Jacob Burns Film Center to Host Screening of The Garden of the Finzi-Continis in Advance of Co-Production by National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene and New York City Opera

On January 6, 2022, at 7 p.m. ET, join the Jacob Burns Film Center for an exclusive screening of the 1970 Academy Award-winning film adaptation of The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, followed by a Q&A with opera composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist Michael Korie (and, moderated by Broadway producer and JBFC board member Dori Berinstein). The event celebrates the upcoming co-production of Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Garden of the Finzi-Continis presented by National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) and the New York City Opera, giving audiences the chance the experience the film adaptation before the opera opens on January 19, 2022 for a limited run of eight performances through January 30, 2022 only. For tickets, visit https://bit.ly/Finzi-ContinisScreening. Tickets are $15 for members of the Jacob Burns Film Center and $20 for non-members.

To learn more about the opera and its performances please visit The Garden of The Finzi-Continis • New York City Opera & NYTF

After the screening, Dori Berinstein (The Prom, My Name is Dana H., Is This a Room) will lead a conversation with Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie about the genesis of the opera and why its cautionary tale that no one is immune to anti-Semitism and blind hatred still resonates in today’s world.

Based on Giorgio Bassani’s 1962 novel, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis is set on the eve of World War II and tells the story of an aristocratic Italian-Jewish family, the Finzi-Continis, who believe they will be immune to the changes happening around them. As they make a gracious haven for themselves in their garden, walling out the unpleasantness of the world outside, Italy forms its alliance with Germany and begins to enforce anti-Semitic racial laws.  But the Finzi-Continis discover too late that no one is immune, no one is untouchable.

The film adaptation from director Vittorio De Sica won the 1972 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay in the same year.

All attendees must be fully vaccinated and must provide proof of vaccination. This film is part of the Life on the Stage: Conversation and Film series, and presented in partnership with The Actors Fund.

About the Jacob Burns Film Center
The Jacob Burns Film Center is a nonprofit arts and education hub located on a three-building campus in the New York Metro area. The JBFC brings the transformative power of film to the surrounding community through unique programming and discussion, shared experiences, and educational initiatives. Since opening in 2001, millions of people have enjoyed the best of current American and foreign cinema, unique film series, and special events at the five-screen theater complex. A pioneer in visual literacy, the JBFC offers educational experiences for students of all ages at our state-of-the-art Media Arts Lab, including curricula for public schools and a fellowship and residency program for professional filmmakers.

About National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
Now celebrating its 107th season, Tony Award-nominated and Drama Desk Award-winning National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) is the longest consecutively producing theatre in the US and the world’s oldest continuously operating Yiddish theatre company. NYTF is in residence at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek and Executive Director Dominick Balletta, NYTF is dedicated to creating a living legacy through the arts, connecting generations and bridging communities. NYTF aims to bring history to life by reviving and restoring lost and forgotten work, commissioning new work, and adapting pre-existing work for the 21st Century. Serving a diverse audience comprised of performing arts patrons, cultural enthusiasts, Yiddish-language aficionados and the general public, the company presents plays, musicals, concerts, lectures, interactive educational workshops and community-building activities in English and Yiddish, with English and Russian supertitles accompanying performances. NYTF provides access to a century-old cultural legacy and inspires the imaginations of the next generation to contribute to this valuable body of work.

NYTF’s production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, directed by Academy and Tony Award winning actor Joel Grey, , directed by Academy and Tony Award winning actor Joel Grey, sold out for six months before moving uptown to Off-Broadway’s Stage 42. It won a Drama Desk Award (outstanding revival of a musical), an Outer Critics Circle Award (outstanding revival of a musical), a New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award special citation, a Lucille Lortel Award (outstanding lead actor, Steven Skybell); and an Off-Broadway Alliance award (best musical revival). It was nominated for additional Drama Desk Awards (outstanding director of a musical, Joel Grey; outstanding actor in a musical, Steven Skybell; outstanding orchestrations, Larry Blank); Lucille Lortel Awards (outstanding revival; outstanding director, Joel Grey; outstanding featured actress in a musical, Jackie Hoffman); Drama League Awards (outstanding revival of a musical; distinguished performance award, Steven Skybell); Outer Critics Circle Awards (outstanding director of a musical, Joel Grey; outstanding actor in a musical, Steven Skybell); and a Chita Rivera Award (outstanding ensemble).

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About New York City Opera
Since its founding in 1943 by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia as “The People’s Opera,” New York City Opera (NYCO) has been a critical part of the city’s cultural life. During its history, New York City Opera launched the careers of dozens of major artists and presented engaging productions of both mainstream and unusual operas alongside commissions and regional premieres. The result was a uniquely American opera company of international stature. For more than seven decades, New York City Opera has maintained a distinct identity, adhering to its unique mission: affordable ticket prices, a devotion to American works, English-language performances, the promotion of up-and-coming American singers, and seasons of accessible, vibrant and compelling productions intended to introduce new audiences to the art form.  Stars who launched their careers at New York City Opera include Plácido Domingo, Catherine Malfitano, Sherrill Milnes, Samuel Ramey, Beverly Sills, Tatiana Troyanos, Carol Vaness, and Shirley Verrett, among dozens of other great artists.  New York City Opera has a long history of inclusion and diversity.  It was the first major opera company to feature African American singers in leading roles (Todd Duncan as Tonio in Pagliacci, 1945; Camilla Williams in the title role in Madama Butterfly, 1946); the first to produce a new work by an African-American composer (William Grant Still, Troubled Island, 1949); and the first to have an African-American conductor lead its orchestra (Everett Lee, 1955). A revitalized City Opera re-opened in January 2016 with Tosca, the opera that originally launched the company in 1944.  Outstanding productions during the four years since then include: the world premieres of Iain Bell and Mark Campbell’s Stonewall, which NYCO commissioned and developed, legendary director Harold Prince’s new production of Bernstein’s Candide; Puccini’s beloved La Fanciulla del West; and the New York premiere of Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas — the first in its Ópera en Español series.  Subsequent Ópera en Español productions include the New York premiere of the world’s first mariachi opera, José “Pepe” Martinez’s Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, Literes’s Los Elementos, and Piazzolla’s María de Buenos Aires. In addition to the world premiere of Stonewall, the productions in NYCO’s Pride Initiative, which produces an LGBTQ-themed work each June during Pride Month, include the New York premiere of Péter Eötvös’s Angels in America and the American premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s Brokeback Mountain. New York City Opera has presented such talents as Anna Caterina Antonacci and Aprile Millo in concert, as well as its own 75th Anniversary Concert in Bryant Park, one in a series of the many concerts and staged productions that it presents each year as part of the Park’s summer performance series. City Opera’s acclaimed summer series in Bryant Park brings free performances to thousands of New Yorkers and visitors every year. New York City Opera continues its legacy with main stage performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater and with revitalized outreach and education programs at venues throughout the city, designed to welcome and inspire a new generation of opera audiences. City Opera’s acclaimed summer series in Bryant Park brings free performances to thousands of New Yorkers and visitors every year.

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Twitter: @nycityopera