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‘Lost Leonardo’ latest film find at Opera House

"Lost Leonardo" is playing at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House on Saturday and Tuesday.

The next film in the 1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center Cinema Series is the documentary “The Lost Leonardo.” It will be screened this Saturday and Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Opera House Executive Director Rick Davis notes that “due to the increase in COVID cases in Chautauqua County and the change in designation of its Level of Community Transmission to high, we are requiring all patrons to wear masks before, during and after Opera House events.”

“The Lost Leonardo” tells the inside story behind the Salvator Mundi, the most expensive painting ever sold at $450 million, claimed to be a long-lost masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci. From the moment it is purchased from a shady New Orleans auction house, and its buyers discover masterful brushstrokes beneath its cheap restoration, the fate of the Salvator Mundi is driven by an insatiable quest for fame, money and power. But as its price soars, so do questions about its authenticity. Is this multi-million dollar painting actually by Leonardo ­ or do certain power players simply want it to be?

Claudia Puig, on NPR, calls the film “an enthralling, globe-trotting story of greed. It plays out like a detective mystery and feels as meticulously plotted as an art heist. It’s so well told.”

Randy Myers, in the San Jose Mercury News, calls it “a telling portrait about the art world, illustrating the deception, the pretense and the secret billionaire buyers at the apex of some shady shenanigans.”

Glenn Kenny, in the New York Times, says the film “pack(s) the fascination and wallop of an expertly executed fictional thriller.”

Rated PG-13 for nude art images, “The Lost Leonardo” runs one hour, 30 minutes.

Tickets are available at the door for $7 (adults), $6.50 (seniors & Opera House members) and $5 (students) the night of each screening. A book of 10 movie passes is available for $60 at the door or online at www.fredopera.org. For more information, call the Opera House Box Office at 716-679-1891. The Opera House Cinema Series is sponsored by Lake Shore Savings Bank.

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