CONWAY — A new production of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena will open the 2011-12 season of Captured Live from the Met @ UCA at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, in the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall on the University of Central Arkansas campus.
Anna Bolena will be the first of eight high definition transmissions of Metropolitan Opera performances in the series sponsored by UCA’s College of Fine Arts and Communication.
“UCA and the College of Fine Arts and Communication are proud to present another season of both new and long-treasured Metropolitan Opera HD performances,” said Dr. Rollin Potter, dean of CFAC. “This is an outstanding season with works for everyone to enjoy. The Met has the world’s finest singers, opera orchestra, scenery and wardrobes.”
The series also includes a new production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni on Oct. 30; a new production of Wagner’s Siegfried on Nov. 6; Handel’s Rodelinda on Dec. 4; a new production of The Enchanted Island on Jan. 22; Wagner’s Götterdämmerung on Feb. 12; Verdi’s Ernani on Feb. 26; and Verdi’s La Traviata on April 15.
This is the sixth season of the Met’s series, which came to UCA in 2008. According to the Met, it has expanded its worldwide distribution to 1,600 theaters in 54 countries, the largest global audience the initiative has ever reached. Last year, a record of more than 2.6 million tickets were sold to opera lovers around the world, effectively quadrupling the Met’s paying audience.
Anna Bolena stars Anna Netrebko in the title role. The opera is based on the final tragic days of Anne Boleyn. According to www.metoperafamily.org, Netrebko portrays the ill-fated queen driven insane by her unfaithful king. This Met premiere production by David McVicar will include one of opera’s greatest mad scenes. Ekaterina Gubanova is Bolena’s rival, Jane Seymour. Ildar Abdrazakov sings the role of King Henry VIII. Marco Armiliato conducts.
Approximately 200 seats are available for each performance at UCA. General admission tickets are $15 for the public and $5 for students with valid I.D.
To order, call UCA Ticket Central at (501) 450-3265 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday or visit www.uca.edu/reynolds.
“UCA’s ticket prices are the best in the region,” Potter said.
The series is made possible by UCA’s arts fee.
For more information, call the Office of the Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communication, at (501) 450-3293, e-mail lesleya@uca.edu or visit www.uca.edu/cfac or www.metopera.org.
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