Get Ready for an exciting 2009-10 Met Live in HD

Karita Mattila as Tosca ready to jump to her death in Puccini's perennial favorite that opens the 2009-10 Met in HD Season (Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Opera)

While Canadians lament the end of summer and warm weather, we welcome the start of the much anticipated musical season. Now in its fourth year, the Met in HD has become a Saturday ritual for many of us. To be able to sample the best the Met has to offer, in air-conditioned comfort at a Cineplex theatre near you is something that opera lovers could only dream about a few short years ago. I have been attending these shows since The Magic Flute in its first season. This season, for the first time, patrons can purchase *reserved seats* in advance. This is a huge improvment. You no longer have to wait in line an hour ahead of time to get your desired seats. As I understand, since the tickets went on sale last week, business has been extremely brisk. Be sure to secure your seats before they are all gone. Here is the press release sent to me by Cineplex Entertainment with the details of the shows and the locations.

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Escape to the Ultimate Stage Spectacle The Met: Live in HD at Select Cineplex Entertainment Theatres

Advance tickets for 2009-10 series available Friday, August 21^st

Toronto, ON (CGX.UN) – August 19, 2009 – Cineplex Entertainment is showcasing another great season of opera! Now in its fourth season, the wildly popular and award-winning The Met: Live in HDseries continues with nine live opera performances for the 2009-10 season. Shown in High Definition and Digital Surround Sound, all nine performances start at 1 pm EST beginning with Puccini’s Toscaon Saturday, October 10, 2009 and, for the first time, guests will be able to enjoy reserved seating at select Cineplex Entertainment theatres.

“We are pleased to have The Met: Live in HD series return for a fourth season to Cineplex Entertainment theatres across the country. The series has captivated our guests and their interest continues to grow with the performances becoming a familiar ritual on Saturday afternoons at our theatres,” said Pat Marshall, Vice-President, Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment. “This year, we have once again expanded the number of theatre locations by 10 per cent and, for the first time ever, added reserved seating at select locations as an added convenience for our guests to experience world class opera.”

Beginning Friday, September 4^th individual tickets are available online at www.cineplex.com/events as well as at participating theatre box offices. Admission prices vary by location. SCENE and Met Opera members enjoy priority access with an exclusive advance ticket window for the 2009-10 series beginning Friday, August 21^st at participating theatre box offices. Membership in the SCENE program is free and guests can apply online at www.scene.ca. For information on The Met Opera in New York or to obtain tickets or membership information, visit www.metopera.org/hdlive or call 1-800-Met-Opera (1-800-638-6737).

Season tickets can be purchased in person only at any of the participating theatres. Guests that purchase season tickets for all nine performances will receive a 15% discount off the purchase price, a 10% discount when purchasing tickets to any five or more performances and a 5% discount when purchasing tickets to any three or more performances. A special group rate is also available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on group rates, call 1-800-313-4461 or emailcorporatesales@cineplex.com.

Beginning Saturday, October 10^th, the following performances will be shown live from New York at 1 pm EST at select Cineplex Entertainment theatres:

Saturday, October 10, 2009: TOSCA – Director James Levine, who conducts this new production of Puccini’s Tosca, tells the story of three people – a famous opera singer, a free-thinking painter and a sadistic chief of police – caught in a net of love and politics. Soprano Karita Matilla sings the title role for the first time outside her native Finland, Marcelo Ấlvarez as Cavaradossi and Juha Uusitalo as Scarpia.

Saturday, October 24, 2009: AIDA – Set in ancient Egypt, Verdi’s Aida is both a heartbreaking love story and an epic drama full of spectacular crowd scenes. Violeta Urmana stars in the title role of the enslaved Ethiopian princess, with Dolora Zajick as her rival. Johan Botha plays Radamès, commander of the Egyptian army and Daniele Gatti conducts. Among the score’s highlights is the celebrated Triumphal March.

Saturday, November 7, 2009: TURANDOT– Director Franco Zeffirelli’s breathtaking production of Puccini’s last opera is a favourite of the Met repertoire. Maria Guleghina plays the ruthless Chinese princess of the title, whose hatred of men is so strong that she has all suitors who can’t solve her riddles beheaded. Marcello Giordani sings Calàf, the unknown prince who eventually wins her love and whose solos include the famous “Nessun dorma”.

Saturday, December 19, 2009: LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN – Offenbach’s fictionalized take on the life and loves of the German romantic writer E.T.A Hoffmann is a fascinating psychological journey. Met Music Director James Levine conducts a stellar cast including Anna Netrebko as the tragic Antonia, Kate Lindsey as the ambiguous Nicklausse and Alan Held as the demonic four villains. Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher directs this new production.

Saturday, January 9, 2010: DER ROSENKAVALIER – Strauss’s comic masterpiece of love and intrigue in 18^th-century Vienna stars Renée Fleming as the aristocratic Marschallin and Susan Graham in the trouser role of her young lover. Music Director James Levine conducts a cast that also includes Kristinn Sigmundsson and Thomas Allen.

Saturday, January 16, 2010: CARMEN – 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. Elīna Garanča plays the seductive gypsy of the title in her role debut, opposite Roberto Alagna as the obsessed Don José.

Saturday, February 6, 2010: SIMON BOCCANEGRA – Four decades into a legendary Met career, tenor Plácido Domingo makes history singing the title role in Verdi’s gripping political thriller, which is written for a baritone. Adrianne Pieczonka, Marcello Giordani and James Morris are his co-stars in this moving and tragic story of a father and his lost daughter. James Levine conducts.

Saturday, March 27, 2010: HAMLET – Simon Keenlyside and Natalis Dessay bring their extraordinary acting and singing skills to two of the Bard’s most unforgettable characters in this new production of Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet. For the role of Ophelia, the French composer created an extended mad scene that is among the greatest in opera.

Saturday, May 1, 2010: ARMIDA – This mythical story of a sorceress who enthralls men in her island prison has inspired operatic settings by a multitude of composers. Renée Fleming stars in the title role of Rossini’s version, opposite no fewer than six tenors. Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerman returns to direct this new production of a work she describes as “a buried treasure, a box of jewels”.

Cineplex Entertainment will also be showing encore presentations at select theatre locations at 1 pm EST for guests who may not be able to attend the live transmission or who simply want to watch it again. The encore presentation schedule is as follows:

Saturday, October 31, 2009 – Puccini’s Tosca

Saturday, November 21, 2009 – Verdi’s Aida

Saturday, December 5, 2009 – Puccini’s Turandot

Saturday, January 23, 2010 – Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann

Saturday, March 6, 2010 – Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier

Saturday, March 13, 2010 & Sunday, April 11, 2010 – Bizet’s Carmen

Saturday, March 20, 2010 – Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra

Saturday, April 24, 2010 – Thomas’s Hamlet

Saturday, May 22, 2010 – Rossini’s Armida

Cineplex Entertainment will present The Met: Live in HD at the following select theatres throughout Canada:

BRITISH COLUMBIA

SilverCity Coquitlam Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 170 Schoolhouse Street Coquitlam, BC	SilverCity Riverport Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 14211 Entertainment Way Richmond, BC
SilverCity Victoria Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 3130 Tillicum Road Victoria, BC	Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver (Reserved Seating) 900 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC
Galaxy Cinemas Nanaimo 213-4750 Rutherford Road Nanaimo, BC	Cineplex Odeon Park & Tilford Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 200-333 Brooksbank Avenue North Vancouver, BC
Colossus Langley Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 20090 91A Avenue Langley, BC	Famous Players 7 Cinemas 2306 Highway 6 Vernon, BC
Famous Players 6 Cinemas 172-1600 Fifth Avenue Prince George, BC	Famous Players Orchard Plaza Cinemas 160-1876 Cooper Road Kelowna, BC
Cineplex Odeon Aberdeen Mall Cinemas 700-1320 Trans Canada Highway Kamloops, BC SilverCity Mission Cinemas 32555 London Avenue Mission, BC	Cineplex Odeon Victoria Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 780 Yates Avenue Victoria, BC

ALBERTA

Scotiabank Theatre Chinook 6455 Macleod Trail SW Calgary, AB	Galaxy Cinemas Red Deer 357-37400 Highway #2 Red Deer, AB
Cineplex Odeon South Edmonton Cinemas 1525-99th Street NW Edmonton, AB	Cineplex Odeon North Edmonton Cinemas 14231 137th Avenue NW Edmonton, AB
Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton 8882-170 Street Edmonton, AB	Galaxy Cinemas Lethbridge 501-1st Avenue SW Lethbridge, AB
Galaxy Cinemas Medicine Hat 3292 Dunmore Road SE Medicine Hat, AB Cineplex Odeon Eau Claire Marketplace Cinemas 90-200 Barclay Parade SW Calgary, AB Famous Players Westhills Cinemas 165 Stewart Green SW Calgary, AB	Cineplex Odeon Grand Prairie Cinemas 10330-109th Street Grand Prairie, AB Cineplex Odeon Crowfoot Crossing Cinemas 91 Crowfoot Terrace NW Calgary, AB

SASKATCHEWAN

Galaxy Cinemas Regina 420 McCarthy Boulevard N Regina, SK Galaxy Cinemas Moose Jaw (NEW) 1235 Main Street N Moose Jaw, SK MANITOBA SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas 817 St. James Street Winnipeg, MB

Galaxy Cinemas Saskatoon 347 2nd Avenue Saskatoon, SK SilverCity St. Vital Cinemas 160-1255 St. Mary’s Road Winnipeg, MB

ONTARIO

Scotiabank Theatre Toronto (Reserved Seating) 259 Richmond Street W Toronto, ON	Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 1025 The Queensway Etobicoke, ON
SilverCity Yonge-Eglinton Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 2300 Yonge Street Toronto, ON	Cineplex Odeon Sheppard Grande Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 4861 Yonge Street Toronto, ON
Alliance Atlantis Beaches Cinemas 1651 Queen Street East Toronto, ON	Colossus Vaughan Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 3555 Highway 7 W Woodbridge, ON
Coliseum Scarborough Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 300 Borough Drive Scarborough, ON	Coliseum Mississauga Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 309 Rathburn Road W Mississauga, ON
SilverCity Brampton Cinemas 50 Great Lakes Drive Brampton, ON	SilverCity Richmond Hill Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 8725 Yonge Street Richmond Hill, ON
SilverCity Fairview Mall Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 1800 Sheppard Avenue E Toronto, ON Cineplex Odeon First Markham Place Cinemas (NEW) 3275 Highway 7 Markham, ON Cineplex Odeon Aurora Cinemas (NEW) 15460 Bayview Avenue Aurora, ON	SilverCity Newmarket Cinemas 18151 Yonge Street Newmarket, ON Cineplex Odeon Niagara Square Cinemas 7555 Montrose Road Niagara Falls, ON Cineplex Odeon Oshawa Cinemas 1351 Grandview Street N Oshawa, ON
Cineplex Odeon Gardiners Road Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 626 Gardiners Road Kingston, ON	SilverCity Sudbury Cinemas 355 Barrydowne Road Sudbury, ON
Galaxy Cinemas Barrie 72 Commerce Park Drive Barrie, ON Galaxy Cinemas Cornwall 1325 Second Street E Cornwall, ON Galaxy Cinemas North Bay 300 Lakeshore Drive North Bay, ON Galaxy Cinemas Midland 9226 County Road 93 Midland, ON Galaxy Cinemas Brockville 2399 Parkedale Avenue Brockville, ON Galaxy Cinemas Owen Sound 1020 10th Street Owen Sound, ON	Cineplex Odeon Ajax Cinemas (NEW) 248 Kingston Road Ajax, ON Galaxy Cinemas Peterborough 320 Water Street Peterborough, ON Galaxy Cinemas Sault Ste. Marie 293 Bay Street Sault Ste. Marie, ON Galaxy Cinemas Orillia (NEW) 865 West Ridge Boulevard Orillia, ON Famous Players Belleville 8 Cinemas 160 Bell Boulevard Belleville, ON Cineplex Odeon Devonshire Mall Cinemas 3100 Howard Avenue Windsor, ON
Galaxy Cinemas St. Thomas 417 Wellington Street St. Thomas, ON Galaxy Cinemas Orangeville 85 Fifth Avenue Orangeville, ON SilverCity Oakville Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 3531 Wyecroft Road Oakville, ON Galaxy Cinemas Collingwood 6 Mountain Road Collingwood, ON SilverCity Burlington Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 1250 Brant Street Burlington, ON SilverCity London Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 1680 Richmond Street London, ON SilverCity Thunder Bay Cinemas 850 North May Street Thunder Bay, ON Cineplex Odeon Barrhaven Cinemas (NEW) 131 Riocan Avenue Barrhaven, ON Coliseum Ottawa Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 3090 Carling Avenue Ottawa, ON Cineplex Odeon South Keys Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 2214 Bank Street Ottawa, ON	Galaxy Cinemas Waterloo 550 King Street N Waterloo, ON Galaxy Cinemas Cambridge 355 Hespeler Road Cambridge, ON Galaxy Cinemas Guelph 485 Woodlawn Road W Guelph, ON Galaxy Cinemas Milton (NEW) 1175 Maple Avenue Milton, ON SilverCity Hamilton Mountain Cinemas(NEW) 795 Paramount Drive Stoney Creek, ON Cineplex Odeon Westmount & VIP Cinemas (NEW) (Reserved Seating) 755 Wonderland Road S London, ON Galaxy Cinemas Brantford 300 King George Road Brantford, ON SilverCity Ancaster Cinemas 771 Golf Links Road Ancaster, ON Famous Players Lambton 9 Cinemas 1450 London Road Sarnia, ON SilverCity Gloucester Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 2385 City Park Drive Gloucester, ON

QUEBEC

Cineplex Odeon Brossard Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 9350 boul. Leduc Brossard, QC	Cineplex Odeon Ste. Foy Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 1200 boul. Duplessis Ste. Foy, QC
Colossus Laval Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 2800 rue Cosmodôme Laval, QC	Scotiabank Theatre Montreal (Reserved Seating) 977 rue Ste-Catherine O Montreal, QC
Coliseum Kirkland Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 3200 rue Jean Yves Kirkland, QC	Galaxy Cinemas Victoriaville 1121 Jutras Est Victoriaville, QC
Starcité Montreal Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 4825 ave. Pierre de Coubertin Montreal, QC	Galaxy Cinemas Sherbrooke 4204 rue Bertrand Rock Forest, QC
Cineplex Odeon Beauport Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 825 rue Clemenceau Beauport, QC Cineplex Odeon Latin Quarter Cinemas (Reserved Seating) 350 rue Emery Montreal, QC Gatineau 9 Cinemas 120 boul. de l’Hôpital Gatineau, QC	Cineplex Odeon Boucherville Cinemas 20 boul. de Montagne Boucherville, QC Galaxy Cinemas Fleur-de-Lys 4520 boul. des Récollets Trois Rivieres, QC

OTHER LOCATIONS

Lux Cinema Landmark 229 Bear Street Banff, AB Max Cameron Theatre 5400 Marine Avenue Powell River, BC Art Spring 100 Jackson Avenue Salt Spring Island, BC Rene M. Caisse Theatre 100 Clearbrook Trail Bracebridge, ON Capitol Theatre 20 Queen Street Port Hope, ON Cinema Elysée 160 rue Simonds nord Granby, QC Carrefour 10 220 rue Beaudry Nord Joliette, QC Carrefour du Nord St-Jérôme 900 rue Grignon St-Jérôme, QC Cinema Jonquiere 2445, rue St-Dominique Jonquiere, QC Cinema St-Laurent 8333 rue Industrielle Sorel-Tracey, QC

Rialto Landmark 2655 Cliffe Avenue Courtenay, BC Pen Mar Centre Landmark 361 Martin Street Penticton, BC Salmar Classic Theatre 360 Alexander Street Salmon Arm, BC Raven’s Cry Theatre 5559 Sunshine Coast Highway Sechelt, BC Regent 224 Main Street Picton, ON Capitol Theatre 4920 – 52nd Street Yellowknife, NWT RGFM Drummondville 755 rue Hains Drummondville, QC Cinema Pine 24, rue Morin Sainte-Adèle, QC Cinema St. Eustache 305 Avenue Mathers St. Eustache, QC Cinema Triomphe 1100, rue Yves-Blais Lachenaie, QC

For a list of theatre locations showing the encore performances, visit www.cineplex.com/events.

About The Met

Under the leadership of General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director James Levine, the Met has a series of bold initiatives underway that are designed to broaden its audience and revitalize the company’s repertory. The Met has made a commitment to presenting modern masterpieces alongside the classic repertory, with highly theatrical productions featuring the greatest opera stars in the world.

The Met’s 2009-10 season features eight new productions, four of which are Met premieres: Janáček’sFrom the House of the Dead, Verdi’s Attila, Shostakovich’s The Nose, and Rossini’s Armida. The other new productions are Puccini’s Tosca, Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Bizet’s Carmen, and Thomas’s Hamlet.

Building on its 78-year-old international radio broadcast history – heard over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network – the Met uses advanced media distribution platforms and state-of-the-art technology to reach audiences around the world.

The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning The Met: Live in HD series returns for its fourth season in 2009-10 with nine transmissions, beginning October 10 with Tosca starring Karita Mattila and ending with Armida starring Renée Fleming on May 1. The Met recently introduced Met Player, a new subscription service that makes much of its extensive video and audio catalog of full-length performances available to the public for the first time online, and in exceptional, state-of-the-art quality. Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Radio broadcasts both live and rare historical performances; the Met on Rhapsody on-demand service offers audio recordings; and the Met presents free live audio streaming of performances on its website once every week during the opera season with support from RealNetworks®.

The Met has launched several audience development initiatives, including Open House dress rehearsals, a popular rush ticket program, reduced ticket prices, Gallery Met, and an annual Holiday Series presentation for families. For more information, please visit: www.metopera.org.

About Cineplex Entertainment

As the largest motion picture exhibitor in Canada, Cineplex Entertainment LP owns, leases or has a joint-venture interest in 129 theatres with 1,328 screens serving more than 63.5 million guests annually. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Cineplex Entertainment operates theatres from British Columbia to Quebec and is the largest exhibitor of digital, 3D and IMAX projection technologies in the country. Proudly Canadian and with a workforce of more than 10,000 employees, the company operates the following top tier brands: Cineplex Odeon, Galaxy, Famous Players, Colossus, Coliseum, SilverCity, Cinema City and Scotiabank Theatres. The units of Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund, which owns approximately 99.6% of Cineplex Entertainment LP, are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol CGX.UN). For more information, visit www.cineplex.com.

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For more information, please contact:

Pat Marshall Georgia Sourtzis

Vice President, Communications Manager, Communications

and Investor Relations Cineplex Entertainment

Cineplex Entertainment 416-323-6728

416.323.6648 georgia.sourtzis@cineplex.com

pat.marshall@cineplex.com

La SCENA Répertoire des arts 2009

Bientôt la rentrée! C’est le moment idéal pour annoncer la publication de la première édition du Répertoire annuel des arts et de la musique de La SCENA, contenant la liste complète des écoles et des agents, des chœurs et des ensembles amateurs et professionnels, des magasins de fournitures artistiques et de matériel pour audiophiles, et bien plus encore, dans les domaines de la musique, de la danse, du théâtre, du cinéma et des arts visuels. Étudiants, professionnels, artistes ou amateurs d’art, tous y trouveront leur compte !

Cette première édition du Répertoire des arts et de la musique n’est qu’un début. En raison des contraintes de temps et d’espace, nous avons dû limiter le nombre de renseignements qui y sont inclus. Au cours des prochaines années, nous espérons pouvoir en élargir la portée afin d’y faire figurer encore plus d’intervenants de toutes les disciplines artistiques, qu’il s’agisse d’organisations ou de personnes. À La SCENA, nous sommes convaincus que l’existence d’un tel répertoire est essentielle pour la vie des arts, puisqu’il aide à relier les divers segments du monde artistique et à les renforcer. Nous avons l’intention de le diffuser sur notre site Web, www.scena.org, et d’en faire la mise à jour tout au long de l’année. Si vous faites partie d’une organisation artistique ou musicale qui devrait, d’après vous, figurer dans le répertoire, n’hésitez pas à nous écrire à guides@scena.org afin de vous intégrer à cette ressource en pleine croissance.

Voulant économiser l’espace et éviter de surcharger nos lecteurs, nous avons soigneusement réfléchi à la question des coordonnées devant être incluses dans le répertoire. Par conséquent, nous donnons les adresses des lieux et des détaillants, mais seuls les numéros de téléphone et les adresses de sites Web des autres types d’organisations. Notre petite équipe d'employés et de bénévoles dévoués veille sans cesse à vérifier l'exactitude de l'information dans chaque numéro. Comme toujours, LSM apprécie vos commentaires, vos corrections et surtout vos suggestions pour améliorer la qualité de nos publications.

À l’intention de ceux qui ne connaissent pas notre organisation, nous rappelons que La Scène Musicale est un organisme de bienfaisance sans but lucratif dont la vocation est la promotion de la musique classique et des arts. Elle publie La Scena Musicale, un mensuel gratuit qui contient une liste complète de concerts, des critiques de disques et des entrevues avec des musiciens ainsi que des articles de fond sur des questions touchant la musique classique à l’échelle locale, nationale et internationale. Nous publions également un trimestriel interdisciplinaire sur les arts, La SCENA. Soyez à l’affût du numéro d’automne de La SCENA, lequel paraîtra le 3 septembre. Vous y trouverez un article sur Robert Lepage, le dramaturge, cinéaste et artiste multimédia canadien de renommée internationale. Les versions électroniques de nos publications sont accessibles aux lecteurs dans le monde entier grâce à notre site Web primé, www.scena.org.

Espérons que vous trouverez ce répertoire aussi utile qu’intéressant et qu’il deviendra une ressource incontournable pour vous. Profitez bien de ce qu’il reste de l’été !

> Téléchargez le Répertoire des arts en format PDF

Wah Keung Chan

Rédacteur-en-chef

La SCENA Arts Directory Released

Just in time for fall, we are pleased to present the first-ever annual La SCENA Arts and Music Directory. In these pages, you will find comprehensive listings of schools, amateur and professional choirs and ensembles, supply stores, high-end audio, agents and more in the fields of music, dance, theatre, film, and visual arts. For students or professionals, artists or arts lovers, this guide has something for everyone.

This inaugural Arts and Music Directory is just the beginning. Due to limited time and space, we were constrained in the quantity and scope of information that we could include. In the coming years, we hope to expand our publication to encompass more organizations from every artistic discipline as well as individual artists and musicians. We at La SCENA believe that such a directory is a crucial part of keeping the arts alive, linking and strengthening the various components of the artistic world. We plan to make the guide available on our website, www.scena.org, updating it throughout the year. If you belong to an artistic or musical organization that you think belongs in the directory, don’t hesitate to e-mail us at guides@scena.org to become a part of this growing resource.

In order to conserve space and so as not to overwhelm our readers, we chose carefully which contact information to include in the directory. We provide the addresses of venues and retailers, while other organisations are listed with phone numbers and websites. Our small team of dedicated staff and volunteers made every effort to verify the accuracy of the information in this issue. As always, LSM welcomes your feedback, including corrections or suggestions for improvement.

For those of you who are not familiar with our organisation, La Scène Musicale is a non-profit charity dedicated to the promotion of classical music and the arts, now in our 14th year. We publish La Scena Musicale, a free monthly magazine that contains a comprehensive calendar of concerts, compact disc reviews and interviews with musicians as well as feature articles on the local, national and international classical music scenes. In addition, we produce a quarterly interdisciplinary arts magazine, La SCENA. Look for our fall issue of La SCENA, which will appear on September 3, featuring Canadian auteur Robert Lepage, the internationally acclaimed playwright, filmmaker and multimedia artist. The electronic versions of our publications are available world-wide on our award-winning website,www.scena.org.

We hope that you find this guide enriching and informative, and that you will come to view it as an essential resource in the years to come. Enjoy the last few days of summer!

> Download the Arts Directory in PDF format

Wah Keung Chan

Editor and Publisher

Renee Fleming's Violetta at Covent Garden in Your Local Cinema

Now that we are in the dog days of summer, operas are in short supply in southern Ontario. Sure you can drive seven hours to Cooperstown to catch the last week of the Glimmerglass Opera Festival, but a much easier way is to attend a performance of the Covent Garden La Traviata, in air conditioned comfort at the selected Empire Theatres across the country. It stars the American reigning prima donna Renee Fleming as Violetta, in a performance taped on June 30th. Opposite her is Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja as Alfredo. American baritone Thomas Hampson is Germont. Toronto opera audiences may remember Calleja as a very youthful Rodolfo in the COC La Boheme back in 2001. He has since become a big star, and will appear next May at Roy Thomson Hall as part of the Vocal Series. And Hampson is justly famous for his Germont, having sung it all over the world. The conductor is Royal Opera House's music director Antonio Pappano. With such a stellar cast, this show is well worth attending. I am attaching the press release from Digiscreen and Empire Theatres with the details:

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RENÉE FLEMING’S

TRIUMPHANT PERFORMANCE

IN ROYAL OPERA HOUSE’S

LA TRAVIATA

IN CINEMAS FOR TWO PRESENTATIONS

The most anticipated performance of the opera season, megastar Renée Fleming’s sumptuous Violetta in La traviata at Royal Opera House Covent Garden, will be on screen in High Definition for two presentations August 29th and August 30th at select Empire Theatres’ locations and other select cinema locations.

The aclaimed American soprano Renée Fleming took London by storm this June with her six sold-out performances as Violetta in The Royal Opera's production of Verdi's best-loved work LA TRAVIATA. The performance was given more ovations by sold-out audiences across Europe, when presented live in cinemas at the end of June.

Critics and audiences alike were spellbound.

“The soprano’s charisma on stage is truly magical!” – Dominic McHugh, Musical Criticism

“Renée Fleming wins all hearts with her breathtaking performance. She rightly brought the house down! Mesmerising!” – Keith Mc Donnell, Music OMH

“This is a world-class voice!” - Neil Fisher, The Times

“Nothing cautious about Ms. Fleming’s performance here! Tumultuous ovations!” – Anthony Tommasini, NY Times

Captured live by Opus Arte in London on June 30^th, Canadian audiences will see Renée Fleming’s performance replayed and experience the thrill of this true operatic event in select cinemas on August 29th and 30^th.

Richard Eyre's 2009 production is a revival of his highly acclaimed 1994 staging which dazzled audiences with its striking visual feast. Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja and American baritone Thomas Hampson co-star in the Royal Opera House’s La traviata. Music Director Antonio Pappano, now in his seventh Season with The Royal Opera, conducts La traviata for the first time at Covent Garden.

Based on La Dame aux Camélias, La traviata was first performed at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice in March 1853. A toast to the pleasures of life! Verdi’s masterpiece features some of the most poignantly tuneful music in all of opera.

Montreal distributor DigiScreen Corporation, in partnership with Royal Opera House’s Opus Arte releases 10-16 HD productions throughout the year. For more information or to find a participating theatre near you, please visit www.digiscreen.ca.

Tickets will be available at $19.95 + tax per adult, $16.95 + tax per senior and $9.95 + tax per child. For cinema locations and to purchase advance tickets throughout Ontario and the Western provinces visit www.empiretheatres.com/opusarte. For Landmark Cinemas in Alberta and BC, go to www.landmarkcinemas.com. For independent theatres in Vancouver and Waterloo, please visit www.festivalcinemas.ca, www.princesscinemas.com

About Royal Opera House

www.roh.org.uk

The Royal Opera House is the home of three world class performing companies - The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera, and The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. It is a focal point for England’s national and international artistic excellence, where the evolving traditions of opera and ballet are taken to the highest levels. This is the Royal Opera House - a shining symbol of excellence without compromise since 1732.

About Opus Arte

www.opusarte.com

Opus Arte, owned by the Royal Opera House, has been recording in High Definition for the past decade and has amassed a substantial catalogue of outstanding productions from around the world. Opus Arte led the way by being the first company to release a Classical HD-DVD, and also the first to release a Classical Blu-ray disc into the world market. Working closely with top organizations such as the BBC and TVE, Opus Arte has enabled a large number of people to share the magic of seeing an opera or ballet live. Partnerships with the world’s top opera houses has enabled Opus Arte to capture some of the most magnificent productions ever experienced on DVD for people to enjoy over again.

About DigiScreen Corporation

www.digiscreen.ca

DigiScreen is a digital network for the distribution and presentation of independent film and alternative content. DigiScreen launched the network in 2007 with an exclusive collaboration with Opus Arte and the Royal Opera House of London. Thanks to this collaboration, the company is able to showcase the world’s most prestigious contemporary performing arts companies in an ongoing series of spectacular operas and ballets. These productions are captured live, in High Definition, from locations such as Convent Garden (London), Palais Garnier (Paris), Teatro Real (Madrid), Licieu (Barcelona), War Memorial (San Francisco) and other great stages of the world. These HD productions are presented exclusively by DigiScreen and its partners to audiences in more than 300 cinemas across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, Japan and Australia. Presentations in South Africa and other territories will be starting shortly.