Large Screen Videos: Opera Series 2011

“Ritratto di giovene unomo” by Dosso Dossi, said to be a portrait of Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara (image source: National Gallery of Victoria)

The Art, Music & Recreation Center of the San Francisco Public Library in association with San Francisco Opera Guild will present their annual program of large screen videos. These programs feature selected clips of previously filmed productions of operas from the upcoming San Francisco Opera season. Narration and commentary is provided by Opera Guild director George F. Lucas.

The August 4 program features a screening of excerpts of Lucrezia Borgia by Gaetano Donizetti. The cast of this 2009 Munich production includes Edita Gruberova as Donna Lucrezia Borgia, Pavol Breslik as Gennaro and Alice Coote as Maffio Orsino. The conductor is Bertrand de Billy.

On August 11 we will screen excerpts from George Frideric Handel’s Xerxes performed in 2000 by the Semperoper from Dresden. The cast includes Paula Rasmussen as Xerxes, Isabel Bayrakdarian as Romilda, Patricia Bardan as Amastre and Sandrine Piau as Atlanta. The conductor is Christophe Rousset.

Excerpts of Georges Bizet’s Carmen will be screened on August 18 featuring a Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London performance from 2007 conducted by Antonio Pappano. The featured performers include Anna Caterina Antonacci as Carmen, Jonas Kaufmann as Don Jose, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo as Escamillo and Norah Amsellem as Micaela.

Our final screening on August 25 features Giuseppe Verdi’s Attila in a 1991 Teatro alla Scala, production conducted by Riccardo Muti featuring Samuel Ramey as Attila, Cheryl Studer as Odabella, Kaludi Kaludov as Foresto and Giorgio Zancanaro as Ezio.

Each screening begins at noon at the Koret Auditorium, Main Library, Lower Level and will last approximately 60 minutes. All programs at the Library are free and open to the public. This program is supported by the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

The library has scores, libretti, and recordings of Lucrezia Borgia, Xerxes, Carmen, and Attila.