Ster-Kinekor And Cinema Nouveau Host Final Met Live In HD Screening This June

The current Met: Live in HD season, the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of live high-definition cinema simulcasts, comes to an end with the screening of the final production on 14 and 16 June, exclusively at select Ster-Kinekor and Cinema Nouveau cinemas. This season has featured eight productions that have screened from October to mid-June 2026 – one premiere, three new productions of much-loved operas and four revivals.

“With The Met: Live in HD productions screening in our cinemas, local audiences get to experience some of the world’s best-loved opera productions in a near-live situation, from The Met’s opulent stage to our big screens. The theatre-like setting enables cinemagoers to become an extension of the live production’s audience, making these world-class productions from the Met in New York accessible to anyone who enjoys and appreciates great opera,” says Lynne Wylie, chief marketing officer at Ster-Kinekor Theatres.

“What began as an experiment 18 years ago has become a staple experience for opera lovers all over the world,” said Peter Gelb, the Met’s Maria Manetti Shrem General Manager.

“Our 2025–26 season in cinemas reflects how opera is changing at the Met, where we’re balancing timeless classics with accessible new work that is advancing the art form and attracting younger and more diverse audiences.”

El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego – Frank (Metropolitan Opera premiere)

Screening dates:  14 and 16 June 2026

(2h 48min)

Music by Gabriela Lena Frank* | Libretto by Nilo Cruz*

Conductor:  Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Cast:  Catrina - Gabriella Reyesl; Frida - Isabel Leonard; Leonardo - Nils Wanderer;  Diego - Carlos Álvarez

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2025–26 Live in HD season comes to a close with the screening of American composer Gabriela Lena Frank’s first opera, a magical-realist portrait of Mexico’s painterly power couple Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, with libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz.

Fashioned as a reversal of the Orpheus and Euridice myth, the story depicts Frida, sung by leading mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, leaving the underworld on the Day of the Dead and reuniting with Diego, portrayed by baritone Carlos Álvarez. The famously feuding pair briefly relive their tumultuous love, embracing both the passion and the pain before bidding the land of the living a final farewell.

Music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the Met-premiere staging of Frank’s opera, a “confident, richly imagined score” (The New Yorker) that “bursts with colour and fresh individuality” (Los Angeles Times). This vibrant new production, taking enthusiastic inspiration from Frida and Diego’s paintings, is directed and choreographed by Deborah Colker.

Don’t miss this world-class opera production, filmed and transmitted from the Met stage to the big screen on 14 and 16 June at Cinema Nouveau and select Ster-Kinekor cinemas: Eastgate, Cresta and Rosebank Nouveau in Johannesburg; Brooklyn in Tshwane; Garden Route in George; Somerset in Somerset West; Blue Route and V&A Waterfront (with live streams) in Cape Town, and at Maerua Mall in Windhoek, Namibia. Loyalty card discounts apply, as does Ster-Kinekor’s Half-Price Tuesdays ticket price offering.

Book your tickets now on the new-look Ster-Kinekor website at www.sterkinekor.com or download the new SK App on your smartphone. For news and updates, go to Facebook: Ster-Kinekor Theatres | follow Ster-Kinekor on Twitter: @Ster-Kinekor. For all queries, call Ticketline on 0861-Movies (668 437).

#DoMoviesRight    #sterkinekor    #MetLiveInHD     #FromMetStageToBigSKreen

ENDS

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Issued by:                                            aHead PR

On behalf of:                                      Ster-Kinekor Theatres / Cinema Nouveau

For media information:                    Janet de Kretser

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Cell:                                                     +27 83 973 3531

About Ster-Kinekor Theatres

Ster-Kinekor Theatres is the largest movie exhibitor on the African continent. To most South Africans, the word ‘movies’ is synonymous with the name ‘Ster-Kinekor’. The company operates 32 commercial cinema complexes in South Africa that house 249 large-scale screens, with 33 147 seats and the largest 3D footprint featuring 99 state-of-the-art 3D screens in South Africa (Commercial, 3D, IMAX, Kids Cinema and Cine Prestige). It also operates four cinema complexes in Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia, with 23 screens and 3 014 seats.

As the industry leader, Ster-Kinekor has pioneered cinema concepts such as Cinema Nouveau, a dedicated art-house multiplex cinema, and the luxurious Cine Prestige theatres, the first ‘business class’ cinema experience in South Africa; and has headed the return of the IMAX® Experience, with eight IMAX® Theatres across the country. Ster-Kinekor has expanded its cinema innovation to launch the first Kids’ Cinema complete with slides and bean bag seating (currently seven screens) as well as D-BOX which brings movie experiences to life with motion seats. Most recently, Ster-Kinekor introduced SKX-PERIENCE Powered by Jozi X at The Zone in Rosebank, an indoor adventure hub offering axe throwing, gel blaster, splatter room and escape rooms, adding a new dimension to the Ster-Kinekor entertainment experience.

As one of South Africa’s most loved brands, it is Ster-Kinekor’s ongoing mission to become synonymous with the unrivalled magic of the cinema experience, by providing ‘Great Moments at Their Greatest’. During 2013, the company embarked on a massive roll-out project to convert and equip every cinema with the very latest in digital projection and sound technology. The result of this upgrade is that every cinema now boasts state-of-the-art cinema technology that encompasses 2K and 4K digital projection and 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound systems.

The SK Club loyalty programme rewards members with redeemable points when they swipe their card when buying movie tickets or catering, as well as half-price tickets on Tuesdays. Combined with industry-leading loyalty programmes from Edgars Club and Discovery Vitality, these give Ster-Kinekor a strong consumer value proposition and competitive advantage. Ster-Kinekor has extended its loyalty offering to include the first subscription model in South Africa: SK Subscription Club, which offers members a limited or unlimited number of movies per month at a set cost whilst also enjoying the benefits of SK Club.

As the market leader, Ster-Kinekor aims to spearhead the advancement of cinema across both South Africa and the rest of Africa, to ensure that consumers continue to experience movies as they were made to be seen – on the big screen.

See more at: www.sterkinekor.com

About The Met: Live in HD

The Met: Live in HD series has made the Met the world’s leading provider of alternative cinema content and the only arts institution with an ongoing global series of this scale. When the series launched in 2006, the Met was the first arts company to experiment with alternative cinema content. Since then, the program has expanded, with more than 32 million tickets sold to date and robust attendance in approximately 60 countries across six continents. In North America, weekend box-office ratings also remain strong, often placing Live in HD presentations—with only one showing—among the weekend’s top-grossing films.

The Met: Live in HD series has increased accessibility to Met performances for audiences around the world. With a global average ticket price of $23, the series has made world-class performances accessible to millions of opera lovers each season.

Met artists and celebrity opera lovers serve as hosts for the Live in HD series, providing background on the operas, introducing exciting behind-the-scenes features, and conducting live interviews with stars, crew, and production teams. Tickets for the 2025–26 Live in HD season will go on sale in the United States and Canada on July 23, with international ticketing dates varying from country to country. Respective ticketing dates will be announced separately by individual distributors.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from its founding sponsor, the Neubauer Family Foundation. Digital support of The Met: Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Met: Live in HD series is supported by Rolex.

Within months of their initial live transmissions, the Live in HD programs are shown on PBS in the United States. The PBS series Great Performances at the Met is produced in association with PBS and the WNET Group.

For more information about The Met: Live in HD, visit https://www.metopera.org/hd