The Met: Live in HD Tickets on Sale Now for 2011-2012 Season

National CineMedia (NCM), the operator of the largest digital in-theater network for cinema advertising, entertainment and events in North America, today announced an agreement with the Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") to bring the Emmy® and Peabody award-winning The Met: Live in HD series to U.S. movie theaters for the 2011-12 Met season.

The sixth season for this cinema event will feature 11 live operas broadcast to 163 U.S. markets in more than 630 select movie theaters through NCM's exclusive Digital Broadcast Network beginning with the Met premiere production of Donizetti's Anna Bolena starring Anna Netrebko in the title role on Saturday, October 15 at 12:55 p.m. ET. Each live performance will take place on a Saturday, with nine evening pre-recorded encore presentations taking place the third Wednesday after each live performance.

Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and schedule, please visit the website (theaters and participants are subject to change). Ticket prices vary by location.

"NCM continues to expand the number of movie theaters for our transmissions across the country, which is good news for the nation's opera lovers," said Peter Gelb, the Met's general manager and executive producer of the broadcasts.

The Metropolitan Opera and Fathom, NCM's entertainment and events division, present the 2011-12 season of The Met: Live in HD featuring live transmissions of 11 titles including the aforementioned Met premiere of Anna Bolena and the world premiere of The Enchanted Island; five new productions including Don Giovanni, Faust and Manon. Other titles in the sixth season of The Met: Live in HD include the final two installments of the Ring cycle, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung; Verdi's Ernani and La Traviata; Philip Glass's Satyagraha; and Handel's Rodelinda.

"Fathom and the Met have created a new paradigm for millions of fans nationwide through one-of-kind opera experiences, broadcast live from the world's foremost arts stage directly into local, community movie theaters," said Shelly Maxwell, executive vice president of NCM Fathom. "This new agreement marks yet another milestone for The Met: Live in HD series by giving opera fans the opportunity to enjoy these magnificent, live performances in the comfort of their local theater through the 2011-2012 season."

Approximately 1,600 theaters in 51 countries around the world are participating in The Met: Live in HD this season. New countries participating in the series this season include China, Cyprus, the Dominican Republic, Israel, Morocco, and the territory of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from The Neubauer Family Foundation. Bloomberg L.P. is the global corporate sponsor of The Met: Live in HD. The HD broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America's luxury home builder®.

The 2011-12 The Met: Live in HD series planned schedule* is as follows:

Saturday, October 15, 2011 - 12:55 p.m. Eastern / 9:55 a.m. Pacific
ANNA BOLENA (Donizetti) - Met Premiere Production
Anna Netrebko opens the Met season with her portrayal of the ill-fated queen driven insane by her unfaithful king. She sings one of opera's greatest mad scenes in this Met premiere production by David McVicar. Ekaterina Gubanova is her rival, Jane Seymour, Ildar Abdrazakov sings Henry VIII, and Marco Armiliato conducts.

Wednesday, November 2 - 6:30 p.m. local time
Encore presentation of ANNA BOLENA
(Available in select theaters only)

Saturday, October 29, 2011 - 12:55 p.m. Eastern / 9:55 a.m. Pacific
DON GIOVANNI (Mozart) - New Production
Mariusz Kwiecien brings his youthful and sensual interpretation of Mozart's timeless anti-hero to the Met for the first time, under the direction of Tony Award®-winning director Michael Grandage and with Music Director James Levine conducting. Marina Rebeka, Barbara Frittoli, Ramón Vargas, and Luca Pisaroni also star.

Wednesday, November 16 - 6:30 p.m. local time
Encore presentation of DON GIOVANNI
(Available in select theaters only)

Saturday, November 5, 2011 - Noon Eastern / 9:00 a.m. Pacific
SIEGFRIED (Wagner) - New Production
In part three of the Ring cycle, Wagner's cosmic vision focuses on his hero's early conquests, while director Robert Lepage's revolutionary stage machine transforms itself from bewitched forest to mountaintop love nest. Gary Lehman sings the title role and Deborah Voigt's Brünnhilde is his prize. Bryn Terfel is the Wanderer. James Levine conducts.

Saturday, November 19, 2011 - 12:55 p.m. Eastern / 9:55 a.m. Pacific
SATYAGRAHA (Glass)
The Met's visually extravagant production is back for an encore engagement. Richard Croft reprises his acclaimed interpretation of Gandhi in Philip Glass's unforgettable opera, which the Washington Post calls "a profound and beautiful work of theater."

Wednesday, December 7 - 6:30 p.m. local time
Encore presentation of SATYAGRAHA
(Available in select theaters only)

Saturday, December 3, 2011 - 12:30 p.m. Eastern / 9:30 a.m.
RODELINDA (Handel)
Renée Fleming, sensational in the original 2004 run of Stephen Wadsworth's much-heralded Met premiere production, reprises her portrayal of the title role. She's joined by Stephanie Blythe and countertenor Andreas Scholl, and Baroque specialist Harry Bicket conducts.