The Met: Live in HD Returns to Movie Theaters Nationwide This Summer for Special Summer Encore Presentations

The Metropolitan Opera and NCM Fathom will once again present a series of six encore performances from the historic archives of the Peabody Award-winning The Met: Live in HD series in select movie theaters nationwide. Beginning in June, fans across the country can enjoy the best seats in the house to some of the most acclaimed opera productions ever to hit the big screen with Summer HD Encores. The special series of pre-recorded encore performances featuring many of opera’s greatest stars includes Aida, Roméo et Juliette, Eugene Onegin, La Bohème, Turandot and Carmen.

Tickets for The Met: Live in HD 2010 Summer Encores, shown in theaters on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. in all time zones and select Thursday matinees, are available at www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices.

The Met: Live in HD 2010 Summer Encores schedule is as follows:

• Aida – Wednesday, June 16 and Thursday, June 17 – Set in ancient Egypt, Aida is both a heartbreaking love story and an epic drama full of spectacular crowd scenes. A cast of powerful voices and a grand production bring the story to life on the Met stage – and on the big screen in high definition. Violeta Urmana stars in the title role of the enslaved Ethiopian princess, with Dolora Zajick as her rival. Johan Botha plays Radamès, commander of the Egyptian army, and Daniele Gatti conducts. Among the score’s highlights is the celebrated Triumphal March.
• Roméo et Juliette – Wednesday, June 23 and Thursday, June 24 – Gounod’s ultra-sensual interpretation of Shakespeare is an ideal vehicle for star soprano Anna Netrebko, who brings her incandescent appeal to the role of Juliette, opposite the passionate Roméo of tenor Roberto Alagna. The legendary Plácido Domingo presides on the podium.
• Eugene Onegin – Wednesday, July 7 and Thursday, July 8 – Soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky star in Tchaikovsky’s lushly romantic masterpiece about mistimed love. Valery Gergiev conducts Tchaikovsky’s most beloved opera.
• La Bohème – Wednesday, July 14 and Thursday, July 15 – A magnificent cast comes together for Franco Zeffirelli’s classic production of the Puccini favorite. Angela Gheorghiu sings Mimì, the role of her Met debut, opposite golden-toned tenor Ramón Vargas as her lover, Rodolfo. The exciting young maestro Nicola Luisotti conducts.
• Turandot – Wednesday, July 21 and Thursday, July 22 – Director Franco Zeffirelli’s breathtaking production of Puccini’s final opera is a favorite of the Met repertoire. Maria Guleghina plays the ruthless Chinese princess of the title, whose hatred of men is so strong that she has all suitors who can’t solve her riddles beheaded. Marcello Giordani sings Calàf, the unknown prince who eventually wins her love and whose solos include the famous "Nessun dorma.”
• Carmen – Wednesday, July 28 and Thursday, July 29 – Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna caused a sensation with their smoldering performances in the Met’s acclaimed new production of Bizet’s masterpiece. One of the most popular operas of all time, Carmen "is about sex, violence, and racism — and its corollary: freedom,” says Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre. Barbara Frittoli plays Micaëla, Teddy Tahu Rhodes is the matador Escamillo, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts in his widely praised Met debut.

Since 2006, NCM Fathom and The Metropolitan Opera have partnered to bring classic operatic performances to movie screens across America live with The Met: Live in HD series. The first Live in HD event was seen in 56 theaters in December 2006. Fathom has since expanded its participating theater footprint which now reaches more than 500 movie theaters in the United States.

"Millions of opera fans have experienced the ultimate stage spectacle of the Metropolitan Opera, live in their local movie theaters over the past several years. Now they can experience several of these historic performances one more time this summer and share them with friends and family,” said Dan Diamond, vice president of NCM Fathom.

The encores will be shown in select AMC Entertainment Inc., Celebration! Cinema, Cinemark Holdings, Inc., Clearview Cinemas, Cobb Theatres, Georgia Theatre Company, Goodrich Quality Theatres, Hollywood Theaters, Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, National Amusements and Regal Entertainment Group movie theaters, as well as independent theaters including Arena Theatre, Carolina Theatre, El Raton Theatre, The Grand Theatre, Palace 9 Cinema and Penn Cinema, through NCM’s exclusive Digital Broadcast Network – North America’s largest cinema broadcast network.

The Met: Live in HD series is expanding the appeal and reach of opera around the world and has been met with both critical and popular acclaim. Using robotic cameras and state-of-the-art technology, The Met: Live in HD captures the onstage action from striking angles and heightens attention to the narrative elements of both performance and production. The series offers behind-the-scenes features, live interviews with cast and crew, insightful short documentaries, and bird’s-eye views of the productions, offering an unprecedented look at what goes into the staging of an opera. The Met: Live in HD is made possible by a generous grant from the Neubauer Family Foundation. Bloomberg L.P. is the global corporate sponsor.

About National CineMedia (NCM)

NCM operates NCM Media Networks, a leading integrated media company reaching U.S. consumers in movie theaters, online and through mobile technology. The NCM Cinema Network and NCM Fathom present cinema advertising and events across the nation’s largest digital in-theater network, comprised of theaters owned by AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) and other leading regional theater circuits. NCM’s theater network covers 171 Designated Market Areas® (49 of the top 50) and includes approximately 17,100 screens (15,500 digital). During 2009, approximately 680 million patrons attended movies shown in theaters currently included in NCM’s network (excluding Consolidated Theatres). The NCM Interactive Network offers 360-degree integrated marketing opportunities in combination with cinema, encompassing approximately 40 entertainment-related web sites, online widgets and mobile applications. National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCMI) owns a 40.7% interest in and is the managing member of National CineMedia LLC. For more information, visit www.ncm.com or www.fathomevents.com.

About the Metropolitan Opera

Under the leadership of General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director James Levine, the Met has a series of bold initiatives underway that are designed to broaden its audience and revitalize the company’s repertory. The Met has made a commitment to presenting modern masterpieces alongside the classic repertory, with highly theatrical productions featuring the greatest opera stars in the world. The Met’s 2010-11 season opens on September 27 and will include seven new productions, including two company premieres (John Adams’s Nixon in China and Rossini’s Le Comte Ory), as well as the first two installments of a new production of Wagner’s epic Der Ring des Nibelungen, conducted by James Levine and directed by Robert Lepage (Das Rheingold and Die Wqlküre). For more information about the Metropolitan Opera, please visit www.metopera.org.