Opera News
About Royal Opera House
www.roh.org.uk
The Royal Opera House is the home of three world-classperforming companies - The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera, and The Orchestra ofthe Royal Opera House. It is a focal point for England’s national andinternational artistic excellence, where the evolving traditions of opera andballet are taken to the highest levels. This is the Royal Opera House - ashining symbol of excellence without compromise since 1732.
About Opus Arte
www.opusarte.com
Opus Arte, owned by the Royal Opera House, has beenrecording in High Definition for the past decade and has amassed a substantialcatalogue of outstanding productions from around the world. Opus Arte led theway by being the first company to release a Classical HD-DVD, and also thefirst to release a Classical Blu-ray disc into the world market. Workingclosely with top organizations such as the BBC and TVE, Opus Arte has enabled alarge number of people to share the magic of seeing an opera or ballet live.Partnerships with the world’s top opera houses has enabled Opus Arte to capturesome of the most magnificent productions ever experienced on DVD for people toenjoy over again.
About DigiScreen Corporation
www.digiscreen.ca
DigiScreen is a digital network for the distribution andpresentation of independent film and alternative content. DigiScreenlaunched the network in 2007 with an exclusive collaboration with Opus Arteand the Royal Opera House of London. Thanks to this collaboration, thecompany is able to showcase the world’s most prestigious contemporaryperforming arts companies in an ongoing series of spectacular operas andballets. These productions are captured live, in High Definition, fromlocations such as Convent Garden (London), Palais Garnier (Paris), Teatro Real(Madrid), Gran Teatre del Licieu (Barcelona), War Memorial (San Francisco) andother great stages of the world. These HD productions are presented exclusivelyby DigiScreen and its partners to audiences in more than 300 cinemas across theUnited States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, Japan and Australia.Presentations in South Africa and other territories will be starting shortly.
Opera Beside The TracksAnd how we got there
By Clint Ward
Right at the start let me own up to being a jazzer. I grew up with that music. Played in big bands, small bands, collected the instrumentalists I liked, listened to nothing else. I never appreciated opera but as my music tastes mature the melodies that come from the great composers, Puccini, Verdi, Mozart, Bizet, have seeped into my subconscious and I have begun to listen and read about their works. A great new adventure is laid out before us. Let me share how we got there.
Three years ago a group of Hudsonites formed the Hudson Film Society. We hoped for a modest success attracting a few other locals who were interested in good film. By chance at a party conversation, a visitor from B.C. talked about their film club and a direct connection with the Toronto International Film Festival. A phone call was made and we were quickly connected up with the Film Circuit Group, an outreach organization of one of the world’s major film festivals. That connection was a little bit of fortunate magic and suddenly our enterprise attracted many more than a few adherents and we now have some 300 members enjoying our 8 offerings a year. We have even branched out to a yearly film festival and the second edition will be this May 4 to 8.
From the beginning, one of our members, Victor Bellini was suggesting that we expand into projecting opera on our big screen. Jazz was my thing and opera was his so I would listen to his arguments, nod in agreement and file them away. Eventually, I realized the sense in what he was telling me. After all, opera was the greatest of the theatre forms involving acting, singing, dancing, creative stagecraft, convoluted and mostly tragic stories but above all soaring melodies. The delivery of operas into cinemas by the Met was playing to sold-out theatres. Something was going on and it was hard to avoid. Then for the second time that little magic struck. A chance conversation between one of our committee members, Carol de Sévigné and Jim Freeman at a Hudson Yacht Club meeting provided the missing piece of the puzzle.
Jim had just taken on some work with an organization, based in Montreal, called DigiScreen. They were also involved in delivering opera content to cinemas but instead of coming from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, it was originating from the Royal Opera House in London. Instead of the Met system of beaming content from a satellite, DigiScreen’s programs were delivered in High Definition via cartridges installed in special, on-site equipment. It was the perfect way to bring these programs to our little railway station theatre. Can you imagine – great works of art coming to us in Hudson. Opera by the tracks if you will. As a bonus the DigiScreen library also included ballet and other attractions that might be of interest to us. There is even the hope of some Jazz programming which would bring it full circle for me.
Our first exciting show was possibly the most well known opera of all – Georges Bizet’s Carmen. That sultry sexy vixen destroying the lives of men around her. With a cast of 140 plus a horse and a donkey, not to mention a very large orchestra in the pit, this 2007 production from the Royal Opera House delivers the goods that only a great opera performance can.
Then we added something unique. Think of the world’s most famous choir performing Handel’s Messiah at the magnificent Chapel of King’s College Cambridge on Easter Sunday. And we got to experience it in our little village of many churches. 2009 is Handel’s 250th anniversary and this was an incredible way to celebrate it.
These two programs were just a teaser for the main event. The new members of the Hudson Village Theatre family – Hudson Village Opera and Hudson Village Ballet will begin a series from October to March. We can enjoy more productions right in the middle of our town with the best seat in the house at a fraction of the “live” cost. Great music is great music and great theatre is great theatre so let the adventure begin. Go to the Opera & Ballet Series and book your tickets today.
