Watch one of the best loved films of all time in one of the most sumptuous spaces in London. Taking place over just two nights (Friday 7th & Saturday 8th August) the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden will be screening the remastered 1942 black and white classic, Casablanca, accompanied by the Cinematic Sinfonia orchestra who will perform the Max Steiner Academy Award-nominated score live, conducted by Dirk Brossé. They will be playing in a raised pit visible from the orchestra stalls, with a large projection screen suspended above the stage.
Whilst the orchestra brings to life classics such as ‘It Had To Be You’ and ‘As Time Goes By’ like never before, the film centres on American expatriate, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who is the proprietor of a nightclub and gambling den in Casablanca called “Rick’s Café Américain”. Rick is Bogart’s most memorable leading role, and who is forced to choose between his love for the beautiful Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), and helping her Resistance leader husband escape the city to fight the Nazis. Based on Murray Burnett and Joan Alison’s then-unproduced play Everybody Comes to Rick’s, directed by Michael Curtiz Casablanca was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three; Outstanding Motion Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
An intermission will offer the chance to enjoy a glass of champagne on the Terrace overlooking the Piazza, or if you dine at Amphitheatre Restaurant the table will be yours for the evening. A more affordable way of enjoying a night at the Royal Opera House than the ballet or opera alternatives, this unexpected cinema venue is bound to be popular so snap up your tickets now. There can be no more glamorous setting than the iconic auditorium, nor a better opportunity to dress up. “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
‘Casablanca Live’ takes place on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th August 2015 at the Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD. Tickets from £25-£55. The screening will last for approximately 2hrs and 7 minutes, with one 25 minute interval. For more information visit the website.
