The Met: Live in HD continues Apr. 26 with Mozart’s Così fan tutte

Performance transmitted “live” to FLC campus from New York’s Metropolitan Opera

Durango, CO – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s barbed romance, Così fan tutte, will be broadcast live from New York’s Metropolitan Opera on Saturday, Apr. 26, 2014, when The Met: Live in HD continues at Fort Lewis College. The high definition broadcast begins at 10:55 a.m. Soprano Renée Fleming hosts the transmission.

Met Music Director James Levine conducts the first Live in HD performance of Così fan tutte, a comic masterpiece about the romantic complications that ensue when a pair of friends decide to test their fiancée’s fidelity. Mozart’s opera balances broad comedy with heart-rending tragedy, and features some of his best-loved arias, duets, and trios.

Lesley Koenig’s sleek production showcases a cast of charismatic young stars, including Susanna Phillips (also Musetta in this season’s La Bohème transmission) as Fiordiligi; Isabel Leonard (Miranda in last season’s The Tempest) as Dorabella; Danielle de Niese (Ariel in The Enchanted Island) as Despina; and Matthew Polenzani (Nemorino in last season’s L’Elisir d’Amore) as Ferrando.
James Levine’s triumphant return to the Met this past fall in Così fan tutte is revered as one of the highlights of the Met season.

The New York Times hailed it as: “a glowing, crisp and buoyant account of Mozart’s Così fan tutte,” And, praised the singers as well: “the winning cast performed like a crack comedic theater troupe.”

According to the Associated Press, “This was prime Levine: a lithe, energetic, transparent account of Mozart’s miraculous score, brisk but not rushed, polished and profound.”

James Levine has led nearly 2,500 Met performances over the course of his 42-year Met career. He has conducted Così fan tutte 52 times with the company, first in 1982 and most recently in 2006.

Così fan tutte will be broadcast in high definition in the Vallecito Room of the Fort Lewis College Student Union. The Met: Live in HD is presented locally by the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. Run time is approximately 4 hours with one intermission.

The Live in HD series has featured 10 performances over the 2013-2014 season. The “magic” of The Met: Live in HD events is that they are delivered 100 percent live via satellite. Audiences throughout the world experience the production at the same time as the audience sitting in the Metropolitan Opera itself. Additionally, between acts, The Met: Live in HD viewers are treated to backstage interviews and other features the “in person” audiences never see.

La Cenerentola (Rossini) is the final Live in HD of the season, to be broadcast May 10. Since the Live in HD series launched in 2006, more than 15 million tickets have been sold to opera lovers worldwide. The Met: Live in HD is now seen in more than 2,000 theaters in 66 countries around the world.

Advance tickets are $24 ($22 for seniors, students, children and Met members) and available on-line at www.durangoconcerts.com or by calling 970.247.7657, or at the Ticket Office inside the Durango Welcome Center at 8th St. and Main Ave. in Downtown Durango. All sales final.

Tickets will also be available on the morning of the performance, one hour in advance of show time, at the FLC Student Union.

The Community Concert Hall is a not-for-profit, multi-use performance venue located on the campus of Fort Lewis College. Its ability to bring a diverse spectrum of shows to Southwest Colorado is made possible through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, and financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.