Anna Netrebko Sings Antonia/Stella in “The Met: Live In HD” Movie Theater Broadcast of Les Contes d’Hoffmann TODAY

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Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher’s new production of Les contes d’Hoffmann, starring Anna Netrebko as Antonia, Kate Lindsey as Nicklausse, Alan Held as the four villains, Joseph Calleja in the title role, and conducted by James Levine, will be broadcast live to movie theaters around the world on December 19 at 1:00 pm EST, as part of the Metropolitan Opera’s “The Met: Live In HD” series. The new staging of Offenbach’s late masterpiece opened on December 3, and the Russian soprano’s portrayal of the innocent Antonia – as well as her short appearance as the prima donna Stella – received much acclaim. The New York Times wrote that she “was vocally lustrous, charismatic and wrenching as Antonia” and that she made a “captivating and tart Stella.” Further performances of Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Metropolitan Opera are on December 23, 26, 30 and January 2.

Four days after “The Met: Live in HD” broadcast of Hoffmann, PBS’s “Great Performances” presents the first American telecast of Robert Dornhelm’s feature film version of Puccini’s La Bohème, starring Anna Netrebko and tenor Rolando Villazón. La Bohème was shown in theaters in select markets across the country this fall, and this week Kultur International Films released a DVD of the film in the U.S. In anticipation of the telecast on December 23 at 9:00 pm (check local listings), “Great Performances” has posted on its web site a video interview with Anna Netrebko about the making of La Bohème. Click here to watch it.

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