Franco Zeffirelli News

The first three offerings from the Met: Live in HD in the Peterborough Players Arts on Screen season are an opera lover's dream. Two Puccini masterworks and a timeless Massenet classic screen at the Players this October and early November. Broadcast live from the Metropolitan Opera and shown on the big screen at the Players in stunning HD, the programs also include exclusive, behind-the-scenes material that create a one-of-a-kind viewing experience.

Birgit Nilsson, one of the greatest Turandots of our time, was fond of saying that Wagner made her famous but TURANDOT made her rich. Why was this so? Simply because very few sopranos can toss out the high notes, cut through the thick orchestration and sing over the huge chorus, which are the minimum requirements to approach this role. Those who can are amply rewarded.

Turandot begins performances at the Metropolitan Opera this week and we have a first look for you. Check out the clips below!

The Met launches its 2019a?"20 Live in HD season with Franco Zeffirelli's classic production of Puccini's Turandot on October 12.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Metropolitan Opera's Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, conducts Puccini's majestic Turandot, the maestro's first Puccini opera with the company, in performances beginning October 3, 2019.

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 a?oeNessun dorma.a?? 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.

Francesca Campagna has been named General Director of the Center for Contemporary Opera, effective immediately.  As a globally renowned artistic manager and consultant to cultural institutions, she has built a formidable reputation for her deep knowledge of opera, and her ability to extend the reach of preeminent artists and institutions to new audiences.  It is this rare combination that made her the CCO Board's choice.

The 2019-2020 season of The Met: Live in HD will open at the Warner Theatre on Saturday, October 12 with Puccini's TURANDOT at 12:55 pm in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre. The 2019-2020 season is sponsored by Viron Rondo Osteria. A complimentary 45 minute pre-opera lecture by Dr. Marguerite Mullee will be offered in the Studio Theatre Lobby two hours before the broadcast, sponsored by Land Rover Hartford.

This week, the cast of the fairest panto in the land came together for the first time in costume to officially launch Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which plays atBirmingham Hippodrome from Saturday 21 December 2019 - Sunday 2 February 2020.

The 2019-2020 season of The Met: Live in HD will open at the Warner Theatre on Saturday, October 12 with Puccini's TURANDOT at 12:55 pm in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre.

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 a?oeNessun dorma.a?? 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.

The Metropolitan Opera Guild today announced that the honorees of its “Diamond Jubilee” celebration will be luminaries Martina Arroyo and Teresa Stratas.  The Guild's 85th Annual Luncheon will take place on Wednesday, November 20th at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City.  Special remarks by Stephanie Blythe and musical tributes by Ailyn Pérez and Matthew Polenzani will be performed during the event.

We start learning about fairytales and happily-ever-after before we can even walk. Then we grow up. Some of us wonder what ever happened to the fairytales and some of us, well... never believed in them in the first place.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2019-2020 Live in HD season of satellite transmissions to movie theaters worldwide begins Oct. 12 with the late Franco Zeffirelli's sumptuous production of Puccini's "Turandot." The series brings live Met performances to movie theaters and performing arts centers in more than 70 countries on six continents, including Gettysburg College's Majestic Theater. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, July 17 at noon.

The world's most popular opera, Puccini's La Boheme returns to The Ridgefield Playhouse screen in Franco Zeffirelli's' acclaimed production for The Metropolitan Opera Sunday, July 7th at 4pm. Zeffirelli's picturesque staging, an audience favorite for more than 30 years, features a winning young cast, including soprano Kristine Opolais and tenor Vittorio Grigolo as the lovers Mimi and Rodolfo. Stefano Ranzani conducts. This screening is part of Atria Senior Living Classical Series underwritten by Jeanne Cook, Liz & Steven Goldstone, and Sabina & Walter Slavin, with support from Whistle Stop Bakery.

Italian director Franco Zeffirelli was died at age 96, according to AP.

Birmingham Hippodrome is proud to announce the all-star line-up for this year's must-see pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which plays from Saturday 21 December 2019 - Sunday 2 February 2020.

The world's most popular opera, Puccini's La Boheme returns to The Ridgefield Playhouse screen in Franco Zeffirelli's' acclaimed production for The Metropolitan Opera Sunday, July 7th at 4pm. Zeffirelli's picturesque staging, an audience favorite for more than 30 years, features a winning young cast, including soprano Kristine Opolais and tenor Vittorio Grigolo as the lovers Mimi and Rodolfo. Stefano Ranzani conducts. This screening is part of Atria Senior Living Classical Series underwritten by Jeanne Cook, Liz & Steven Goldstone, and Sabina & Walter Slavin, with support from Whistle Stop Bakery.

Beginning Wednesday, June 19, the Met will present Summer Encores, featuring select performances from the celebrated Live in HD series, in more than 400 movie theaters across the United States and Canada. The 2019 Summer Encores opens with Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, seen in Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher's acclaimed production, with tenor Vittorio Grigolo and soprano Diana Damrau as the star-crossed lovers. The series continues with the Met's classic production of Puccini's La Bohème; Rossini's comedy Il Barbiere di Siviglia with a winning cast led by mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, tenor Juan Diego Flórez, and baritone Peter Mattei; and Verdi's monumental Aida, with superstar soprano Anna Netrebko in the title role, opposite mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili as her rival, Amneris.

New Rochelle Opera will honor Metropolitan Opera Chorus Master Donald Palumbo and Metropolitan Opera Assistant Conductor Gregory Buchalter at its Annual Spring Gala on Thursday, May 2, 2019. The event will take place at VIP Country Club, 600 Davenport Avenue, New Rochelle, NY at 6:30 pm. The fundraiser ushers in the Company's 34th season of bringing high-quality, affordable opera to Westchester County.