The Met Live in HD's EUGENE ONEGIN and THE NOSE to Screen at Ridgefield Playhouse, 10/5 & 28

The grand incomparable spectacle of opera returns to The Ridgefield Playhouse this fall with an impressive lineup broadcast from the Met Live in HD. Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin stars diva Anna Netrebko with Mariusz Kwiecien on Saturday, October 5, at 12:55 p.m. On Monday, October 28, at 6:30 p.m., William Kentridge storms the Met in Shostakovich's The Nose.

For dinner-and-opera, Bernard's (22 West Lane, Ridgefield) is offering a special $45 prix-fixe menu, or a free glass of wine with dinner before this event, when tickets are presented; reservations suggested; opens at 5 p.m. The opera series is underwritten by the following supporters who understand the entertainment value of opera: Jeanne Cook, Anita and Nicholas Donofrio, Liz and Steven Goldstone, Marilyn and Joe Kreitz, Joanne and John Patrick, Starbucks Coffee, Sabina and Walter Slavin, Taylor Zemo Foundation and The Ridgefield Press.

Eugene Onegin: Anna Netrebko and Mariusz Kwiecien star as the lovestruck Tatiana and the imperious Onegin in Tchaikovsky's fateful romance. Deborah Warner's new production, set in the late 19th century, moves episodically from farmhouse to ballroom, with a powerful snowstorm providing the dramatic setting for the finale. Piotr Beczala is Lenski, Onegin's friend turned rival.

The Nose: William Kentridge stormed the Met with his inventive production of Shostakovich's opera, which dazzled opera and art lovers alike in its inaugural run in 2010. Now, Paulo Szot reprises his acclaimed performance of a bureaucrat, whose satirical misadventures in search of his missing nose are based on Gogol's comic story. Valery Gergiev conducts.

The 2013-2014 Live in HD season stars include Ildar Abdrazakov, Roberto Alagna, Stephanie Blythe, Danielle De Niese, Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Juan Diego Flórez, El?na Garan?a, Vittorio Grigolo, Jonas Kaufmann, Isabel Leonard, Fabio Luisi, Ambrogio Maestri, Angela Meade, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Susanna Phillips, Luca Pisaroni, Matthew Polenzani, Patricia Racette, Paulo Szot, and Dolora Zajick. Other events Live in HD from the Met to The Ridgefield Playhouse will be: Puccini's Tosca, Saturday, November 9, at 12:55 p.m.; Verdi's Falstaff, Sunday, December 15, at 5 p.m.; Dvorák's Rusalka, Saturday, February 8, at 12:55 p.m.; Bordin's Prince Igor, Saturday, March 1, 12 p.m.; Massenet's Werther,Saturday, March 15, at 12:55 p.m. & Sunday, March 16, at 12 p.m.; Puccini's La Bohème, Saturday, April 5, 12:55 p.m.; Mozart's Così Fan Tutte,Saturday, April 26, at 12:55 p.m.; Rossini's La Cenerentola, Saturday, May 10, 12:55 p.m.

For tickets ($25 adults, $20 seniors/members, $15 students, $18 each for all 10 in the series), call the box office at (203) 438-5795, or order online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a not-for-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.

Photo courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera.