Metropolitan Opera's "Live in HD" series

The Metropolitan Opera's "Live in HD" series is an initiative of New York's Metropolitan Opera to broadcast live performances in high definition video to select movie theaters and other venues across the U.S. and other parts of the world. It began on 30 December 2006 and was repeated and expanded for the 2007/08 and 2008/09 opera seasons.

To transmit the series via satellite simulcast in the US, the Met has partnered with NCM Fathom, a division of National CineMedia. The series is broadcast to AMC Theatres, Cinemark, Regal Entertainment Group (Regal Cinemas, United Artists and Edwards), Goodrich, Kerasotes, Marcus and National Amusements movie theaters as well as a series of independent venues such as arts centres and college campuses. Its aims to build a larger audience for the Met and garner excitement for arts at a local level.

The original idea for presenting operas in this way came from the new incoming general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb in late 2006, and moving into digital movie theaters is in line with other audience-expanding efforts by the Met such as radio broadcasts on Sirius Radio, ipod downloads, live streaming video on the Met website, a free screening opening night in Times Square and at Lincoln Center, and even free broadcasts into selected New York City public schools. The simulcasts allow more people to experience the excitement of the Met's high-quality performance offerings. This audience includes current opera fans unable to get to New York City to see the shows in person and potential opera fans looking for an easy, affordable method of checking out a new art form.

Tom Galley, chief operations and technology officer of National CineMedia, describes the experience by saying:

"This Metropolitan Opera series is a unique opportunity for people to experience world-class opera in their local community, plus the movie theatre environment and affordable ticket price make these events something that the entire family can enjoy. If you’ve never had the pleasure of attending a live opera performance before, this is the perfect opportunity to see why this magical art form has captured audiences’ imaginations for generations.”>Fact|date=February 2008

The list of these theaters is available from [http://www.fathomevents.com/files/METLISTING/met_live.html "Live from the Met" participants, 2007/08.]

In the US, the series has also been broadcast in both high definition and regular tv as part of the Public Broadcasting Service's "Great Performances" series.

International expansion

The first season included seven theatres in Britain, two in Japan and one in Norway. After its successful launch, several other counties joined for the second season and 100 screens were added, selling an additional 20,000 tickets. Fact|date=February 2008 These included cinemas in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

2008 saw the network expand even further to include more screens in the countries named above plus other countries such as Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Poland, as well as the territory of Puerto Rico. [http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/press/detail.aspx?id=3810 "The Metropolitan Opera Announces Expansion of Live, High-Definition Transmissions to Eleven in 2008-09" press release, April 22nd 2008] ]

Reaction in the British press has been positive::"...opera is, in fact, managing to find new audiences, all over the world. Down at the Ritzy, my local cinema in Brixton, London, I've been able, since December, to see live broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera in New York... [ [http://music.guardian.co.uk/classical/story/0,,2268049,00.html Tom Service, "Give me divas - not DJs", "The Guardian" (London), 22 March 2008] ]

Another commentator, the author Peter Conrad, praised Gelb's showmanship::"The relays are the brainchild of the Met's new general manager, Peter Gelb, or one of his innumerable brainchildren, part of a campaign both to rejuvenate the Met's audience in New York and to welcome what he calls 'the global opera community' into the fold. When I met Gelb in New York last week, I told him I'd decided that seeing The Barber in Clapham (just south of central London) was actually better than being at the Met. 'Oh no, that's bad,' he groaned. 'We must be doing too good a job." [ [http://music.guardian.co.uk/classical/story/0,,2062672,00.html Peter Conrad, "Opera from New York in your home town? Easy. Just go to the pictures", "The Guardian" (London), 22 April 2007] ]

First Season

Beginning on December 30, 2006, as part of the company's effort to build revenues and attract new audiences, the Met broadcast a series of six performances live via satellite into movie theaters. The first broadcast was the Saturday matinee live performance of the 110-minute version of Julie Taymor's production of "The Magic Flute". [ [http://www.fathomevents.com/subpage/index.asp?EventID=610&code=METpage List of Met productions presented on HD in 2007] ]

The series was carried in over 100 movie theaters across North America plus others in Britain, Japan and one in Norway. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/01/arts/music/01scre.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Campbell Robertson, "Mozart, Now Singing at a Theatre Near You", "New York Times", 1 January 2007] ]

During this season, the series included "I Puritani", "The First Emperor", "Eugene Onegin", "The Barber of Seville", and "Il Trittico". In addition, limited repeat showings of the operas were offered in most of the presenting cities. Within the US, digital sound for the performances was provided by Sirius Satellite Radio.

These movie transmissions were successful at the box office as well as having received wide and generally favorable press coverage. [ [http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20061231/news_1m31opera.html Elizabeth Fitzsimmons, "Movie theaters offer opera live from the Met". "San Diego Union-Tribune", 31 December 2006.] ] The Met reports that 91% of available seats were sold for the HD performances. [Richard Ouzounian, "Opera Screen Dream: Met simulcasts heat up plexes in cities, stix", "Variety", March 5-11, 2007, pp 41/42] According to General Manager Peter Gelb, there were 60,000 people in cinemas around the world watching the March 24 transmission of "The Barber of Seville". [Peter Gelb, speaking during the intermission on 24 March 2007, noted that over 250 movie theatres were presenting the performance that day.] The "New York Times" reported that 324,000 tickets were sold worldwide for the 2006-07 season, while each simulcast cost $850,000 to $1 million to produce.Daniel Watkin, "Met Opera To Expand Simulcasts In Theaters", "The New York Times", May 17, 2007]

Second Season

Due to the success of the first season, the Metropolitan Opera decided to increase the number of HD broadcasts to movie theaters from six to eight during the 2007/2008 season. Further, the number of available theaters expanded to 330 across the US and additional countries throughout the world.

The first showing on 15 December 2007, Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette", was seen on 477 screens and sold an estimated 97,000 tickets. The series continued by featuring seven more of the Met's productions following "Roméo et Juliette" and ending with "La fille du régiment" on April 26, 2008. [ [http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/press/detail.aspx?id=300 The Met Opera’s 2007-08 Season to Feature Seven New Productions – the Most in More than 40 Years] ] .

The Met planned to broadcast to double the number of theaters in the US compared with the previous season, as well as to additional countries. The number of participating venues in the US, which includes movie theatre chains as well as independent theatres and some college campus venues, was 343. [ [http://www.fathomevents.com/files/PRPDF/MET_07-08_Participating_LIVE_Theatre_List.htm "Participating Theatres - Met Opera Live in HD Series - LIVE PERFORMANCES", announced October 2nd 2007] ] While "the scope of the series expands to include more than 700 locations across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.... The Met has said that it hopes to reach as many as one million audience members with this season's HD transmissions" [Adam Wasserman, "Changing Definitions", "Opera News", December 2007, p.60]

The schedule of live broadcasts included Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel"; Verdi's " Macbeth" (revised 1865 version); Puccini's "Manon Lescaut"; Britten's "Peter Grimes"; Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde"; Puccini's "La bohème"; and Donizetti's "La fille du régiment". Potential movie-goers can find theater locations and check for times and tickets.

By the end of the season, 920,000 people - exceeding the total number of people who attended live performances at the Met over the entire season - attended the 8 screenings bringing in a gross of $13.3 million from North America and $5 million from overseas. [Pamela McClintock, "Live perfs have Met beaming", "Variety", 11 June 2008, reporting on a survey conducted by Opera America]

Plans for the third season

The Met has announced that 11 productions will be presented beginning on 22 September 2008 with the Opening Night Gala broadcast in the US only and continuing worldwide on 11 October until 9 May 2009 with Rossini's "La Cenerentola"

Series Testimonials

* “Filmed operas have been around for quite a while, but they were never like this. The Met has reinvented the form. Or rather, it has created a new art form . . . This venture may be the most significant development in opera since the supertitle.” Douglas McLennan, "The Los Angeles Times", Fact|date=February 2008

Movie Goers
* "The simulcast featured not only the opera, but close-ups of the action, scene changes behind the curtain between acts, interviews with the stars, and a performance interview with the conductor. It was a tiny fraction of the cost that those in New York attending the performance paid, and we could see more." "Letter to the Editor entitled " Metropolitan Opera right here in Flint" [http://www.mlive.com/news/flintjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1201096230106010.xml&coll=5]

Opera Organizations
* “The HD Live series has been overwhelmingly successful, selling out in movie theaters internationally, and opera lovers and newcomers from Kansas to Tromso, Norway have been sending us fan mail. Next year we'll expand the groundbreaking series to eight performances, featuring many of opera's greatest stars, transmitted to hundreds of movie theaters around the world.” Peter Gelb, General Manager, Metropolitan Opera Fact|date=February 2008
* "I hate to say it, but everybody says they would rather see opera this way." Nancy Zeckendorf, president of the board of directors for Santa Fe's Lensic Performing Arts Center Fact|date=February 2008
* "As much as I believe that opera is for everybody, I think we have to meet the audience halfway. My hat goes off to any opera company that is doing something different." Darren Woods, Fort Worth Opera general director"Fact|date=February 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.metoperafamily.org/operanews/news/pressrelease.aspx?id=1315 "Tickets for Metropolitan Opera's High-Definition Movie Theater Simulcasts to Go on Sale 11/18", from "Opera News" online, 16 November 2006]
* [http://www.fathomevents.com/files/METLISTING/met_live.html "List of participating theaters for 2007/08 season", fathomevents.com]
* [http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events.aspx "Schedule of the 8 shows in the 2007/2008 season" from Met website]
* [http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/7502.html "Metropolitan Opera's First Simulcast of 2007-08 Breaks Attendance Records", playbill.com website, 17 December 2007]
* [http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/7484.html "Metropolitan Opera to Offer Hi-Def Simulcasts in NYC Public Schools" from playbill.com, 12 Dec 2007]
* [http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_7961605 "Santa Fe theater sells out simulcasts of Metropolitan Opera" from "Las Cruces Sun-Times", 13 January 2008]
* [http://www.alicemcnamara.com/?p=70 "Macbeth" at alicemcnamara.com website]
* [http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19258659&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=6 Roger Bryant, "World-class opera comes to local movie theaters" from ourmidland.com, 3 February 2008]