Forget movies, Murwillumbah cinema to host an opera

THE Regent Theatre in Murwillumbah will open Opera Australia's film of Puccini's Turandot on Saturday.

Regent Cinema will host an opera ... movie. Picture: Colin Gilmore

THE Regent Theatre in Murwillumbah will open Opera Australia's film of Puccini's Turandot on Saturday.

The three-act opera is based on a book of the same name by Carlo Gozzi and is a dramatic tale about the trials of a Chinese prince and his attempts to woo the princess Turandot.

It's considered a seminal piece of opera and should provide a romantic and emotionally stirring experience for the audience.

Director and choreographer Graeme Murphy is the artistic director of Sydney Dance Company and his rendition of Turandot is expected to be captivating and brilliantly beautiful.

Regent Cinema representative Ken Rippin was keen for the launch of the opera.

"I think it should be a very exciting show," he said.

Mr Rippin said the cinema was happy to show titles that avoided mainstream popularity and attracted niche audiences.

"We find when we do show mainstream Hollywood movies we don't get the same turnout," he said.

Mr Rippin also stated that if the screenings continued to do well the Regent would probably make operas a regular occurrence.

"If this is successful we are hoping to put on the opera Madame Butterfly too."

Reservations for Turandot at the Regent can be made at 02 6672 8265.