The Warner Theatre to Show THE OPERA HOUSE this January

The Warner Theatre will show THE OPERA HOUSE, in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre on Saturday, January 13 at 12:55 pm as a fundraiser to benefit opera programming at the Warner. Admission is $25. A one-hour post-opera dessert and wine reception will be offered in the Studio Lobby for $15.

THE OPERA HOUSE, a new film by multiple Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Susan Froemke, surveys a remarkable period of the Metropolitan Opera's rich history and a time of great change for New York. Drawing on rarely seen archival footage, stills, and recent interviews, the film chronicles the creation of the Met's storied home of the last 50 years, against the backdrop of the artists, architects, and politicians who shaped the cultural life of New York City in the '50s and '60s.

Amongst the notable figures in the film are famed soprano Leontyne Price, who opened the new Met in 1966 in Samuel Barber's Anthony and Cleopatra; Rudolf Bing, the Met's imperious General Manager, who engineered the move from the old house to the new one; Robert Moses, the unstoppable city planner who bulldozed an entire neighborhood to make room for Lincoln Center; and Wallace Harrison, whose quest for architectural glory was never fully realized.

To purchase opera tickets and post-opera reception tickets, call the Warner Box Office at 860-489-7180 or visit warnertheatre.org.

About the Warner Theatre

Built by Warner Brothers Studios and opened in 1931 as a movie palace (1,772 seats), the Warner Theatre was described then as "Connecticut's Most Beautiful Theatre." Damaged extensively in a flood, the Warner was slated for demolition in the early 1980s until the non-profit Northwest Connecticut Association for the Arts (NCAA) was founded and purchased the theatre. The Warner reopened as a performing arts center in 1983, and restoration of the main lobbies and auditorium was completed in November 2002. In 2008, the new 50,000 square foot Carole and Ray Neag Performing Arts Center, which houses a 300 seat Studio Theatre, 200 seat restaurant and expansive school for the arts, was completed. Today, the Warner is in operation year-round with more than 160 performances and 100,000 patrons passing through its doors each season. Over 10,000 students, pre K-adult, participate in arts education programs and classes. Together, with the support of the community, the Warner has raised close to $17 million to revitalize its facilities. NCAA's mission is to preserve the Warner Theatre as an historic landmark, enhance its reputation as a center of artistic excellence and a focal point of community involvement, and satisfy the diverse cultural needs of the region. To learn more about the Warner Theatre, visit www.warnertheatre.org.