Tag: The Metropolitan Opera

Zandonai’s Francesca Da Rimini @MeydanIMAX

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Its been weeks since Tasha and I went to see the a MET Opera production….it was Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda so news that another MET production is coming to IMAX was music to our ears. This time it’s Zandonai’s ‘Francesca Da Rimini’. The good thing is that both Tash and I don’t know the storyline or have read any reviews so this will be a total surprise and what’s great is that we will once see it on the biggest screen in Dubai at Meydan Imax. I reckon the best thing I’ve done since I met Afsana is get registered for updates via email on what’s happening at IMAX….I keep getting their latest schedules and my viewing pleasure has improved ten-fold.

The next MET Opera is at 7pm on the 25th of March. It’s perfect timing as I usually leave the office at Media City at 6pm and arrive  at Meydan IMAX just in time to meet Tash, buy popcorn and see the show…plus indulge in their amazing oreo cake that is sinfully delicious and takes you to heaven for the evening.

As I keep talking endlessly about how much I enjoy the MET shows, ticket costs for everyone who makes a booking and say’s ‘Fijianchick’ get AED 50/- off their tickets. So…if you like opera and like to see the show, mention my blog and get the tickets for AED100/- instead of AED150/-. Enjoy!

MET Opera Shereen Shabnam

MEYDAN IMAX THEATRE PREMIERES DONIZETTI’S MARIA STUARDA

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Despite being known as a go with the flow laid back Islander who schedules her life on the hop, I am doing the unthinkable and making sure my entertainment schedule is booked and planned week’s ahead, thanks to the amazing line-up of shows being brought to UAE by the Meydan IMAX. In case you didn’t know, the Meydan IMAX Theatre is a unique Theatre in the Dubai landscape, as it offers a diverse program that dazzles a wide range of audiences. Located at the prestigious Meydan in Nad al Sheba, the Meydan IMAX Theatre is home to the largest screen in the Middle East & Asia.

Thanks to Afsana, who is a fellow member of the Business Women’s Group and the Partner/CEO of Meydan IMAX, I found out about what’s in store and learnt about Maria Stuarda, one of a number of operas by Donizetti that deal with the Tudor period in English history. In fact, the lead female characters of the operas Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, and Roberto Devereux are often referred to as the “Three Donizetti Queens”.

Never before performed at the Met, this second opera in the composer’s so-called “Three Queens” trilogy portrays the lethal conflict between Mary, deposed queen of Scotland, and Queen Elizabeth I of England. The opera’s dramatic heart is a confrontation between the two queens that never actually took place in history but that figures in the Friedrich Schiller play on which the libretto is based.

An exclusive broadcast not to be missed at Meydan IMAX! The Met Opera stages its first-ever production of the tragic opera, Maria Stuarda by Gaetano Donizetti – January 28, 2013 at 7:00pm (approximate running time: 195 minutes). The Metropolitan Opera is the world’s leading provider of alternative cinema content, is now shown in more than 1800 theaters in 54 countries, making the Met the only arts institution with an ongoing global art series of this scale….how cool is that?

If you would like to see this and would like to get AED50/- knocked off your ticket, call Meydan IMAX on 800 4629 and mention ‘Fijian Chick’.

Check out the Cast list below and enjoy the show 🙂

Conductor: Maurizio Benini, Production: David McVicar, Set Designer & Costume Designer: John Macfarlane
, Lighting Designer: Jennifer Tipton, 
Choreographer: Leah Hausman, 
Cast: Elza van den Heever (Queen Elizabeth I), Matthew Rose (George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury), Joshua Hopkins (William Cecil, Lord Burghley), Mathew Polenzani (Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester), Mari Zifchak (Jane Kennedy, Mary’s lady-in- waiting), Joyce DiDonato (Maria Stuarda)

Shereen Shabnam IMAX