The Metropolitan Opera in New York is planning to have their opening night performance of Madame Butterfly on September 25th simulcast at Lincoln Center Plaza and at Times Square. Though tickets are required for the Lincoln Center Plaza simulcast, they are free. The Times Square simulcast is open to all.
The staging, which marks director Anthony Minghella's Met debut, is the first performance at the Met under general manager Peter Gelb, who took over from Joseph Volpe on Aug. 1. It stars Cristina Gallardo-Domas as Cio-Cio San and Marcello Giordani as Pinkerton, and features the return to the Met podium of Music Director James Levine for the first time since Jan. 29, a month before he tore his right rotator cuff when he tripped on stage at Symphony Hall in Boston.
The Met is also planning simulcasts to movie theatres, including performances of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" and other performances from composers Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, and the world premiere production of Tan Dun's "The First Emperor."
Those performances will also be shown on PBS, though there are no plans for TV transmissions or DVD releases for the Madame Butterfly performance at this point.
