THE OPERA HOUSE is in UK cinemas on 1 and 2 July 2018.
THE OPERA HOUSE: The historic and moving saga of the Met's quest for a new home, starring legendary soprano Leontyne Price.
Commissioned to mark the Met's 50th anniversary at Lincoln Center, The Opera House surveys a remarkable period in the Met's rich history at a time of great change for New York. Drawing on rarely seen archival footage, stills and recent interviews, The Opera House chronicles the creation of the Metropolitan Opera's multi-floored home, against the backdrop of the artists, architects and politicians who shaped New York's cultural life in the 50's and 60's.
Amongst the notable figures in the film are famed soprano Leontyne Price who, in 1966, opened the new Met with Samuel Barber's Anthony and Cleopatra; Rudolf Bing, the Met's imperious General Manager who engineered the move from the old house to the new one; Robert Moses, the city planner who bulldozed an entire neighbourhood to make room for the Lincoln Center; and Wallace Harrison who designed the building for the Metropolitan Opera.
Directed by Susan Froemke, who is known for the classic documentary Grey Gardens and, most recently, Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman, Froemke has collaborated with Peter Gelb on numerous documentary films including Ariadne auf Naxos in Rehearsal; The Met in Japan; and In Rehearsal: A New Butterfly for the Met; as well as films documenting the lives of artists including Karajan, Horowitz, Rostropovich, Ozawa, Abbado, Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle. In 2012, Froemke directed Wagner's Dream, an intimate look at the enormous theatrical and musical challenges of staging opera's most monumental work, Wagner's Ring Cycle.
#NewYorkMetOperaHouse #Documentary # LeontynePrice
