World Stage on Screen - February 2015

This is a post by JBFC Volunteer Dotty Battel

Whisking you across the pond for a cultural immersion: 2 delightful ballets, a thrilling opera, and a brilliant play emanating from two iconic venues in London: The Royal Opera House (ROH) and The Globe. Live HD recordings of these productions will be screened here in February (but only once!) as part of our on-going series World Stage on Screen.  Here’s a brief summary:

ROH: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Tuesday, February 10 at 3:00 pm

This ballet, a modern take on Alice in Wonderland, uses a combination of fantastic choreography, a witty score, astounding design, and dazzling performances to create the dream world of Lewis Carroll’s beloved story.  Here’s the trailer….it’s great!

[youtube width=”600″ height=”365″ video_id=”CXONhMCk4Wk”]

ROH: The Winter’s Tale, Tuesday, February 17 at 3:00 pm

Following his delightful Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Christopher Wheeldon continues his highly successful collaboration with designer Bob Crowley and composer Joby Talbot to create his first ballet based on a Shakespeare play.  “The Winter’s Tale is a triumph. It is contemporary and classical, traditional and modern, narrative and abstract. It feels like something entirely new. (The Telegraph)

ROH: Andrea Chenier, Tuesday, February 24 at 3:00 pm

You won’t want to miss this stunning new production of Umberto Giordano’s greatest opera.  Loosely based on actual events, it’s a lyrical and passionate drama of liberty and love during the French Revolution. Director David McVicar”s extravagant production provides a gracious setting for the opera’s lusty score, topped off with world-class singing by tenor Jonas Kaufman.

Globe On Screen: The Duchess of Malfi, Thursday, February 26 at 3:00 pm

“A dish of delicious horrors, served up in style” (Metro)

This macabre, tragic play written by English dramatist John Webster in 1613,  features Hollywood star Gemma Arterton (Quantum Solace, Tess of the D’Urbervilles) in the title role. The Globe’s artistic director Dominic Dromgoole chose Webster’s shocker as the inaugural program of the new Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (a re-creation of a Jacobean theatre like the kind in which Shakespeare’s company performed at the Blackfriars). And this is the first ever production to be filmed entirely in candlelight!

Tickets are on sale now!