October 27th, 2018 - 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm
The Rehoboth Beach Film Society is proud to present the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD broadcast of Camille Saint-Saën’s SAMSON ET DALILA on Saturday, October 27 at 12:30 PM and Monday, October 29 at 1:00 PM. Please note that screenings are held at the Cinema Art Theater and will be shown as a recorded presentation one week after being filmed live.
When mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča and tenor Roberto Alagna joined forces for a new production of CARMEN at the Met, the results were electrifying. Now this star duo reunites for another sensual French opera when they open the season in the title roles of Saint-Saëns’s biblical epic SAMSON ET DALILA. Darko Tresnjak, who won a Tony® Award for Best Direction of a Musical in 2014 for A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER, makes his Met debut directing a vivid, seductive staging, featuring a monumental setting for the last-act Temple of Dagon, where the hero crushes his Philistine enemies. Sir Mark Elder conducts the first new Met production of the work in 20 years.
The source of this popular opera is a single chapter in the biblical Book of Judges, and the brevity of the tale did nothing to prevent it from becoming one of the world’s great stories of love (or at least passion)—as well as the archetypal depiction of a man betrayed by an immoral woman. Saint-Saëns’s opera, along with other artistic renderings across multiple genres, has had an important role in the popularization of this tale. Despite tepid success early on, SAMSON ET DALILA eventually conquered the operatic world and has proven itself a magnificent evening of theater. [Sung in French, with English subtitles. Runtime: approx. 3 hrs, 20 mins, including two intermissions].
In addition to the opera performance, the HD series features Met opera stars conducting live interviews with cast and/or various production crew members while showing behind-the-scene workings. This production is the second in The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD series for the 2018–19 season.
Admission for The Met: Live in HD broadcasts is $25 for adults; $22 for RBFS members, Met members, and seniors (65+); $15 for students (with ID) and children (12 and under). Customers are encouraged to purchase tickets online. If seats are available, tickets can be purchased at the theater, 30 minutes before the screening.
The mission of the RBFS is promoting cinematic arts and providing education and cultural enrichment for our community. The Film Society sponsors ongoing screenings, special events, and the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival. Having met all the requirements for best practices in nonprofit management, the Rehoboth Beach Film Society is accredited by the Standards for Excellence Institute®. The Film Society is funded, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on www.DelawareScene.com. For more information on this series, other events, or to become a member, visit the Rehoboth Beach Film Society website at www.rehobothfilm.com, or call 302-645-9095.