Belfast's Botanic Gardens set for ‘A Night At The Opera’

Belfast City Council have again joined with the Royal Opera House to transport Covent Garden to Botanic Gardens next month, affording local opera lovers an opportunity to enjoy a magical performance of one of the world’s favourite operas for free.

‘A Night At The Opera’, on Tuesday July 13, will see Puccini’s epic ‘Tosca’ broadcast via satellite from the Royal Opera House in London to a giant screen on the Great Lawn at Botanic. The performance is also being simultaneously screened in the Covent Garden Piazza, Canary Wharf, the Capitol City Academy in Brent and the Center Parcs resort in Nottingham.

The decision to stage a second ‘Night At The Opera’ follows on from the success of last year’s debut, when more people watched the performance relayed to Belfast than at any of the other sites.

‘Tosca’ is one of the world’s most famous and best-loved operas - a dramatic and engrossing tale of political intrigue, jealousy, lust and murder, culminating in one of the most renowned scenes in any drama, the heroine’s suicide.

The Botanic Gardens gates will open at 5.30pm and the performance starts at 7.30pm, with live entertainment beforehand. While admission is free, numbers are limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

Parking is available at the Stranmillis Embankment car park. Bar and food facilities will be available and picnics are allowed - but for safety reasons patrons are requestd not to bring barbecues, flaming torches, umbrellas, tins or glassware. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Further information is available from the Belfast Welcome Centre on 028 9024 6609, www.belfastcity.gov.uk/events, or by emailing events@belfastcity.gov.uk.

(SP)