Since 2015, Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre (BMEC) has been screening films of live theatre performances from London’s finest theatres and theatre companies under the banner of NT Live.
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These screenings give audience members the best seats in the house, allowing them to see actors such as Benedict Cumberbatch and productions such as Warhouse excellently and professionally filmed in a live theatre environment.
Many audience members have commented that they feel they are actually in the theatre in London.
This year, for the first time, BMEC is also able to offer screenings of live opera performances from the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
With the Met Opera and NT Live, patrons in Bathurst are able to see world class productions of a scale that can only be achieved in international capital cities and yet the ticket price is a fraction of what it would be in those locations.
The cost of these screenings, generally on a Sunday afternoon, is $25 for an adult, $23 for a BMEC member and $15 concession.
The first Metropolitan Opera screening will be La Traviata at 2pm on Sunday, March 17.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin makes his debut as the new Met musical director by conducting Verdi’s timeless tragedy. Directed by Michael Mayer, this new production features a dazzling 18th-century setting that changes with the seasons.
Diana Damrau is the doomed heroine Violetta, opposite Juan Diego Flórez as her lover, Alfredo, and Quinn Kelsey as Alfredo’s protective father, Giorgio Germont.
Other screenings planned this year include:
- Antony & Cleopatra (NT Live), April 14: Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo play Shakespeare’s famous fated couple in a tragedy of politics, passion and power.
- Carmen (Met), May 19: Clémentine Margaine stars as opera’s ultimate seductress, opposite superstar Roberto Alagna as the passionate solider held in the throes of Carmen’s cruel magnetism.
- All My Sons (NT Live), June 16: Filmed at The Old Vic in London, Academy Award-winner Sally Field (Steel Magnolias) and Bill Pullman (Independence Day) star in Arthur Miller’s blistering drama All My Sons.
- Die Walküre (Met), July 14: A hugely beloved opera and often sell-out smash hit, the Met is proud to present the second installment of Wagner’s legendary Ring cycle. Starring Christine Goerke as the warrior goddess Brünnhilde.
Bookings at bmec.com.au, phone 6333 6161 or from BMEC, 105 William Street.