THE MAGIC OF LA SCALA
TO LIGHT UP UK CINEMAS
LONDON, UK – 17 March, 2008 – A series of seven select opera performances from Teatro alla Scala (La Scala), the legendary 229 year-old Opera house in Milan, as well as the Teatro del Maggio Musicale, Florence and the Teatro La Fenice, Venice are set to delight UK audiences in cinemas across the UK. Initially previewing at selected independent cinemas, the series will be released wide on April 8th until the end of June, 2008. Filmed in high definition, the operas will be projected in 2K digital cinema, the highest quality standard in cinemas today, together with 5.1 surround sound.
Five of the operas in the series are from the new 2008 season; from La Scala - Maria Stuarda (Donizetti), directed by Pier Luigi Pizzi, Il Trittico (Puccini), directed by Luca Ronconi and Tristan und Isolde (Wagner) directed by Patrice Chéreau, from Teatro La Fenice - La Rondine (Puccini), directed by Graham Vick and from Teatro del Maggio Musicale - La Forza Del Destino (Verdi), directed by Nicolas Joel. The other two are famous La Scala opera performances from recent seasons – La Traviata, directed by Liliana Cavani and Franco Zeffirelli’s Aida.
The operas in the series are conducted by renowned maestros Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Chailly, Lorin Maazel, Antonino Fogliani, Zubin Mehta and Carlo Rizzi and the world-class performers include Roberto Alagna, Violeta Urmana, Ian Storey, Waltraud Meier, Angela Gheorghiu, Ramón Vargas, Ildiko Komlosi, Michelle de Young, Maria Devia, Anna Caterina Antonacci, Juan Pons, Miro Dvorski and many more.
La Scala is widely regarded as the crown jewel of the world’s opera houses. Designed by neoclassical architect Giuseppe Piermarini, La Scala was inaugurated on August 3, 1778 with Antonio Salieri's opera Europa Riconosciuta (Europe Recognised). It was built on the site of a ruined medieval church, Santa Maria della Scala. The horse shaped auditorium, composed of six floors of boxes, was intended by the architect to make La Scala like a stunning musical instrument. La Scala has survived the ravages of time, even World War II. In 1943, a bomb crashed through the roof of the auditorium. The theatre reopened three years later, with a historic concert conducted by Toscanini. It has become the home to many of the most famous composers, conductors and virtuoso singers of the international opera world.
The opera series will be released across a network of digital cinema screens in the UK by Arts Alliance Media (AAM), Europe’s leading digital distribution services provider, in collaboration with New York-based digital entertainment company, Emerging Pictures and RAI Trade, the sales division of Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), Italy’s leading broadcasting company.
The operas are provided to the cinemas on consistently pristine, non-degradable digital hard drives instead of 35mm prints. The operas are securely stored on the cinemas’ digital servers, enabling them to screen whenever required. All the cinemas playing the operas are equipped with 2K digital cinema projectors and servers, compliant with the Hollywood Studio’s Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) guidelines.
Howard Kiedaisch, Chief Executive Officer of Arts Alliance Media, said “Digital projection technology is enabling cinemas to become diverse cultural entertainment centres, not only movie houses, and we are very excited to be bringing the magnificence of La Scala and these wonderful operas to the big screen.”
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For full information, the list of cinemas and release dates (will vary per cinema), go to www.artsalliancemedia.com/opera or contact:
Gemma Richardson: Tel: 0207 751 7466 / gemma@artsalliancemedia.com
PRODUCTION AND CAST INFORMATION
April, 2008
LA TRAVIATA
La Scala, by Giuseppe Verdi, directed by Liliana Cavani
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Design: Dante Ferretti
Costumes: Gabriella Pescucci
Cast: Includes Angela Gheorghiu (Violetta), Ramón Vargas (Alfredo Germont), Roberto Frontali (Giorgio Germont)
April, 2008
AIDA
La Scala, by Giuseppe Verdi, directed and designed by Franco Zeffirelli
Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
Costumes: Maurizio Millenotti
Cast : Includes Ildiko Komlosi (Amneris), Violeta Urmana (Aida), Roberto Alagna (Radames), Giorgio Giuseppini (Ramfis)
April, 2008
MARIA STUARDA
La Scala, by Gaetano Donizetti, directed, designed and costumed by Pier Luigi Pizzi
Conductor: Antonino Fogliani
Cast: Includes Mariella Devia (Maria Stuarda), Anna Caterina Antonacci (Elisabetta)
April - May, 2008
LA RONDINE
Teatro La Fenice, Venice, directed by Graham Vick
Conductor: Carlo Rizzi
Design: Peter J. Davison
Cast: Includes Fiorenza Cedolins (Magda), Massimo Giordano (Ruggero)
May, 2008
LA FORZA DEL DESTINO
Teatro del Maggio Musicale, Florence, by Giuseppe Verdi, directed by Nicolas Joel
Conductor: Zubin Mehta
Design: Ezio Frigerio
Costumes: Franca Squarciapino
Cast: Includes Violeta Urmana (Donna Leonora), Carlo Guelfi (Don Carlos di Vargas), Marcello Giordani (Don Alvaro), Julia Gertseva (Preziosilla)
June, 2008
IL TRITTICO
La Scala, by Giacomo Puccini, directed by Luca Ronconi
Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
Design: Margherita Palli
Costumes: Silvia Aymonino
Cast: Includes Juan Pons (Michel), Miro Dvorski (Luigi), Paoletta Marrocu (Giorgetta), Anna Maria Popescu (Frugola), Barbara Frittoli (Suor Angelica), Mariana Lipovsek (Zia Principessa), Leo Nucci (Gianni Schicchi), Nino Machaidze (Lauretta), Cinzia De Mola (Zita), Stefano Secco (Rinuccio)
June, 2008
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE
La Scala, by Richard Wagner, directed by Patrice Chéreau
Conductor: Daniel Barenboim
Design: Richard Peduzzi
Cast: Includes Ian Storey (Tristan), Waltraud Meier (Isolde), Michelle De Young (Brangane), Gerd Grokowski (Kurwenal), Matti Salminen (King Mark) and Will Hartmann (Melot)
Notes to Editors
About Arts Alliance Media:
Arts Alliance Media, based in London and Paris, is Europe's leading provider of digital film distribution services, dedicated to building a European digital network to deliver film to the cinema, to the home and between industry players. AAM provides end-to-end digital cinema solutions encompassing equipment selection, financing and integration, operator training, installation and support, and content management and delivery. AAM also source, manage and actively promote ‘Alternative Content’ programming for cinemas. AAM was founded in 2003 by Thomas C. Hoegh who serves as Chairman of the Board. Further information can be found at www.artsalliancemedia.com
About Emerging Pictures:
Emerging Pictures was founded in 2002 by Barry Rebo, Giovanni Cozzi and Ira Deutchman to create a new theatrical distribution process for independent, international and documentary films through the use of digital technology. Emerging has grown into a distribution, marketing and exhibition company through its network of affiliated theaters, Emerging Cinemas, which bring first-run arthouse cinema and other specialty programs such as operas, concerts and Syndicated Film Festivals and series to cities and communities that would otherwise not usually have access to such films. www.emergingpictures.com