ROH Drive-In Cinema Screenings

As lockdown eases and we all move outdoors to enjoy the summer, the Royal Opera House, in collaboration with The Luna Drive In Cinema, is offering some of its most involving productions to view at drive-in cinemas from 26 July onwards.
– Participating outdoor locations around the country include: Blenheim Palace, Warwick Castle, Allianz Park, Knebworth House, Tatton Park and Harewood House.
– What each drive-in cinema offers and when varies
– All details, as well as ticket purchases, available online

The initial ROH offer to view in drive-in cinemas includes two much loved operas and two contrasting ballets.

Puccini's La Bohème is set among the penniless artists of bohemian 19th century Paris and tells the story of the ill-fated love affair between the poet Rodolfo and the tubercular seamstress Mimi. Tenor Michael Fabiano and soprano Nicole Car star as Rodolfo and Mimi respectively in Richard Jones's vivid and detailed production. The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus are conducted by Antonio Pappano.
Check out Culture Whisper's review here

Verdi's La Traviata contains some of opera's best known and best loved tunes, including the rousing drinking song 'Libiamo'

La Traviata is also set in 19th century Paris, but this time among the dissolute upper class men and the women they keep in elegant salons. It tells the story of another ill-fated and heart-breaking love affair, between the young, impetuous Rodolfo and the kind-hearted, tubercular courtesan Violetta.
The stellar cast is led by the American soprano soprano Renée Fleming and the Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja
Read Culture Whisper's preview article here

Swan Lake is one of the world's best loved ballets, and The Royal Ballet's sumptuous new production is pure delight, with rich sets and costumes, a matchless leading pair in Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov, plenty of solo roles for the company's many excellent soloists and a faultless corps de ballet breathtaking in the white acts.
It is an unmissable treat for an evening out.
Read Culture Whisper's five-star review here

The second Royal Ballet offering in this drive-in cinema series is in stark contrast to the first. The work of choreographer extraordinaire Christopher Wheeldon, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland premiered in 2011 and is a gloriously zany creation, that gives shape to Lewis Carroll's most famous children's book.
All dancers make the most of their unusual roles, none more so, perhaps, than the virtuoso Steven McRae as the Mad Hatter.

Principal Lauren Cuthbertson dances Alice, a role created on her; watch out for a screamingly funny turn from Zenaida Yanowsky as a monstrous Queen of Hearts.
Read Culture Whisper's full article here