September 17, 2007

Free tickets for MetOpera's open house/rehearsal

Free tickets are up for grabs starting at 10 a.m. today for the MetOpera's open house and dress rehearsal to kick off its 2007-08 season.

Ticketholders to the Thursday daytime event will see the final dress rehearsal of Donizetti’s "Lucia di Lammermoor" with James Levine conducting and starring Natalie Dessay, Marcello Giordani, and Mariusz Kwiecien.

(On Tuesday, the New York Philharmonic 's holds its own free dress rehearsal, featuring Yo-Yo Ma playing Dvorák.)

After the 11 a.m. opera rehearsal, the audience will be allowed on stage and the artists will be available to answer questions. Exhibits on the production's set and costume designs will also be on display.

Tickets, two per person, can be reserved online or by calling (212) 362-6000. But if you get a pair, you must be able to pick them up at the box office by Tuesday at 8 P.M.

The actual opening night gala is set for September 24, when the opera will be broadcast live and for free into Times Square onto the giant screens operated by Panasonic AstroVision, Reuters, NASDAQ, and Toys ‘R’ Us.

A total of 1,500 seats will be set up in the middle of Times Square for the audience; no reservations or tickets are required. However, 2,000 free tickets will be available for the Lincoln Center plazacast of "Lucia di Lammermoor;" that ticket giveaway starts at the Met box office Sunday, September 23 at noon.

September 17, 2007 07:23 AM in Cheap Stuff, Romance, Sightsology, Upper West Side

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