UNITED KINGDOM: ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ANNOUNCES RETURN OF "BIG SCREEN" RELAYS OF LIVE PERFORMANCES TO GIVE OPERA AND BALLET A WIDER AUDIENCE

Record ID: 389818

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ANNOUNCES RETURN OF "BIG SCREEN" RELAYS OF LIVE PERFORMANCES TO GIVE OPERA AND BALLET A WIDER AUDIENCE
  • Date: 28th June 2000
  • Summary: SMV (SOUNDBITE) (English) DARCEY BUSSELL SAYING: "It's the most important thing for us especially, the performers, we want to be seen and we want the audience to see what we're performing at this amazing building and if we can achieve it by having a screen up it's even better you know. If you come and see the new works that we're doing, not just the classics you know, see
  • Embargoed: 13th July 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA12ZOUF0PKE49TCIX1VWQMY2TE
  • Story Text: In a bid to make opera and ballet more accessible to the masses, London's Royal Opera House has announced the return of 'Big Screen' live relays to Covent Garden. Designed to provide low cost opportunities for people of all ages to experience opera and ballet, three performances per year will be screened in the Covent Garden Piazza.
    Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo and Britain's leading ballerina Darcey Bussell appeared at Covent Garden's Royal Opera House alongside Michael Kaiser, the Executive Director to announce plans to screen a select number of performances in the Piazza.
    Thanks to a three-year sponsorship deal worth £810,000, the Royal Opera House has launched the return of the live transmissions in a move to bring opera and ballet to a wider audience.
    The Royal Ballet's principle ballerina Darcey Bussell believes the move can only be positive: "It's the most important thing for us especially, the performers, we want to be seen and we want the audience to see what we're performing at this amazing building and if we can achieve it by having a screen up it's even better you know. If you come and see the new works that we're doing, not just the classics you know, see how much we're moving on - dance and opera, I think it's a great achievement that we can keep having the screenings up in the Piazza. I hope there will be even more of them, that would be great," Bussell said.
    The first of the big relays will be the screening of "Tosca", featuring Roberto Alagna and Catherine Malfitano on September 12, 2000. The performance will be shown on a huge screen located in the North East corner of Covent Garden Piazza and organisers hope to attract more than five thousand people to the square in central London to watch.
    The opera "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" featuring Angela Gheorghui is scheduled for screening on September 29, 2000.
    Enthusiasts will have to wait until May 2001 to see the screening of "Otello" with Jose Cura.
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