New York Metropolitan Opera

Booking Now Open.

The Phoenix is excited to present ten outstanding operas from the New York Metropolitan Opera Season 2008 - 2009.

Enjoy all the colour and excitement of these magnificent productions when they are transmitted live via satellite from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York directly to our cinema screen. Seating is limited for this season to 255 and so The Phoenix is offering priority booking to Friends of the Phoenix for two weeks only. Tickets will go on general sale on Friday 4th July. These Friends priority bookings are only available by telephone 020 8444 6789 or in person at the box office.

To avoid disappointment, we recommend you take advantage of the following special Friends offer:

BEST VALUE Friends Full Season Ticket (all ten operas) £140. (Non-Friends will be £210 or £170 concessions)
If you prefer a selection: * Friends Half Season Ticket (any five operas) £75. (Non-Friends price: £112.50, or £87.50 concessions )
Or for individual tickets: * Friends can also book for individual operas at £17.50. (Non-Friends price: £25 or £20 concessions)

The New York Metropolitan Opera screenings present the perfect opportunity to become a Silver (Annual) or Gold (Life) Member of the Phoenix.
* Become a Gold Friend and enjoy the entire season for free, plus a bottle of chilled champagne on each evening, as well as free entry thereafter for all film showings for life. Gold Membership costs £5,000 for up to two people for life.
* Become a Silver Friend and enjoy the entire season for free, as well as free entry to all film showings thereafter for one year. Silver membership costs £300 for one person or £500 for two people for one year.

The Season

Saturday 11 October, 2008, 6.00pm Salome
Conductor Mikko Franck, Composer Richard Strauss

Saturday 8 November, 2008, 6.00pm Doctor Atomic
Conductor Alan Gilbert Composer John Adams

Saturday 22 November, 2008, 6.00pm La Damnation de Faust
Conductor James Levine Composer Hector Berlioz

Saturday 20 December, 2008, 5.00pm Thais
Conductor Jesús López-Cobos Composer Jules Massenet

Saturday 10 January, 2009, 6.00pm La Rondine
Conductor Marco Armiliato Composer Giacomo Puccini

Saturday 24 January, 2009, 6.00pm Orfeo ed Euridice
Conductor James Levine Composer Christoph Willibald Gluck

Saturday 7 February, 2009, 6.00pm Lucia di Lammermoor
Conductor Marco Armiliato Composer Gaetano Donizetti

Saturday 7 March, 2009, 6.00pm Madama Butterfly
Conductor Patrick Summers Composer Giacomo Puccini

Saturday 21 March, 2009, 5.00pm La Sonnambula
Conductor Evelino Pidò Composer Vincenzo Bellini

Saturday 9 May, 2009, 5.30pm La Cenerentola
Conductor Maurizio Benini Composer Gioachino Rossini

Synopses

Saturday, 11th October, 6pm Richard Strauss SALOME
Karita Mattila caused a sensation when she sang Salome at the Met for the first time in 2004. She reprises her stunning interpretation of the part, including her unforgettable Dance of the Seven Veils. With baritone Juha Uusitalo as Jochanaan. Mikko Franck conducts. Conductor Mikko Franck; Production Jürgen Flimm; Karita Mattila, Ildikó Komlósi, Kim Begley, Joseph Kaiser, Juha Uusitalo Running time 1 hour 37 minutes/no intermission

Saturday, 8th November, 6pm John Adams DOCTOR ATOMIC (NEW PRODUCTION)
John Adams’s contemporary masterpiece explores a momentous episode of modern history: the creation of the atomic bomb. Director Penny Woolcock makes her Met debut with this gripping story that changed the course of history. Baritone Gerald Finley plays Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the title character and Sasha Cooke as his wife, Kitty, with Eric Owen and Richard Paul Fink. Conductor Alan Gilbert; Production Penny Woolcock; Sasha Cooke, Meredith Arwady, Gerald Finley, Richard Paul Fink, Eric Owens. Running time 3 hours 21 minutes/one intermission

Saturday, 22nd November, 6pm Hector Berlioz – LA DAMNATION DE FAUST (NEW PRODUCTION)
Robert Lepage, one of theatre’s most imaginative directors, applies his artistry to Berlioz’s contemplation of good and evil. Using ethereal projections, Lepage has created a vision for La Damnation de Faust that seamlessly marries art and technology. “The production focuses on the singers,” he says. “But there’s a trail of visual consequences and stagecraft that accompanies the events happening on the stage.” Marcello Giordani stars in the title role opposite Susan Graham as Marguerite and John Relyea as Méphistophéles. James Levine conducts this rarely staged masterwork. Conductor James Levine; Production Robert Lepage; Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, John Relyea. Running time 2 hours 45 minutes /one intermission

Saturday, 20th December, 5pm Jules Massenet – THAÏS (NEW PRODUCTION)
The radiant Renée Fleming plays the Egyptian courtesan in search of spiritual sustenance. Thomas Hampson is the monk Athanaël who falls from grace. Massenet’s sensual score is presented in a new production by John Cox. Conductor Jesús López-Cobos; Production John Cox; Renée Fleming, Michale Schade, Thomas Hampson. Running time 3 hours 21 minutes/ two intermissions

Saturday, 10th January 2009, 6pm Giacomo Puccini – LA RONDINE (NEW PRODUCTION)
Opera’s charismatic real-life duo, Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna provide the star power to deliver this ravishing romance from the world’s most popular opera composer. Gheorghiu plays the kept woman who gambles on true love, and Alagna is the man who makes her question the cost of her glittering existence. Nicolas Joël directs the new production of this gorgeously melodic look at love. Conductor Marco Armiliato; Production Nicolas Joël; Angela Gheorghiu, Lisette Oropesa, Roberto Alagna, Marius Brenciu, Samuel Ramey. Running time 2 hours 15 minutes/one intermission

Saturday, 24th January, 6pm Christoph Willibald Gluck – ORFEO ED EURIDICE
Mark Morris’s acclaimed production returns! This complete vision for Gluck, with choreography by Morris and costumes by Isaac Mizrahi, features the artistry of Stephanie Blythe in the title role. The alluring Danielle de Niese is Orfeo’s adored wife, Euridice, who inspires the hero to face the underworld for her sake. Music Director James Levine conducts. Conductor James Levine; Production Mark Morris; Danielle de Niese, Heidi Grant Murphy/Ying Huang, Stephanie Blythe. Running time 1 hour 31 minutes/no intermission

Saturday, 7th February, 6pm Gaetano Donizetti – LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
Anna Netrebko stars in the title role of Donizetti’s fragile heroine. Tenor Rolando Villazón stars as Lucia’s lover, Edgardo. Baritone Mariusz Kwiecien is her tyrannical brother. Mary Zimmerman’s hit production is staged as a Victorian ghost story. Conductor Marco Armillato; Production Mary Zimmerman; Diana Damarau/Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczala/Rolando Villazón, Vladimir Stoyanov/Mariusz Kwiecien, Ildar Abdrazakov. Running time 3 hours 20 minutes/two intermissions

Saturday, 7th March, 6pm Giacomo Puccini – MADAMA BUTTERFLY
Cristina Gallardo-Domâs, the original Butterfly of the production when it opened the 2006-07 season, returns to the title role of the late Anthony Minghella’s stunning production, a new classic of the Met repertory. Marcello Giordani stars as Pinkerton. Conductor Patrick Summers; Production Anthony Minghella; Patricia Racette/Cristina Gallardo-Domâs, Maria Zifchak, Roberto Aronica/Marcello Giordani, Dwayne Croft. Running time 3 hours 21 minutes/two intermissions

Saturday, 21st March, 5pm Vincenzo Bellini – LA SONNAMBULA (NEW PRODUCTION)
Mary Zimmerman, who directed Natalie Desaay in last season’s hit new production of Lucia di Lammermoor, underlines La Sonnambula’s dual elements of sleep and wakefulness in an intriguing staging set in the present. Bellini’s hauntingly lyrical score soars as performed by Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez, back from their sensational run together in La Fille du Régiment in leading opera houses around the world. Conductor Evelino Pidò; Production Mary Zimmerman; Natalie Dessay, Juan Diego Flórez, Michele Pertusi. Running time 2 hours 40 minutes /one intermission

Saturday, 9th May, 5.30pm Gioachino Rossini – LA CENERENTOLA
Hot on the heels of her triumphant Met debut as Rosina in last season’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Elina Garanca portrays another Rossini charmer in this bel canto Cinderella story. Lawrence Brownlee is her Prince Charming, Don Ramiro. Veteran baritone Alessangro Corbelli demonstrates his impeccable comic timing to match the gravitas of Met favorite John Relyea. Conductor Maurizio Benini; Production Cesare Lievi; Elina Garanca, Lawrence Brownlee, Simone Alberghini, Alessandro Corbelli, John Relyea. Running time 3 hours/one intermission