Metropolitan Opera Live in HD airs world premiere ‘The Hours’ in Whitefish

Whitefish Theatre Company and the Whitefish Performing Arts Center are co-presenting the third live on-screen performance of the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD 2022-2023 season. Kevin Puts’s highly anticipated, world premiere production of “The Hours” will be shown on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 10:55 a.m. at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center in Whitefish. Approximate run time is 3 hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission. Tickets are sold only at the door which will open at 10:30 a.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students, paid by cash or check only. Please call 406-862-5371 to inquire about 10 student scholarships.

Adapted from Michael Cunningham’s acclaimed novel and inspired by Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway”, “The Hours” was made a household name by the 2002 Oscar-winning film starring Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman. Sung in English with subtitles, “The Hours” is being called “a highlight of the season” with its all-star cast and powerful story that follows three women from different eras who each grapple with their inner demons and their roles in society. Please be aware that “The Hours” includes discussions and themes of suicide and mental illness.

The opera takes place in a single day. Clarissa Vaughan, played by Renée Fleming, is in New York City in 1999. Virginia Woolf, played by Joyce DiDonato, is in Richmond, England in 1923. Laura Brown, played by Kelli O’Hara, is in Los Angeles in 1949. In Act 1, Virginia tinkers with the opening line of her novel “Mrs. Dalloway”. She watches her husband Leonard edit proofs and reflects on the roles he plays in her life. Ultimately, in her studio, Virginia finds it hard to start work on her novel. She is distracted by thoughts of London and its bustle, contrasting these visions with the lifeless suburbs of Richmond. Despite her fears about succumbing to depression and a suicidal vision, she starts to write, and it flows. In another time, Clarissa and her partner Sally are throwing a party for their friend Richard, a writer who is dying of AIDS. Staving off anxiety about Richard’s health, Clarissa sets out to buy flowers for the party but soon finds Richard frail and forgetful when she arrives at his apartment. Finally, Laura is reading “Mrs. Dalloway” in bed, dreading to face her wifely and motherly duties and struggling to bake a cake for her husband Dan’s birthday. When Laura’s neighbor Kitty stops by, Laura escapes into a romantic fantasy about her and ends up kissing her. The three women are united in their need to escape and their terror of what they might find.

In Act 2, Laura is in a hotel room with a bottle of pills and her copy of “Mrs. Dalloway”. She reads the novel, conjuring up Virginia, and contemplates suicide. Clarissa encounters Louis, Richard’s ex-lover, who recalls the formative summer that the three of them spent in Wellfleet. Virginia finds her sister Vanessa and her children holding a funeral service for a bird in the garden. Laura comes to her senses and is determined to stay alive and face her duties. Clarissa finds Richard standing on his window ledge. She tries to convince him to step down, but he ultimately falls to his death. All three women seem to be drowning. As the others recede, Clarissa, Laura, and Virginia find themselves in a space that transcends time and place, where they can finally perceive each other and their shared experiences.

Soprano Renée Fleming, one of the most beloved and celebrated artists of our time, has an extensive Met repertoire, including nearly 250 performances in 22 roles. She also has a legendary career boasting four Grammy Awards and a Tony Award nomination. Renowned mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who has won three Grammy Awards, has extensive Met credits, consisting of nine Live in HD appearances that include Handel’s “Agrippina” in 2020 and Rossini’s “Le Comte Ory” in 2011. Lastly, Tony Award-winning Broadway actress Kelli O’Hara returns for her third Met production which includes her debut in “The Merry Widow” in 2014 and “Cosi fan tutte” in 2018. Acclaimed Maestro Carlo Rizzi conducts the performance, while David McVicar, director of many Live in HD performances such as Verdi’s “Don Carlos” and “Il Trovatore” and Puccini’s “Tosca”, directs the production. Film and TV actress Christine Baranski will host this transmission with an exclusive look behind the scenes.

Food and beverage will be available for purchase during the performance. This opera is the third of 10 Metropolitan Opera Live in HD performances offered from November 2022 to June 2023. Four operas are being shown at the O’Shaughnessy Center and six operas are being shown at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. Please go to www.whitefishtheatreco.org to read about the entire Met Opera Live in HD season or call 406-862-5371 for more information.