Theatergoers, film fanatics and opera enthusiasts — your favorite forms of art have collided.
Have you ever wished to see an opera on the big screen? Or, film fans, are you tired of seeing the same plots recycled time and time again?
Some of the biggest operas are being screened at the UltraLuxe Scottsdale Cinemas at the Pavilions at Talking Stick and UltraStar Cinemas in Surprise Pointe this fall. Now fans of film, opera and theater can experience an opera they love or see an opera for the first time without breaking the bank.
Not only will people get to see some of Opera Australia’s most magnificent operas, but they’ll also see these operas performed in some of most iconic Australian opera venues from the Sydney Opera House to The State Theatre in Melbourne.
“The Mikado,” “Der Rosenkavalier” and "La Bohème" are the three remaining shows.
"The Mikado," a comic opera set in Japan, features music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by William Gilbert. The show opened on March 14, 1885 at the Savoy Theater in London and ran for 672 performances. It remains a popular piece, especially with amateur and school productions. Since the show is set in Japan, it allowed Gilbert to write about British politics and institutions satirically since he could mask them as Japanese.
"The Mikado" is playing Sept. 18 at 5 p.m., Sept. 20 at 10 a.m. and Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.
“Der Rosenkavalier” is a comic opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The show is loosely based on the novel, “Les amours du chevalier de Faublas,” by Louvet de Couvrai and the comedy, “Monsieur de Pourceaugnac,” by Molière. The show has four main characters — the aristocratic Marschallin, her young lover Octavian Rofrano, her country cousin Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau and his fiancée, Sophoe von Faninal.
“Der Rosenkavalier” is playing Sept. 20 at 7 p.m., Oct. 16 at 5 p.m. and Oct. 18 at 10 a.m.
Finally, the theater plays the iconic “La Bohème,” an opera by Giacomo Puccini with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. The opera is based on “Scènes de la vie de bohème” by Henri Murger, a collection of vignettes that portrays young bohemians who live in the Latin Quarter of Paris during the 1840s. The opera is one of the most frequently performed operas internationally.
“La Bohème” is playing Oct. 15 at 10 a.m., Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 13 at 5 p.m.
The UltraLuxe Scottsdale Cinemas is located at 9090 E. Indian Bend Road and UltraStar Cinemas in Surprise Pointe is located at 13649 N. Litchfield Road in Surprise. Tickets for the events are $20.
Reach the reporter at mmattox@asu.edu
