CLARK ART INSTITUTE TO AIR ‘THE OPERA HOUSE,’ A HISTORY OF THE METROPOLITAN OPERA’S NEW YORK CITY HOME

December 28, 2017

Williamstown, Massachusetts—The Clark Art Institute presents a screening of The Opera House on Saturday, January 13 at 12:55 pm. Tickets are $15 ($13 members) and may be purchased online at clarkart.edu or by calling the box office at 413 458 0524. Run time is 1 hour, 50 minutes.

As the Metropolitan Opera launches its 133rd season, the new film by multiple Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Susan Froemke surveys a remarkable period of the company’s rich history and a time of great change for New York. Drawing on rarely seen archival footage, stills, and recent interviews, The Opera House chronicles the creation of the Metropolitan Opera’s storied home of the last fifty years, against the backdrop of the artists, architects, and politicians who shaped the cultural life of New York City in the 1950s and ’60s.

Among the notable figures in the film are famed soprano Leontyne Price, who opened the new Met in 1966 in Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra; Rudolf Bing, the Met’s imperious general manager who engineered the move from the old house to the new; Robert Moses, the unstoppable city planner who bulldozed an entire neighborhood to make room for Lincoln Center; and Wallace Harrison, whose quest for architectural glory was never fully realized.

The film draws on the rich archival resources of the city of New York, Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Opera, news organizations, and private libraries for footage of the planning and construction of the new Met. The film also looks to cultural programming of the day, such as the Bell Telephone Hour network special “Countdown to Curtain,” which documented the planning and production of the Met’s historic opening night.

ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 270,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

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