Cinemas Screening For La Bayadere

The Royal Ballet’s production of La Bayadere will be screened in cinemas across England from today. It forms part of a programme of ballet, opera and drama by Opus Arte in predominantly Odeon cinemas including productions from Shakespeare’s Globe, Glynebourne Festival Opera and the Theatro Real Madrid, as well as The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera.

Opus Arte is a DVD production and distribution company specialising in the arts which was bought by the Royal Opera House in 2007. Ownership of the company has allowed the ROH to distribute the work of the Royal Opera and Royal Ballet companies as well as generating revenue through DVD, broadcast, film and digital media sales. At the time it was the first time an opera house had acquired a DVD company in this way.

Although filmed performances of live theatre rarely compare to the real thing, Opus Arte record in high definition and surround sound which on the big screen give a vivid impression of the event.

The 2009/10 Opus Arte ballet season includes The Nutcracker (from 12 December), Swan Lake (from 17 January 2010), and Mayerling (from 20 February 2010).