This Christmas, Empire Cinemas brings big stage productions to the big screen. December and January see a stunning array of live performance screenings, including:
· Royal Opera House – The Nutcracker (Live)
· National Theatre Live – Jane Eyre
· MET Opera – Les Pecheurs De Perles
The Empire Extra programme from Empire Cinemas lets you experience big stage productions and events from the comfort of your local cinema. Be it theatre, opera, ballet or music; enjoy the big screen experience, in stunning high definition and from the best seat in the house. This Christmas you can enjoy the spectacular, world-class ballet The Nutcracker from The Royal Opera House, as well as an exhilarating performance of Charlotte Brontë’s masterpiece, Jane Eyre from National Theatre Live.
The New Year also brings with it a brand new line up of live performance screenings. This January cinemagoers and arts fans can enjoy Les Liaisons Dangereuses from the National Theatre Live and Two Pigeons / Rhapsody from the Royal Opera House.
DECEMBER
English National Opera – The Mikado (LIVE)
Released 3rd December 2015
Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1SbQmUi
Set in an ever-so English 1930s seaside hotel, ENO’s dazzlingly inventive staging of The Mikado returns to the London Coliseum for what for many has become the definitive production of this much-loved Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera. Broadcast live from the London Coliseum in stunning HD, The Mikado is sung and subtitled in English.
National Theatre Live – Jane Eyre
Released 8th December 2015
Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1RI8jJX
Almost 170 years on, Charlotte Brontë’s masterpiece is as inspiring as ever. This bold and dynamic production uncovers one woman’s fight for freedom and fulfilment on her own terms. Director, Sally Cookson, brings her celebrated production to the National Theatre, presented as a single, exhilarating performance.
Royal Opera House – Cavalleria / Pagliacci (Live)
Released 10th December 2015
Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1RI8zsz
This screening includes two short Italian operas; each are regarded as the composers’ masterpiece. The two are brought together in a new staging by award-winning director Damiano Michieletto, who sets both operas in a poverty stricken village in 1980s southern Italy, where the Mafia has a hold. The Royal Opera’s Music Director Antonio Pappano conducts a cast that includes charismatic Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek, exciting Italian soprano Carmen Giannattasio and the thrilling Latvian tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko.
Royal Opera House – The Nutcracker (Live)
Released 16th December 2015
Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1NEyPF1
Christmas simply wouldn’t be Christmas without The Royal Ballet’s classic production of The Nutcracker. Loosely based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, it opens with the Christmas festivities of little Clara and her family and progresses through a magical journey to the Land of Snow and the Kingdom of the Sweets. Peter Wright’s enchanting production with its wondrously growing Christmas tree, retains exquisite surviving fragments of the original Ivanov choreography, including the beautiful pas de deux for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier.
JANUARY
MET Opera – Les Pecheurs De Perles
Released 16th January
Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1WM2dtp
Bizet’s gorgeous opera of lust and longing set in the Far East returns to the Met stage for the first time in 100 years. Soprano Diana Damrau stars as Leïla, the beautiful Hindu priestess pursued by rival pearl divers competing for her hand. Her suitors are tenor Matthew Polenzani and baritone Mariusz Kwiecien, who sing the lilting duet “Au fond du temple saint,” which opera fans know and adore.
Royal Opera House – Two Pigeons / Rhapsody (Live)
Released 26th January
Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1XZCDnm
This delightful Frederick Ashton double bill opens with his setting of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, using the music’s dark turbulence and brilliance to inspire some of his most thrilling choreography. The second half of the programme features Ashton’s delicate, deceptively comic The Two Pigeons – a work rarely performed and a real treat for ballet fans everywhere.
National Theatre Live – Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Released 28th January
Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1PxL3za
Following the hugely successful broadcasts of Coriolanus and King Lear, National Theatre Live brings the Donmar Warehouse’s highly anticipated new production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses to cinemas – broadcast live from the Donmar’s London home. In 1782, Choderlos de Laclos’ novel of sex, intrigue and betrayal in pre-revolutionary France scandalised the world. Two hundred years later, Christopher Hampton’s irresistible adaptation swept the board, winning the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Play. Josie Rourke’s revival now marks the play’s thirty year anniversary.
MET Opera – Turandot
Released 30th January 2015
Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1kG5GNT
Three of opera’s greatest dramatic sopranos; Christine Goerke, Lise Lindstrom, and Nina Stemme, take turns in the title role of the proud princess of ancient China, whose riddles doom every suitor who seeks her hand. Tenors Marcelo Álvarez and Marco Berti are Calàf, the brave prince who sings “Nessun dorma” and wins her love. Franco Zeffirelli’s golden production is conducted by Paolo Carignani.
Jon Nutton, Marketing Director of Empire Cinemas, said: “Our Empire Extra programme means cinemagoers and performing arts lovers can experience the excitement of live events and stage productions with ease and comfort, at their local cinema. What better way to spend time with the family this Christmas than by watching an amazing performance of the ultimate Christmas production, The Nutcracker.”
For further ticketing information visit www.EmpireCinemas.co.uk or call 08714 714 714.