Grounded – Met Opera at Orcas Center

||| FROM BETHANY MARIE for ORCAS CENTER |||

Orcas Center screens the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Grounded on Tuesday, January 21 at 12pm on the big screen at Orcas Center. Filmed live in HD, these on-screen events offer a diverse sampling of the world’s best performers at the height of their careers – giving you the best seat in the house from the comfort of your own island!

Two-time Tony Award–winning composer Jeanine Tesori’s powerful new opera Grounded, commissioned by the Met and based on librettist George Brant’s acclaimed play, wrestles with the ethical quandaries and psychological toll of 21st-century warfare.

Mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, one of opera’s most compelling young stars, portrays Jess, a hot-shot fighter pilot whose unplanned pregnancy takes her out of the cockpit and lands her in Las Vegas, operating a Reaper drone halfway around the world. As she struggles to adjust to this new way of doing battle, she fights to maintain her sanity, and her soul, as she is called to rain down death by remote control.

Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin oversees the Met premiere of Tesori’s kaleidoscopic score and a cast that also features tenor Ben Bliss as the Wyoming rancher who becomes Jess’s husband. Michael Mayer’s high-tech staging, using a vast array of LED screens, presents a variety of perspectives on the action, including the drone’s predatory view from high above.

Ticket prices range from $10-$63 with an additional $2 ticketing fee. Tickets are available online at www.OrcasCenter.org by phone at 360-376-2281 ext 100, or in-person at the Box Office an hour prior to the performance.