Over 2022/23, 13 production houses will broadcast to more than 1,300 cinemas around the world.
THE Royal Opera House has recently announced its biggest cinema season ever, bringing the joy of live performances to audiences.
During the season, an astonishing 13 production houses from The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet will broadcast performances to more than 1300 cinemas around the world.
The season will start in September with Puccini’s heart-touching opera Madama Butterfly – the tragic tale of Cio Cio San, a young Japanese girl who falls in love with American naval officer Pinkerton, with devastating consequences.
The following month theatre lovers can join The Royal Ballet for the opening night of Kenneth MacMillan’s Mayerling – which depicts the sexual and morbid obsessions of Crown Prince Rudolf leading to the murder-suicide scandal with his mistress Mary Vetsera.
During the season, we will also see Canadian Opera director Robert Carsen’s brand-new production of Aida – a timeless story of love and betrayal against the backdrop of war.
In this new production, Robert Carsen situates Verdi’s large-scale political drama within a contemporary world, framing its power struggles and toxic jealousies in the apparatus of a modern, totalitarian state.
Another notable performance of this season will be La Bohème – based on Henry Murger’s novel Scenes de la vie de Bohème. The story reflects on the life of four struggling bohemians – a poet, a painter, a musician and a philosopher who are living together in Paris, when one freezing Christmas Eve their lives are changed forever. The opera is sung by an outstanding cast that includes Juan Diego Flórez and Danielle de Niese.
Later this year, on the opening night of The Royal Ballet: A Diamond Celebration, there will be several astonishing live performances from the best ballet choreographers – including George Balanchine’s Diamonds, and For Four by Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon.
Elsewhere, Peter Wright’s much-loved production The Nutcracker – the story of a girl who befriends a nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas Eve and wages a battle against the evil Mouse King – will offer us sweeping snowscapes, magical stagecraft and a show-stopping series of dances performed in the dream-like Kingdom of Sweets.
The new year will kick off with screenings of Like Water For Chocolate – a full-length ballet by Christopher Wheeldon that will premiere in this season. It is inspired by Laura Esquivel’s captivating Mexican novel of the same name.
The season will be followed by live broadcasts of The Barber of Seville, Turandot and The Royal Ballet’s new production of Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella, redesigned by one of the best creative teams that include set designer Tom Pye, Oscar award-winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne, lighting designer David Finn, video designer Finn Ross and magic consultant Chris Fisher.
During April and May, we will experience Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro – one of the greatest operas and a live broadcasting of one of The Royal Ballet’s very iconic performances, The Sleeping Beauty.
Lastly, in June, the Cinema Season will close with Il Trovatore – a brand new production that will bring Olivier Award-winning director Adele Thomas back to Covent Garden following the success of Bajazet (2022) and Berenice (2019).
Bookings for this cinema season will open on Friday 1 July. For more information, visit roh.org.uk/cinemas.