in HD series to students 18 and younger as a way for parents to introduce their children to the arts. FREE tickets are also available to students 18 and younger for live and encore HD screenings of The Bolshoi Ballet and National Theatre of London.

For tickets ($25 | Members & Seniors $20 | Students $15 | FREE for students 18 and under) call or visit the box office, 203-438-5795 or go online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.