The Met Live begins October 13

FRYEBURG — The Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center begins its Metropolitan Opera Live in HD 2012-13 Season with Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore on Saturday, October 13 at 1 p.m. Tickets are $26 for adults, $23 for seniors (65+) and $18 for students and are available for purchase on-line at www.fryeburgacademy.org/pac or by calling the Box Office at 935-9232.

Purchase the PAC Season Opera Pass and get one opera free! 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 12 p.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.

Also, the Fryeburg Academy Opera Lecture Series begins this season on Wednesday, October 10, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to discuss L’Elisir d’Amore. 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 (207)935-9232.

The Live in HD season begins October 13 with a new production of Donizetti’s comic gem L’Elisir d’Amore, directed by Bartlett Sher and conducted by Maurizio Benini. Anna Netrebko makes her Met role debut as the beautiful landowner Adina, with Matthew Polenzani as Nemorino, the simple peasant who falls in love with her. Mariusz Kwiecien sings Adina’s arrogant fiancé, Sergeant Belcore, and Ambrogio Maestri will sing the role of the magic potion-peddling Doctor Dulcamara. “L’Elisir d’Amore is kind of two operas at the same time,” Sher says. “It’s an opera that’s a great entertainment, and it’s an opera that has something else happening underneath. It’s informed by when in Italian history it was written - you can see the early stirrings of a cry for independence.”

Approximate run time is 125 minutes. For more information about the Met Live in HD visit http://www.metoperafamily.org.