Met's Parsifal at Eastman

FRYEBURG — The Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center continues its Metropolitan Opera Live in HD 2012-13 Season with Parsifal on Saturday, March 2, from 12-5:40 p.m.

Tickets are $26 for adults, $23 for seniors (65+) and $18 for students and are available for purchase online at www.fryeburgacademy.org/pac or by calling the Box Office at 935-9232. The theater is located at 18 Bradley Street on the campus of Fryeburg Academy in Fryeburg. Parking is free.

Plan to come early and have lunch in the Eastman Performing Art Center’s beautiful lobby. Beginning at 11 a.m., Lake Region Caterers will be offering a unique variety of fresh sandwiches and hearty soups as well as delicious desserts and other tasty snacks, both sweet and salty. Reservations are requested in advance. You may contact Lake Region Caterers directly at 787-3327 or lrcjv@fairpoint.net.

Also, the Fryeburg Academy Opera Lecture Series continues this season on Wednesday, February 27, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to discuss Parsifal. This series, designed to help opera goers prepare for each of the Met Operas, is led by Fryeburg Academy’s own opera enthusiast Joe DeVito. Join Joe as he summarizes the plot, introduces the music, shares some reviews and gives an interpretive view of the upcoming Met simulcast. All are welcome, no previous opera knowledge is needed, and admission is free, though donations are appreciated. For more information, call the box office at 935-9232.

Jonas Kaufmann makes his Met role debut as the title character in Parsifal, conducted by Daniele Gatti and directed by noted film and opera director François Girard in his Met debut. “Parsifal is not just an opera - it’s a mission. At the end of his life, Wagner was trying to reconcile all the aspects of his spirituality.

It’s a sacred piece in the history of music,” Girard says. The cast also features Katarina Dalayman as Kundry, the mystical woman who tempts Parsifal; Peter Mattei in his role debut as Amfortas, king of the Knights of the Holy Grail; René Pape in one of his greatest roles, the wise old knight Gurnemanz and Evgeny Nikitin as the magician Klingsor. Approximate running time is 320 minutes.

For more information about the Met Live in HD, visit http://www.metoperafamily.org.