The Met: Live in HD begins 2010 with Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 1:00 p.m. with a live broadcast and on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 1:00 p.m., there will be an encore performance at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The Met: Live in HD 2009-2010 season has been seen by 1.1 million viewers worldwide to date.

The following week, Bizet's "Carmen" will be broadcast live Saturday, Jan. 16 at 1:00 p.m., with an encore performance on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 1:00 p.m. More than 100,000 tickets have been sold worldwide for this opera alone. Seating for all showings is limited. Call the Box Office at (203) 254-4010 for information on ticket availability or visit the website at quickcenter.com. The Met: Live in HD is a featured event in the Fairfield University 2009-2010 Arts & Minds series.

Strauss's comic masterpiece of love and intrigue in 18th-century Vienna, "Der Rosenkavalier," stars Renée Fleming as the aristocratic Marschallin and Susan Graham in the trouser role of her young lover, Octavian. Edo de Waart conducts a cast that also includes Kristinn Sigmundsson, Thomas Allen, Christine Schäfer and Eric Cutler. The production is by Nathaniel Merrill. Plácido Domingo hosts the transmission, directed by Barbara Willis Sweete.

Expected running time: 4 hours, 45 minutes with 2 intermissions

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 about his new production of Bizet's drama. "It is one of the inalienably great works of art. It's sexy, in every sense. And I think it should be shocking." Elīna Garanča sings the seductive gypsy of the title for the first time at the Met, opposite Roberto Alagna as the obsessed Don José. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts a cast that also includes Barbara Frittoli and Mariusz Kwiecien. Renée Fleming hosts the transmission, directed by Brian Large.

Tickets are available online at fairfield.edu/quick or by calling the Box Office at (203) 254-4010. The toll free number is 1-877-ARTS-396. Special offers and discounts are available through the Quick Center's e-mail list. Join by contacting boxoffice@quickcenter.com . And become a fan of the Quick Center for the Arts on Facebook! Keep up-to-date with the latest performance news, plus special offers and discounts! Find the Quick Center at www.facebook.com/FairfieldQuickCenter.

Directions: Fairfield University is located off I-95, exit 22 at 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, CT 06824.

Posted On: 12-09-2009 10:12 AM

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