Movies by Gary Halvorson
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Jerry Herman's Broadway at the Hollywood Bowl
He hasn't had a new Broadway show since 1983's La Cage Aux Folles, but composer Jerry Herman has become ubiquitous on the concert, tribute and benefit scene, as evidenced by a video release of "Jerry Herman's Broadway - at the Hollywood Bowl." The star-studded event celebrating Herman's 30-plus-year career includes performances by Carol Channing, Leslie Uggams, Lorna Luft and Lee Roy Reams all together on "Hello, Dolly!"; George Hearn singing "Movies Were Movies" (Mack And Mabel); Davis Gaines crooning "Song On The Sand" and "I Am What I Am...
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Rossini: La Cenerentola
"Irresistible" (Opera News) rising-star mezzo Elina Garanca triumphs as Rossini's Cinderella in this delightful Metropolitan Opera production. "As close to pure joy as you will find in a big-time opera house" (New Yorker), conquering audiences and critics alike, "Garanca has a gorgeous voice that she uses with exceptional skill, melting tenderness; but when the part calls for coloratura fireworks, she unleashes a flawless technique and ringing high notes of impressive power" (Associated Press). Filmed in High Definition Widescreen.
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The Metropolitan Opera - Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor
Star soprano Anna Netrebko adds Donizetti’s hapless heroine to her growing list of Met triumphs in this production by Mary Zimmerman that updates the events to the 19th century. Rising young tenor sensation Piotr Beczała is Edgardo and Mariusz Kwiecien plays Lucia’s brother Enrico whose brutal authority forces her to deny her heart and marry for the sake of her family. The famous mad scene brilliantly depicts the cascading fragments of Lucia’s disintegrating mind.
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The Metropolitan Opera: Das Rheingold
In the depths of the Rhine, the three Rhinemaidens guard the Rhinegold, a treasure of immeasurable value. The Nibelung dwarf Alberich is dazzled by the sight of it. The girls explain that whoever wins the gold and forges it into a ring will gain power over the world, but must first renounce love. Frustrated by his unsuccessful attempts to catch one of the girls, Alberich curses love and steals the gold. Wotan, lord of the gods, is reproached by his wife Fricka: he has promised to give Freia, goddess of youth, to the giants Fasolt and Fafner...
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Le comte Ory
Rossini's "Le Comte Ory" tells the story of a libidinous and cunning nobleman who disguises himself first as a hermit and then as a nun in order to gain access to the virtuous Countess Adele, whose brother is away at the Crusades. The 2011 Met production was directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher, who presented the action as an opera within an opera, updating the action by a few centuries and giving the costume designer, Catherine Zuber, the opportunity to create some particularly extravagant headgear. Juan Diego Florez starred as the ...
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The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour
America's favorite young married couple, Nick Lachey & Jessica Simpson, multi-platinum artists known from their hit MTV series, "Newlyweds," star in their first-ever television special, featuring a fun-filled variety hour of music and comedy. In a throwback to the days of Sonny & Cher and Laugh-In, the beloved Nick & Jessica breathe new life into the variety format, showcasing their singing and comedic talents in a series of sketches and musical performances with such guests as Jewel, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Kenny Rogers, baseball Hall o...
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Bellini: Norma
Deep in a forest where druids and warriors seek revenge against the conquering Romans, Norma is scorned by the Roman proconsul Pollione, with whom she has two children. Her kindness turns to fury when she discovers that Pollione has taken Adalgisa, a novice priestess, as his new lover. When Pollione loses his high rank in the army and is offered as a sacrifice, Norma promises him freedom under one condition.
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Intimate Apparel
Experience the story of seamstress Esther who begins writing to a mysterious suitor laboring on the Panama Canal. Featuring a libretto by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, this powerful opera is directed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher.
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The Metropolitan Opera: Don Pasquale
Donizetti’s timeless comedy shines in Otto Schenk’s enchanting production, conducted by James Levine and featuring a remarkable cast. The incomparable Anna Netrebko is Norina, the young widow beloved by Ernesto (a suave Matthew Polenzani), who is about to be disinherited by his miserly uncle, Don Pasquale (John Del Carlo). It takes the clever scheming of Dr. Malatesta (Mariusz Kwiecien) to set things right and to teach the old curmudgeon a lesson—fits of temper, mistaken identities, and all kinds of comic confusion included.
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Sesame Street: Elmo's Christmas Countdown
There's a miracle on Sesame Street in this special holiday tale. Elmo, Abby Cadabby, and their new friend Stiller the Elf are going to count down to Christmas with the Christmas Counter-Downer. But all the counting boxes have gone missing and Christmas may never come again!
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Strauss: Elektra
The great singing actress Nina Stemme gives a heart-wrenching performance in the title role of Strauss’s blazing one-act drama, adapted from the ancient Greek myth. Patrice Chéreau’s acclaimed production—the last staging he worked on before his death in 2013—also stars Waltraud Meier as Klytämnestra, Elektra’s nightmare-haunted mother, Adrianne Pieczonka as Chrysothemis, her sister, and Eric Owens as Orest, their brother, whose return home brings their family story to a terrifying climax. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the monumental and highly ...
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Verdi: Macbeth
Star soprano Anna Netrebko created a sensation in her first Met performances as the malevolent Lady Macbeth, the central character in Verdi’s retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy. She is joined by Željko Lucic, who brings dramatic intensity and vocal authority to the title role of the honest general driven to murder and deceit by his ambitious wife. René Pape is Banquo, Joseph Calleja is Macduff, and Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi presides over Adrian Noble’s atmospheric production.
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Free to Be... a Family
Seminal TV special about two groups of children, one in New York City and the other in Moscow, who befriend each other over a satellite connection and find common ground. The Muppets and several celebrities make a cameo.