FAYETTEVILLE,
Ark. — The University of Arkansas will bring a live video simulcast performance
by the Washington National Opera to audiences in Northwest Arkansas this
September. Plácido Domingo, general director of
Washington National Opera, announced plans for a free nationwide simulcast, and
the university’s participation, during a news conference in Washington, D.C.
“We at Washington National Opera have had a longtime
commitment to making opera accessible and meaningful to the broader D.C.
community,” said Domingo. “It is so exciting to announce our continuing
efforts to make opera more accessible — both locally and on a national
scale.”
Sunday, Sept. 23, Washington National Opera will present
the live simulcast of La Bohème to viewers at the National Mall, at
select movie theaters in the D.C. area and at 17 universities, colleges and
high schools around the country. Washington National Opera pioneered simulcast
broadcasts in the capital in 2005 and 2006. This will be its first effort to
take the broadcast nationwide.
“With this initiative, Washington National Opera
dramatically expands our pledge to bring opera to the nation and the next
generation,” said Kenneth Feinberg, president of Washington National Opera. “We
are excited to use simulcast technology to give the gift of opera to the
American public in a way that has never been done before.”
Details of the time and place for the performance at the University
of Arkansas are still being worked out, according to Chris Lacy, director of
opera studies in the music department of the J. William Fulbright College of
Arts and Sciences.
The simulcast performance will be a modern-day take on Puccini’s
timeless opera from acclaimed director Mariusz Trelinski. It is a co-production
with Teatr Wielki of Warsaw. The production is set in the present day, with
Rodolfo as a photographer and part of a contemporary group of artists searching
for their identity and longing for a deeper and more profound connection with
society. Domingo described the opera as a human drama of loss and love, as the
characters struggle with their careers and to truly connect with each other in
a world that is increasingly connected technologically.
“What a wonderful way to draw younger audiences to opera
with this innovative new production of La Bohème!” Domingo said.
In addition to the University of Arkansas, Washington
National Opera will present simulcasts to: Brockton High School, Brockton, Mass;
Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.; Duke University, Durham, N.C.; Lowell High
School, San Francisco, Calif.; Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.; Rice
University, Houston; Temple University, Philadelphia.; Tulane University, New
Orleans; Union College, Schenectady, N.Y.; U.S. Military Academy at West Point,
N.Y.; University of Colorado at Boulder; University of Massachusetts Amherst;
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; University of Virginia, Charlottesville;
University of Washington at Seattle; and Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.