opera and ballet at Carmike Royal Palm 20

Don Giovani from Royal Opera House | Thursday, March 27 at 6:30 pm and Sunday, March 30 at 1 pm| $20 | Presented in HD |Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Opera in two acts Sung in Italian | Running time: c. 3 hours 40 mins (including 1 interval) Director of The Royal Opera, Kasper Holten presents a mesmerizing new production of Mozart’s sublime tragicomedy Don Giovanni which is broadcast live for one night only into cinemas worldwide.

Don Giovanni is a potent mix of lust, murder and vengeance and is set to thrill cinema audiences. Don Giovanni is cast as an artist who seduces an endless stream of women through his ability to create wonderful illusions. Yet we find that his attempt to escape his own mortality through his endless seductions is in vain. Taking on the role of the notorious seducer is Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecien, Italian bass-baritone Alex Esposito plays Don Giovanni’s long-suffering servant Leporello, alongside Véronique Gens as Donna Elvira, Malin Bryström as Donna Anna and Elizabeth Watts as Zerlina.

Set designs are by Es Devlin, renowned theatre designer, famous for her work with the London 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony,Chimerica, Take That’s Progress Live Tour among many other rock/pop, opera, dance and stage shows  and who was most recently at Covent Garden with Les Troyens.

Anja Vang Kragh who has worked with the likes of Stella McCartney and Christian Dior, provides the costume designs alongside video projections by Luke Halls. This impressive creative team create an innovative visual universe which is brought to life in stunning detail and in High Definition on the big screen. The production highlights the beauty and invention of Mozart’s dazzling score, which ranges from gorgeous arias and dramatic duets to the brilliant layering of dance melodies that bring Act I to a virtuoso close.Mozart’s sublime tragic comedy offers boundless scope for directors, and Kasper Holten has chosen it to follow his directorial debut of Eugene Onegin. He wants to shift the emphasis from Don Giovanni’s sex life into a darker place, showing Giovanni’s womanizing as an attempt to stave off his own mortality. Each woman he seduces represents a life he could have had. Though it is a dark piece, Holten intends to handle it with a light touch and he is working with a superb cast – Mariusz Kwiecien, one of the world’s leading Don Giovannis, Alex Esposito, a fresh, vigorous Leporello and acclaimed French soprano Véronique Gens. Set designs are by Es Devlin (most recently here with Les Troyens) and Nicola Luisotti conducts. Don GiovanniMariusz Kwiecien Donna Elvira Véronique Gens Leporello Alex Esposito Don Ottavio Antonio Poli Donna Anna Mailn BystromZerlina Elizabeth Watts Masetto Dawid Kimberg CommendatoreAlexander Tsymbalyuk Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Conductor Nicola Luisotti Director Kasper Holten Set designs Es Devlin Lighting design Bruno Poet Costume designs Anja Vang Kragh Choreography Signe Fabricius

Ballet: Bolshoi Ballet’s Marco Spada from Pathe Live and Bolshoi Moscow LIVE on Sunday, March 30 at 11am and an encore broadcast on Tuesday, April 1 at 7 pm |$15|Ballet in 3 acts 2h 50 min (with intermissions) Music: Daniel-François-Esprit  Auber Original choreography: Joseph Mazilier (1857) New choreography, sets and costumes: Pierre Lacotte (2013) With the Bolshoi Principals, Soloists and Corps de ballet (Cast given approximately 3 weeks before the event)

The bandit Marco Spada cheerfully plunders the surrounding region just under the nose of the Governor. He hides his identity carefully and raises his daughter Angela in a castle. Completely unaware of his double life and his clandestine activities, Angela is concerned about her love situation. She longs for Prince Federici but is shattered when she discovers she may not be able to marry him…

Recently added to the Bolshoi’s repertoire in November 2013, this rarely presented “swashbuckling” ballet, now sees its rebirth on the stage of the famed theatre. Re-created specifically for the Bolshoi by French choreographer Pierre Lacotte, “Marco Spada, or the Bandit’s Daughter” is a grandiose and unique ballet both on a technical and dramatic level: complex choreography, five lead roles created for five principals, several changes in scenery, the participation of nearly all the Corps de ballet, and even the presence of animals on stage… With its scenes of pantomime, devilish intrigue, rejected suitors, kidnapping heroines, rebellion, and lovers misunderstandings, Marco Spada is a fresh and joyful ballet not to be missed.