Merola Goes to the Movies: A Streetcar Named Desire

Departing from this series’ usual presentation of filmed operas, tomorrow Merola Goes to the Movies presents a special screening of the classic 1951 film of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh. The screening is in conjunction with Merola’s July presentation of André Previn’s opera based on this work.  Tomorrow's attendees are invited to enter a drawing for free tickets to see the opera July 10th and 12th at the Everett Auditorium (450 Church Street) in San Francisco. For more information, visit www.Merola.org.

A brief pre-screening talk by a Merola representative will give you interesting information about the making of the film and the opera.  The speaker will most likely touch upon Previn’s very successful first career as a Hollywood film score composer, working on Gigi (1958), Porgy and Bess (1959) and My Fair Lady (1964).  Additionally, this opera was commissioned by the San Francisco Opera Association and premiered in 1998, so one can also expect to hear details of its inception and debut.

Please join us.  Doors open and seating begins at 12:30.

About the film:  After losing her home and her job, delusional southern belle Blanche DuBois arrives in New Orleans, taking a streetcar named “Desire” to live with her sister Stella and Stella’s brutish husband Stanley. Sexual tension quickly develops between Blanche and her brother-in-law—until slowly her dark secrets and lies come to light.  Winner of four Academy Awards, don’t miss this cinema classic where the lines between fantasy and reality blur, with tragic consequences.