Summer Movie Series Opera House

SARASOTA – The Sarasota Opera will host a 2022 summer movie series that includes both operas recorded on film and classic Hollywood films. Verdi’s Rigoletto to In the Heat of the Night, there's something for everyone.

HD at the Opera House, featuring filmed performances of opera and ballet from around the world, will open on Sunday, May 22, with Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, with tickets at $22, and $20 for Sarasota Opera subscribers.

The Classic Movies at the Opera House series will open with In the Heat of the Night on Friday, July 8, with tickets at $12. Tickets will go on sale starting Monday, May 2.

All seats are general admission. Sarasota Opera is a participant in #SafeArtsSarasota and will be following appropriate health and safety guidelines. At the present time, the wearing of a N95, KN95, or KF94 mask is recommended when attending events at the Sarasota Opera House. Health and safety guidelines will be adjusted should conditions change. Visit SarasotaOpera.org for more information.

Sunday, May 22, 1:30 p.m.

This special video recording of Verdi’s masterpiece celebrates 171 years since its premiere in 1851. Director Oliver Mears brings this timeless tragedy into the modern world in this Royal Opera House production, conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano. Cast includes Carlos çlvarez, Liparit Avetisyan, Lisette Oropesa, Brindley Sherratt, and Ramona Zaharia. Running time: 3 hours.

Sunday, June 12, 1:30 p.m.

This classic ballet features music by Sergey Prokofiev with choreography by legendary Royal Ballet Director Kenneth MacMillan. Staged at The Royal Opera House with principal dancers Mardelino SambŽ and Anna-Rose O’Sullivan. Running time: 3 hours, 25 minutes.

Sunday, June 26, 1:30 p.m.

This new La Scala production of Puccini’s impressionistic and unfinished work includes, in this performance, a finale created by Luciano Berio, who worked closely with stage director Nikolaus Lehnhoff and La Scala’s Music Director Riccardo Chailly. Cast includes Nina Stemme, Giogio Mereghi, Alexander Tsymbalyuk, and Maria Agresta. Running time: 2 hours, 54 minutes.

Sunday, July 10, 1:30 p.m.

Verdi’s comic opera and final work for the stage is reinterpreted by director Calixto Bieito as an apocalyptic satire on entertainment and prototype of modern society. This Staatsopera Hamburg production boasts a world-class cast with Ambrogio Maestri, "a Falstaff for our times,“ JŸrgen Sacher, and Maija Kovalevska. Running time: 2 hours, 14 minutes.

Sunday, July 24, 1:30 p.m.

The Royal Ballet’s sumptuous production of this classic fairytale features a sublime score by Tchaikovsky with glittering designs by John Macfarlane. Original choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with additional choreography by Liam Scarlett and Sir Frederick Ashton. Principal dancers are Lauren Cuthbertson and William Bracewell. Running time 3 hours, 20 minutes.

Sunday, August 7, 1:30 p.m.

Giuseppe Verdi’s work of love and lust, life and death, is set in 19th century Paris in this Royal Opera House production. Directed by Richard Eyre, the cast includes Pretty Yende, Stephen Costello, Dimitri Platania, Kseniia Nikolaieva, David Shipley, Angela Simkin, Germ‡n E. Alc‡ntara, AndrŽs Presno, and Jeremy White. Running time: 3 hours, 40 minutes.

Sunday, August 21, 1:30 p.m.

Antonin Dvorak’s most celebrated creation for the stage and inspired by the folktale Undine and Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid, is performed at Teatro Real, Madrid. Directed by Christof Loy and conducted by Ivor Bolton, the cast includes Asmik Grigorian, Eric Cutler, Karita Mattila, and Katarina Dalayman. Running time: 3 hours.

Friday, July 8, 7:30 p.m.

This 1967 film tells the story of Virgil Tibbs, a Black police detective from Philadelphia and Police Chief Bill Gillespie of a small Mississippi town who are forced to work together to unravel a murder mystery, leading them on a line of inquiry that will challenge both of their preconceptions. Winner of five Academy Awards. Directed by Norman Jewison and starring Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, and Lee Grant. Running time: 1 hours, 50 minutes.

Friday, July 22, 7:30 p.m.

This 1962 American drama film, directed by Robert Mulligan, is based on Harper Lee’s 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, the film won three, including Best Actor for Gregory Peck who played Atticus Finch. Also starring Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, John Megna, Ruth White, Paul Fix, and Brock Peters. Running time: 2 hours, 9 minutes.

Friday, August 5, 7:30 p.m.

This 1971 epic film centers on Tevye, a poor Jewish father living in Amatevka, who is faced with the challenge of marrying off his five daughters amidst growing tension in his village. Produced and directed by Norman Jewison, the film is an adaption of the 1964 musical and received eight Academy Award nominations, winning three. Starring Chaim Topol, Norma Crane, Leonard Grey, Molly Picon, and Paul Mann. Running time: 2 hours, 39 minutes.

Friday, August 19, 7:30 p.m.

This 1944 crime film noir, directed by Billy Wilder, who co-wrote the screenplay with Raymond Chandler, stars Fred MacMurray as an insurance salesman, Barbara Stanwyck as a provocative housewife who is accused of killing her husband, and Edward G. Robinson as a claims adjuster whose job is to find false claims. Running time: 1 hours, 47 minutes.

Friday, September 23, 7:30 p.m.

This 1950 comedy-drama, directed by Henry Koster, stars James Stewart and Josephine Hull. The story is about a man whose best friend is a pooka named Harvey, a 6 ft. 3 ? inch tall white invisible rabbit, and the ensuing debacle when the man’s sister tries to have him committed to a sanatorium. Running time: 1 hour, 44 minutes.

Ticket buyers are encouraged to purchase tickets before arriving at the theater. Information and tickets can be found online at SarasotaOpera.org or by calling (941)328-1300. Sarasota Opera subscribers who wish to receive the discounted HD at the Opera House tickets must contact the Sarasota Opera box office directly.