THE first live satellite broadcast of the New Year at the Regent in Christchurch, will come direct from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Francesco Cilea’s masterpiece, Adriana Lecouvreur (12A), can be seen on the big screen at the Regent on Saturday 12 January 5.55pm.

For the first time at the Met, soprano Anna Netrebko sings the role of Adriana Lecouvreur, the eighteenth-century actress whose real-life intrigues inspired Cilea’s tragic opera, which Premiered in Milan in 1902.

Adriana is adored by many but loves only Maurizio, sung by tenor Piotr Beczała, who adores her in return. Maurizio then desperately tries to extricate himself from his previous lover, the Princess of Bouillon— mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili. When the princess discovers that Adriana is her rival, she takes desperate measures of her own, most famously with a posy of poisoned violets.

In this new production directed by Sir David McVicar, the action is partially set in a working replica of a baroque theatre. Gianandrea Noseda conducts the riveting score.

Tickets: £22 Concs £20