La Traviata Beams Live from the Royal Opera House - Covent Garden - To Sell Out Audiences Across Europe

July 13, 2009

Source: Arts Alliance Media

Arts Alliance Media’s first full season of opera and
ballet releases in cinemas finished on a climactic high note last week as thousands of people across Europe filled cinemas to see acclaimed American soprano Renée Fleming, tenor Joseph Calleja and baritone Thomas Hampson perform the universally adored Verdi opera, “La traviata” live from the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

Over 26,500 tickets were sold for the performance transmitted live on the evening of Tuesday June 30th to 176 screens in 9 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Spain and the UK (including Guernsey).

A large majority were sold out completely, many well in advance, and some sites such as the Cineplexx in Vienna, Austria, and the Regal Picturehouse in Henley, UK, played the opera in additional screens after the first screen sold out. Cinema exhibitors were impressed with the high admission numbers, especially on a Tuesday night. One of the most outstanding results came from Malta, where a
capacity crowd of 750 watched an outdoor broadcast of the opera against a backdrop of a starry Mediterranean night. Other highlights included a packed 600 seat screen at Cinesa Diagonal in Spain, and 521 people at the sold out Cinecitta Nurnberg in Germany.

The screenings, in conjunction with Arts Alliance Media’s satellite partner, Arqiva Satellite and Media, commanded a premium ticket price over regular cinema tickets, with the average cost for a ticket at €17. Howard Kiedaisch, CEO of Arts Alliance Media, commented “The success of “La traviata” in cinemas just demonstrates the huge appetite people have for seeing these live shows, and that
they are prepared to pay extra for what is, for many, the only way they will be able to see these first-class performances. The feedback we have had from people is that it is worth every penny, and they want more.”

The 2008/2009 season of operas and ballets distributed by Arts Alliance Media, in association with Opus Arte and DigiScreen, has seen 14 performances - both live
and recorded - shown on a network of over 200 digital screens in Europe, from some of the world’s best venues, including the Royal Opera House, Teatro Real
(Madrid) and Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona). For more information, see the website at http://www.artsalliancemedia.com/Opera.htm

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