In this morning's Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/06/AR2006090602018.html

Live Opera To Come To Movie Theaters
Met to Transmit 6 Shows; Others Available Online

By Tim Page
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 7, 2006; Page C01

The Metropolitan Opera will begin transmitting live performances to movie theaters throughout the United States, Canada and Europe next year as part of an extraordinary and unprecedented arrangement among the company, its unions and several media partners.

"Opera now enters the digital era," Peter Gelb, the Met's new general manager, said yesterday.

Beginning Dec. 30, the Met will transmit six of its performances live -- with state-of-the-art sound and high-definition imagery -- to movie theaters equipped with special projection systems and satellite dishes throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. After 30 days, the new productions will be presented on PBS stations throughout the country.

A new contract, announced yesterday, also permits the Met to enter into other partnerships as well, with the possibility of digital downloads, video-on-demand, digital radio, ring tones, CDs, DVDs and instant CDs available after certain performances.

One hundred additional live performances will be broadcast either over the Internet or on digital radio, with another 1,500 broadcasts from the past 75 years -- the Met's entire recorded history -- to be made available soon through an audio-on-demand service.

"It's only possible because the unions have put their faith in our ability to deliver what we promised them -- a means to build the audience and secure the health of the Met -- and, indeed, the health of opera as an art form," Gelb said in an interview. "Our audience is aging fast, and this technology will help us galvanize a new generation."

Six matinees will be produced for next season: a Dec. 30 production of Mozart's "Magic Flute," directed by Julie Taymor and conducted by James Levine; Bellini's "I Puritani," with Anna Netrebko, on Jan. 6; the world premiere of Tan Dun's "The First Emperor," with Placido Domingo in the title role, on Jan. 13; Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin," with Renee Fleming and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, on Feb. 24; a new staging of Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," with Juan Diego Florez, on March 24; and a new production of Puccini's "Il Trittico," conducted by Levine, on April 28.

"This will all work a little like the movies, down to the fact that we're starting out with Saturday matinees," Gelb said. "First, we have the live experience, whether at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York or on a screen. That creates a buzz and an awareness for repeat performances, which will then be shown at home on PBS and then made available on DVD or from downloading."

"In the early days of the Met broadcasts, back in the 1930s, whole communities used to gather around the radio to listen," he continued. "This is the 21st-century modernization of that experience. Opera fans are as fanatical about opera as baseball fans are about baseball. We want to make the Met as available electronically to its followers as the Yankees are to theirs."

This is terrific. I have fond memories of growing up and listening to the Sat. afternoon opera on NPR while reading a book or doing some chores around the house.

It would be even better if it was distributed in HD via sat and cable with PBS or Discovery HD.

A decade or two ago, "Live From The Met" was a much more frequent fixture on PBS. Then it became more infrequent. Still, I recall seeing "The Metropolitan Opera presents....." a couple of times each year, and the recent ones were in HD !!

Does that mean we'll see less of these? And if they're going to screened like closed-circuit PPV boxing, I would expect there will be a longer delay window before these pop up on PBS-HD, Blue-Ray or HD-DVD. 30 days would be acceptable.

Tyson vs. La Traviata

What are they thinking?

Over two hundred channels of corporate dribble to the home and no one can make this work on one of them.

Tyson vs. La Traviata

Tyson: the opera

Don't all operas end tragically?

Opera is just too dangerous:

"Suicide squirrel in opera-hating kamikaze bike spoke mangle"

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/05/squirrel_opera_singer/

Tyson: the opera

Sounds like a job for John Adams, who wrote "Nixon in China", "The Death of Klinghoffer" (on that cruise ship that was hijacked by terrorists), and "Doctor Atomic" (J. Robert Oppenheimer and the first A-bomb).

"Bush in Baghdad," anyone? :D

An article in Tuesday's Washington Post described the Met's plans for operas in HD this winter and spring.

Six of the Met's performances at Lincoln Center (NYC) will be transmitted live to movie theaters throughout the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., on selected dates. The Washington, D.C. area, for example, will have only two venues (both are actually in the northern Virginia suburbs).

Here's the best part: After a 30-day period, recorded versions of the Met performances will be presented on PBS-HD stations!! I added 30 days to each of the dates below to show the approximate date of the TV broadcast, and noted these in [brackets] in the schedule below

All HD broadcasts are live at:
1:30 pm EST (12:30 pm CST, 11:30 am MST, 10:30 am PST)
6:30 pm GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)

The Magic Flute, December 30, 2006 [PBS-HD o/a January 29, 2007]
Celebrated director and filmmaker Julie Taymor, who directed The Lion King on Broadway, brings her dynamic theatrical vision to Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Dancing bears, flying birds, a giant serpent—all are brought vividly to life through Taymor’s ingenious use of puppetry. This abridged 100-minute version of Mozart’s opera is sung in English and features a winning young cast conducted by beloved Met Maestro James Levine.

I Puritani, January 6, 2007 [PBS-HD o/a February 5, 2007]
The sensational Russian soprano Anna Netrebko (“Audrey Hepburn with a voice,” according to one critic) has taken the opera world by storm, dazzling audiences in Vienna, Milan, Berlin, New York, and Los Angeles. Now she inhabits the role of the fragile Elvira in Bellini’s I Puritani, who delivers one of opera’s wildest mad scenes when she is abandoned at the altar. With its vocal fireworks and opportunities for real acting, this has been a supreme role for great singing actresses from Maria Callas to Beverly Sills.

The First Emperor, January 13, 2007 [PBS-HD o/a February 12, 2007]
The world-premiere broadcast of Chinese composer Tan Dun’s epic opera, The First Emperor, features the legendary tenor Plácido Domingo as Emperor Qin, who built the Great Wall and gave China its name. Tan Dun’s music is a fascinating mix of East and West, and the monumental production is staged by revered Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern and House of Flying Daggers), with costumes by Oscar-winning designer Emi Wada (Kurosawa’s Ran).

Eugene Onegin, February 24, 2007 [PBS-HD o/a March 26, 2007]
The beloved American soprano Renée Fleming joins Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky for this broadcast of Tchaikovsky’s gorgeous and lyrical Eugene Onegin. The sweeping dramatic arc of this opera—youthful longing, rejection, regret, a desperate plea that comes too late—is perfectly mirrored in Tchaikovsky’s achingly beautiful music and in the stunning lighting of this strikingly minimal production.

The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), March 24, 2007 [PBS-HD o/a April 23, 2007]
The instantly familiar music of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) has been featured in cartoons, commercials, and TV shows galore, but it’s best heard in its original form, where its infectious charm and bubbling joy are given free reign. In the Met’s new production, by acclaimed theater director Bartlett Sher and his Tony Award-winning team from The Light in the Piazza, the dashing young Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez proves why he is one of the world’s greatest Rossini singers, in his calling-card role of Count Almaviva.

Il Trittico, April 28, 2007 [PBS-HD o/a May 28, 2007]
Jealousy, murder, suicide, religious rapture, intrigue, young love! No, it isn’t a soap opera— it’s Puccini’s triple-bill of one-act operas, Il Trittico. This gripping new production by Broadway luminary (and Tony Award-winner) Jack O’Brien and a team of leading theater designers showcases the amazing technical resources of the Met stage as well as a brilliant ensemble cast, not to mention Puccini at his most hauntingly lyrical and dramatic. The Met’s celebrated music director, James Levine, conducts.


http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events.aspx

I had quite a few Met offerings on Laserdisc order through the Met Guild. I still receive the Guild's catalog, However no more purchases until the offerings are in some sort of HD format.

I would love to build a HD-DVD library since opera, unlike a movie, will be viewed many, many time.

The Washington, D.C. area, for example, will have only two venues (both are actually in the northern Virginia suburbs).

I was afraid that my nearest venue would be in Atlanta (3.5 hours away) or Charlotte (2 hours away), but amazingly, there's one in Greenville SC, about 45 minutes from here. I'll definitely check this out to see how it compares with the eventual PBS broadcast. Thanks for the heads-up!

Great news for opera fans, I used to like listening to them back when I had a part time job on saturdays cleaning a church. Good music to mop floors by. In the the Atlanta area we don't have any PBS stations that show HD, one's analog still and the other only sd. Maybe some influential opera fans will spur them on to provide us with HD programming.

Great news for opera fans, I used to like listening to them back when I had a part time job on saturdays cleaning a church. Good music to mop floors by. In the the Atlanta area we don't have any PBS stations that show HD, one's analog still and the other only sd. Maybe some influential opera fans will spur them on to provide us with HD programming.

So you get twice the amount of fund raising same as we do.
Tampa also has two public broadcasting stations; both digital but only one with HD.

The Tampa PBS affiliate has the most God awful continuous station logo on its SD, but, so far, the HD feed has been logo free.

The non PBS station does broadcast 4 subchannels of educational programs, plus they have some pretty good classic movies. But no HD yet.

Interesting.

The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in London has had a number of its productions covered in HD over the past few years - some broadcast live, or recorded, in SD on BBC Two and/or BBC Four. Be interesting to see if the next one is broadcast in HD on BBC HD.

I've seen HD excerpts, and they look stunning. HD coverage of opera really enhances it, allowing you to stay wider for longer, to see the staging more effectively at times.

I just found this thread after stumbling on a broadcast this morning of Il Trovatore from the Royal Opera House Covent Gardens, on HD Discovery Theatre. It was a BBC production.

Anybody know if this will be repeated? I only caught the final scene.

Something tells me there is more of this out there if I just knew where and when to look.

I just found this thread after stumbling on a broadcast this morning of Il Trovatore from the Royal Opera House Covent Gardens, on HD Discovery Theatre. It was a BBC production.

Anybody know if this will be repeated? I only caught the final scene.

Something tells me there is more of this out there if I just knew where and when to look.

Most BBC coverage of the Royal Opera House productions of the last few years (possibly longer) has been originated in HD (they used 3rd party facilities before the Beeb had their own HD trucks) - so there should be quite a few BBC Royal Opera productions on a shelf somewhere.

(Searching for "Covent Garden" or "Royal Opera" on an online TV listings service might be useful)

I now have the exact date and time for The Magic Flute:

January 24, 9 p.m. E.T.

The broadcast is only 90 minutes. Is this an abridged production? :confused:

I now have the exact date and time for The Magic Flute:

January 24, 9 p.m. E.T.

The broadcast is only 90 minutes. Is this an abridged production? :confused:

According to the Met site, yes -- the theatrical broadcast was listed that way.

I have a recording of Magic Flute on CD. It runs 2 hours, 36 minutes, and that does not account for any intro or breaks between acts.

I wonder what they're cutting, and why they're cutting. I wonder if they are also trimming the performances beamed to movie theaters.

According to the Met site, yes -- the theatrical broadcast was listed that way.

It's now showing up in the listings of my local Cineplex Odeon theatres too. It is listed as an abridged version sung in English. To me, it sounds like a "Reader's Digest version" of The Magic Flute. It is also the only one telecast that's scheduled during the holidays, presumably to capture the youth market.

http://www.cineplex.com/content/index.asp?id=_metropolitanopera

I just found this thread after stumbling on a broadcast this morning of Il Trovatore from the Royal Opera House Covent Gardens, on HD Discovery Theatre. It was a BBC production.

Anybody know if this will be repeated? I only caught the final scene.

Something tells me there is more of this out there if I just knew where and when to look.

Look in Discovery HD website. They used to broadcast BBC productions such as
Aida, Carmen, Die Fliedermaus and Il Trovatore on Friday night rotations so that
you get to watch an episode every two or three months. Now they do them
on Sunday mornings. They have not added a new episode since they added Tosca
last February.

I wonder if they are also trimming the performances beamed to movie theaters.

The theatre broadcasts are LIVE. No cutting. Better hope there are no wardrobe malfunctions...

I have a recording of Magic Flute on CD. It runs 2 hours, 36 minutes, and that does not account for any intro or breaks between acts.

I wonder what they're cutting, and why they're cutting. I wonder if they are also trimming the performances beamed to movie theaters.

If I read it right, the version that is being performed live (and then replayed later on PBS) is the ~90 minute version - - so there isn't going to be two versions, or a live version and a replay "short edit".

This may be a little far-fetched, but do you think this will open up the opera to a whole new fan base? Since people are clamoring for HD content... ANY HD content, this could be a great way for people to sample something they may not otherwise try.

I have a recording of Magic Flute on CD. It runs 2 hours, 36 minutes, and that does not account for any intro or breaks between acts.

I wonder what they're cutting, and why they're cutting. I wonder if they are also trimming the performances beamed to movie theaters.

This is a special shortened, English-language version of die Zauberflote produced to entertain children. You can read about it on the Met's website here (http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events.aspx) .

This may be a little far-fetched, but do you think this will open up the opera to a whole new fan base? Since people are clamoring for HD content... ANY HD content, this could be a great way for people to sample something they may not otherwise try.

Could be - especially if the music is familiar through TV commercials or other use. (I got in to Die Zauberfloete because the Queen of the Night aria was used, of all things, in a science programme to demonstrate an experiment in a computer singing!) The English National Opera usually perform their stuff in English for the same reason - if you can understand the language without having to resort to surtitles (if you're there) or subtitles (if you are a viewer), a barrier can be removed.

Personally I love opera in Italian and German (I speak very little Italian and bad German but love the sound of the language) - but I also enjoy the English language ENO productions as well. I've been fortunate enough to go to live performances at both the Royal Opera House (in Covent Garden - where stuff was performed in the language it was originally written in) and the Coliseum (where the ENO performed in English). I thoroughly enjoyed both - as well as the TV stuff.

There is a great reality TV series on BBC Two at the moment over here called "The Choir". It follows a really enthusiastic young choir master - over 3 episodes of an hour each - as he creates a classical 4 part harmony choir in a London Secondary school (in quite a deprived area) with no history of choral singing - and charts their progress to the international choir olympics in China. It is a fascinating and inspirational watch - as London kids who've never sung anything but Pop, Rock or R&B, suddenly gain such a feeling of accomplishment as they sing classical music well. I suspect after the final episode next week there won't be a dry eye in the viewing audience - the trail-aheads look really emotional.

I was lucky enough to go to a state grammar school in the UK where there was a strong history of choral singing - and it really hits home how much you miss out if you can sing but don't get the opportunity and leadership to do so.

(Totally off topic - sorry)

Did anyone catch the performance in a theater? What can we look forward to next month on PBS?

I guess this is not really an HD question... but....

For those who watched it in a theater, did anyone in the theater applaud at the end? If they were shouting "bravo", to whom is it intended for?

I'll bet they did. And why not? To those folks, they are at the Met. The only time I felt the urge to applaud (but caught myself before I did) was while watching a screening of "Chicago" (the movie.) Of course, it was trying to recreate a Broadway show, so that was part of the intent.

I also heard that most of the US theaters that carried the broadcast were sold out. Same thing for the European theaters. Could be just the "opening day" syndrome, but maybe not...

This morning's Washington Post had a favorable review of the opening performance at the Met. The Met production team claims they avoided "dummying down" the opera, even though the heaving editing and English-language conversion make the opera more kid-friendly. The article especially praised the performances of the Zarastro and the Queen of the Night roles.

OPERA REVIEW
Mozart in HD at the local cineplex
The Met beams 'The Magic Flute' live around the globe, but there are a few false notes
By James C. Taylor Special to The Los Angeles Times January 1, 2007
(Times staff writer Sherry Stern in Irvine contributed to this report.)

In opera, as the old adage goes, it ain't over till the fat lady sings. But in a grand experiment, one Digital Age opera performance was almost over before the proverbial fat lady could be heard.

The Metropolitan Opera's first live, high-definition transmission of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" to 100 movie theaters around the world went off with a few hitches Saturday morning.

At the AMC Burbank 16, minutes into the performance — the Three Ladies had slain the dragon and had just begun to sing "Rejoice" — the audio dropped out as well. It remained choppy for the rest of their number. Then, when Papageno made his entrance, the picture went out as well. The audience was deflated.

The Met's new, abridged English-language version of Mozart's extravaganza, directed by Julie Taymor, was transmitted to Burbank and Irvine (glitch-free) at 10:30 a.m. (No screenings were held within the 213, 323 or 310 area codes — a point many ticket holders grumbled about.)

Before curtain, the suburban shopping area outside the multiplex vaguely resembled the plaza in front of the Met, with opera fans holding signs reading: "Need One Ticket." According to the theater manager, all 183 seats sold out the first day the $18 tickets went on sale.

Undaunted by the sellout, one woman left her home in Malibu at 7 a.m. in hopes of scoring a seat for the Burbank showing (she got one). By 10:25 a.m., the people waiting for returns outnumbered the ticket holders for morning screenings of "We Are Marshall" and "Blood Diamond" down the hall.

Inside the theater, the audience was a mix of opera aficionados, music professionals and Taymor fans — plus a few who had seen the trailer and were "just curious." Ted, a night concierge at the Farmer's Daughter Motel who declined to give his last name, proudly showed off his tickets to all three Met simulcasts this month (each of which is sold out at the Burbank AMC). Marilyn White and her husband drove from Palos Verdes, despite seeing the Met's full-length, German-language version of "Die Zauberflöte" in New York last week. "We thought it would be fun to see it in English," she said. Vikki Hillebrand, 95, put it simply: "Opera with popcorn — now that's a first."

The Burbank crowd was already buzzing by the time the lights went down and the Met's general director, Peter Gelb, appeared on-screen; excitement palpably rippled through the aisles when he introduced Katie Couric. The CBS news anchor read a few nice things about Mozart and then introduced James Levine. The Met's maestro raised his baton, the overture began and the live music was soon accompanied by a (prerecorded) montage of actors putting on costumes and makeup — complete with titles in the manner of a film's opening credits.

The opera began in earnest with Tamino (sung by Matthew Polenzani) chased by one of Taymor's giant puppet-dragons. Polenzani's voice was clear, and the HD image of the flamboyant production was vivid. The idea of opera in movie theaters appeared to be a perfect fit.

Then the music died.

The video feed was soon restored, but the audio remained spotty, culminating in the surreal experience of hearing the Queen of the Night's famous high-F aria ("Oh tremble not") as a duet with digital static. This prompted laughter from the audience and more than a few walkouts — one who advised people to "go rent the Bergman movie."

The audio problems continued throughout the 105-minute show, reaching a nadir when the sound went out completely under René Pape, arguably opera's preeminent bass. Pape looked like a fish gasping for air as he mouthed Sarastro's gorgeous music in silence. A theater representative quickly announced that refunds would be issued. Many audience members got up and left.

The show did go on. Roughly two-thirds of the crowd stuck it out. They were rewarded by finally hearing the fat lady — actually, svelte soprano Erika Miklósa — sing. The demons in the circuitry took a break during the Queen's second number. Her famous aria was entirely audible, with each coloratura curlicue heard cleanly. The audience roared — as much in appreciation for finally being able to listen to a full number as for Miklósa's performance.

When Mozart's last notes faded and the lights went up, the woman from Malibu was still there, but Ted, the night concierge, was not. In the lobby, there was an air of disappointment. "There's no excuse for this," said Steven Rosenthall, who used to work in cable television. "There are five networks in L.A. that have hi-def. This is not new technology." Noa Winter Lazerus, a composer, admitted he was saddened but insisted: "I love the concept, and I think people will give it another chance."

At the Edwards Irvine Spectrum 21, a full house applauded before, during and after the screening. With more than 500 seats, that theater was considerably larger than Burbank's and brought people from across Orange County and as far as the Valley and Pasadena.

Jerry Sternbach of Woodland Hills made the drive because "I, being an opera fan, wanted to support this. It's historical."

According to the Met, the broadcasts aired successfully to nearly 30,000 people around the world except in Burbank and in Jacksonville, Fla., where nothing showed up on the screen. Lauren Leff, a spokesperson for National CineMedia (the company that oversees the technical side to the telecasts), said the problems were the result of unspecified "localized difficulties."

A technical team has been dispatched, and assurances were made for next week's presentation of "I Puritani" (also playing locally at the Edwards Renaissance 14 in Alhambra), but Leff added, "when things are live, problems do occasionally happen."

Those who prefer going to opera houses — instead of just listening to perfected, studio recordings — know this fact and to some degree cherish it. Illness, nerves and booing (i.e., last month's La Scala fracas) have historically hampered live opera performances. Now we can add computer error to that tradition.

These technical difficulties must be ironed out, but what was seen and heard (in between bursts of static) at the Burbank multiplex did show promise. The imaginative but dramatically inert Taymor production plays much better on-screen than onstage, and Nathan Gunn (as Papageno) appeared to be a performer whose looks and talents seem perfectly suited for this new medium.

This "Magic Flute" was commissioned and chosen as the debut broadcast because of its accessibility to families. April Hamilton of LaVerne brought her two children to Burbank and said that despite the problems, her son, Daegan, 11, and daughter, Aidan, 5, enjoyed the show. "Daegan liked the dragon, and Aidan was air-conducting," she said, "it was a good introduction for them." Schuyler Girion, 12, of Sherman Oaks came with her grandmother and summed the event up best: "I liked it — except for the scratchy parts."

http://www.calendarlive.com/stage/reviews/cl-et-flute1jan01,0,6136493,print.story

I guess it is unfortunate that, because the the theater that had the problem was in "L.A.," technical difficulties took up about half of the ink in the LA Times article. I'll be looking forward to how it looks on PBS later this month.

Why, the people bellyache-ing about how "unacceptable" these glitches are sound like some AVS posters...

<flame suit on>

Some details (http://www.freelists.org/archives/opendtv/01-2007/msg00213.html) about the production--plus (indirectly related) how a tech conference will be discussing digital-cinema color quality for our homes. -- John

Does anyone have links to the various PBS outlets around the country definitely scheduled to show these HD broadcasts?

I am shocked and astounded to find the elitists at our local PBS outlet (WTTW) have deemed it beneath them to carry the MET series.

This is on PBS' national HD loop feed, so if you have HD you'll see it on Jan 24 (and other repeats as well). Doesn't matter if the local SD channel will simulcast it. Some will, some will not. The point is, you would WANT to see it in HD. SD doesn't matter. For years they've been there, done that.

This is on PBS' national HD loop feed, so if you have HD you'll see it on Jan 24 (and other repeats as well). Doesn't matter if the local SD channel will simulcast it. Some will, some will not. The point is, you would WANT to see it in HD. SD doesn't matter. For years they've been there, done that.
I do believe that some PBS stations do not air the complete PBS HD schedule in tact.

South Carolina ETV lists "Great Performances at the Met : The Magic Flute" as showing on their HD subchannel at 9pm Wed 1/24, 12am Thurs 1/25 and 12pm Thurs 1/25. There's also a showing on their main (SD) subchannel at 9pm Wed 1/24, and on their "South Carolina Channel" (SD) at 1am Thurs 1/25 and 4am Thurs 1/25.

Here's their listing for 1/24:

http://www.scetv.org/television/schedules.cfm?display_feed=14715&display_format=fullday&station=WRLK&zipcode=&transport=&provider=&feeds=5803%2C12918%2C14715&display_date=2007-01-24

Click on a program title to get a list of other showings.

Reminder: tonight's the night for the first Metropolitan Opera broadcast in HD on PBS, "The Magic Flute." 9:00pm ET on your PBS station's HD subchannel (if they're carrying it, that is).

Here is a PBS link for those that are interested.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/gpatmet/

My DVR is all set.

Amazing PQ !! Vibrant colours. Sung in English. My two kids (7 and 5) are captivated by it.

Unfortunately, the KCET-HD (OTA) presentation here in LA is marred by either (1) choppy, broken-up audio or (2) NO audio, and combined with either of these serious problems is a lip-sync symptom that would make you throw up. I'm talking a 1-2 second delay!

Unfortunate. Essentially unwatchable, despite good picture quality. Certainly unlistenable.

I will call them tomorrow morning.

I guess it is unfortunate that, because the the theater that had the problem was in "L.A.," technical difficulties took up about half of the ink in the LA Times article. I'll be looking forward to how it looks on PBS later this month.

Why, the people bellyache-ing about how "unacceptable" these glitches are sound like some AVS posters...

<flame suit on>

So L.A. got hit with a double-whammy. First the theater presentation AND now the OTA as well. Let's just say that when my cable company dropped PBS-HD's Detroit and Seattle feeds in favour of Buffalo, I had reservations. But in the year since, I didn't recall too much problems. Last night's presentation ranked among their best in terms of PQ, audio, and no visible pixelations. It's unfortunate this experience wasn't universally shared thoroughout the country.

Was looking forward to the performance. Missed it last night. I have to say that I'm disappointed that it's in English. I'll still give it a shot. Why not original language and subtitles?
J

Was looking forward to the performance. Missed it last night. I have to say that I'm disappointed that it's in English. I'll still give it a shot. Why not original language and subtitles?
J

You're in luck. The PBS-HD loop will rebroadcast it next Monday (Jan 29) at 9:00 pm ET and 12 midnight ET.

Why English? Having watching it last night, I somehow got the impression this is one of the Met's initiative to build the next generation of opera fans. And the competition isn't what it used to be: now the kids have access to the likes of Sponge-Bob, Dora the Explorer, and Shrek.

Was looking forward to the performance. Missed it last night. I have to say that I'm disappointed that it's in English. I'll still give it a shot. Why not original language and subtitles?
J

I watched it last night and I loved it. I can understand why a purist like yourself would be disappointed but for someone like me who knows very little about Opera, hearing it in English was a Godsend. :)

The next 5 performances in this series will be more traditional type of operatic performances. "The Magic Flute" was a holiday treat mainly for families with kids. Hey, it worked in my neighbourhood. They put this in the largest auditorium of my local Cineplex last month, the 400-seat venue sold out. Not even "Casino Royale" generated this much of excitement!

Enjoyed the PBS-HD "Magic Flute" captured to a cable converter DVR. Really striking staging, costumes, color ( Julie Taymor's (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/taymor_j.html) influence). Expensive looking props, too; no wonder there's such a long list of financial contributors at the end. Suppose a 'pure' non-translated full-length production (with English subtitles) would be best, but then again major works see lots of variations. Couldn't find how it was recorded with Googling. 1080/24PsF, 1080/60i, 720p? Believe Mark Schubin, who captured an opera discussed here several years back in 720p, is handling video for this series. They'd make nice 1080 DVD packages. -- John

Was looking forward to the performance. Missed it last night. I have to say that I'm disappointed that it's in English. I'll still give it a shot. Why not original language and subtitles?
J
Maybe you would prefer the original three hours in German? (No offense if you do...)

They put this in the largest auditorium of my local Cineplex last month, the 400-seat venue sold out.

In Greenville SC, when the newspaper had a piece about the then-upcoming showing of Bellini's "I Puritani" a week or two ago, they noted that the "Magic Flute" had sold out at the local theater that's showing these productions, so they recommended reserving seats in advance.

I wasn't able to go to the theater for these showings, but the "Magic Flute" turned out well on SC ETV. It's on my DVR now.

Enjoyed the PBS-HD "Magic Flute" captured to a cable converter DVR. Really striking staging, costumes, color ( Julie Taymor's (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/taymor_j.html) influence). Expensive looking props, too; no wonder there's such a long list of financial contributors at the end. Suppose a 'pure' non-translated full-length production (with English subtitles) would be best, but then again major works see lots of variations. Couldn't find how it was recorded with Googling. 1080/24PsF, 1080/60i, 720p? Believe Mark Schubin, who captured an opera discussed here several years back in 720p, is handling video for this series. They'd make nice 1080 DVD packages. -- John

Most opera and ballet I've seen broadcast, originated in HD, has been captured 1080/50i or 1080/60i.

If you still have the recording then watching the motion should easily tell you whether it was captured at 24Hz or 60Hz - as the motion capture for the two formats are hugely different. 24Hz looks like film, 60Hz looks like "video" - i.e. like sports or the news.

My local HD PBS station (WETA, Washington DC) delivered the broadcast in stereo. Is this the way the performance is broadcast nationally or does it originate in 5.1 audio?

I just finished watching this afternoon. My wife and I enjoyed every minute. Five stars out of five. The spectacular staging and costumes, and superior cast, made me not miss the German soundtrack and edited-out sections. The English translation was very clever (I never thought I would defend a foreign language opera in English).

This first installment reinforces my choice of the thread title. This series so far is looking and sounding fantastic for opera fans !!!

Most opera and ballet I've seen broadcast, originated in HD, has been captured 1080/50i or 1080/60i.

If you still have the recording then watching the motion should easily tell you whether it was captured at 24Hz or 60Hz - as the motion capture for the two formats are hugely different. 24Hz looks like film, 60Hz looks like "video" - i.e. like sports or the news.
Thanks. Suspect it was 1080/60i, then, although I've erased my DVR. Earlier posts here stress the importance of 24p capture for international conversion and marketing, but maybe the newest format converters are making interlaced capture less critical.

Could be the format recognition problem was the very slow staged motion for the opera. Also, while I usually note film vs video 'looks' easily, I've become a little less quick to judge these days after recent comparisons of Discovery's Sunrise Earth series, captured with 1080/24PsF. At first glance, since it's mostly nearly static nature scenes, usually with fantastically rich color, the assumption might be this is 1080/60i since it's a documentary/travelogue production, often made in 1080/60i (50i). That it's really 24p capture only becomes evident when I begin noticing that fine details can't be resolved. Perhaps that's due to my 1080i CRT RPTV displaying 24p capture along with the 2-3 pulldown (judder?); maybe viewers with the latest reverse-pulldown chips and fixed-pixel 24p-multiple progressive display don't see the same thing.

The crispness issue of 1080PsF Sony HDCAM capture becomes very evident when I compare one Sunrise Earth 24PsF episode, Bison Before Breakfast (http://dhd.discovery.com/convergence/sunriseearth/onlocation/bison_zoom.html), with another recent bison segment in another documentary shot at the same location but clearly at 1080/60i--bushes, reeds, grass, bison, etc. were all very crisp, especially compared to Bison Before Breakfast. Likely the 1080/60i documentary was shot with a Sony HDCAM, too. Thus ends my comparison of munching, burping bison with Mozart's grand opera. -- John

Thanks. Suspect it was 1080/60i, then, although I've erased my DVR. Earlier posts here stress the importance of 24p capture for international conversion and marketing, but maybe the newest format converters are making interlaced capture less critical.


24p IS a great universal format for 24Hz production, and it does make distribution and sales easier. However 24Hz motion rendition is not suitable for all productions - and thus 24p can't solve all international problems (not least of all it doesn't work for live stuff at all well if you want to air simultaneously in 60Hz and 50Hz territories...)

50Hz and 60Hz are still required for sports and other programming that requires the more "realistic" and fluid motion rendition that they offer. Ballet is well suited to the higher motion capture rate - and in some cases so is opera.


Could be the format recognition problem was the very slow staged motion for the opera.


Yep - haven't seen it - though I'm at the point now where I usually notice it even on faces (mouth movement) and arms moving...


Also, while I usually note film vs video 'looks' easily, I've become a little less quick to judge these days after recent comparisons of Discovery's Sunrise Earth series, captured with 1080/24PsF. At first glance, since it's mostly nearly static nature scenes, usually with fantastically rich color, the assumption might be this is 1080/60i since it's a documentary/travelogue production, often made in 1080/60i (50i). That it's really 24p capture only becomes evident when I begin noticing that fine details can't be resolved. Perhaps that's due to my 1080i CRT RPTV displaying 24p capture along with the 2-3 pulldown (judder?); maybe viewers with the latest reverse-pulldown chips and fixed-pixel 24p-multiple progressive display don't see the same thing.



There are multiple "video" vs "film" issues - not just motion rendition - stuff like colourimetry, grading, grain, noise, gamma, knees etc. can all be tweaked to make film look like video or video look like film - ignoring the 24 vs 50/60 issues.

For me the motion rendition is the biggest thing - as I'm not a 3:2 HD viewer (yet - we've been inflicted with it for HD-DVD and BluRay releases in Europe which are 24p/3:2 60i/p output...)


The crispness issue of 1080PsF Sony HDCAM capture becomes very evident when I compare one Sunrise Earth 24PsF episode, Bison Before Breakfast (http://dhd.discovery.com/convergence/sunriseearth/onlocation/bison_zoom.html), with another recent bison segment in another documentary shot at the same location but clearly at 1080/60i--bushes, reeds, grass, bison, etc. were all very crisp, especially compared to Bison Before Breakfast. Likely the 1080/60i documentary was shot with a Sony HDCAM, too. Thus ends my comparison of munching, burping bison with Mozart's grand opera. -- John

Suspect the content (contrast - lighting etc.), and stuff like lenses/filters and operational set-up play an important part as well.

I'm very late to this this thread, but I wanted to say that I saw the "Flute" in a suburban Chicago theater on 12/30 and very much enjoyed it. And applauded. There was an "encore" showing of the "Flute" on 1/23 at 7:30 PM including at some theaters which did not show it live. One of which was a downtown Chicago theater a few blocks away from me (rather than 24 miles). That show may have sold out too...

My PBS station in Chicago, WTTW, did NOT show the Flute in HD. However after some correspondence, I believe they WILL show the first three operas in HD on successive Wednesday evenings starting on March 14.

According to Mark Schubin, theatrical encores are planned for all of the operas. The "I Puritani" encore is scheduled for Tuesday 2/13 with tickets going on sale 2/03.

I'd be happier if the theaters used DLP Cinema projectors for the Met, but most seem to be using lesser "pre-show" projectors. Many of us probably can produce higher quality AV at home but without the "theatrical" experience.

My local HD PBS station (WETA, Washington DC) delivered the broadcast in stereo. Is this the way the performance is broadcast nationally or does it originate in 5.1 audio?
No, the program was mixed and broadcast nationally on PBS in DD5.1. It is a shame that a "flagship" station like WETA would only air the program in stereo. Do they broadcast any programs in 5.1? What about shows like the New Years Eve "Prarie Home Companion" or "Soundstage?"

It is surprising how many PBS stations spend a lot of extra money to brand the PBS feed with their station's logo, but can't figure out how to preserve the original audio. It would certainly be worth preserving the DD5.1 for a program like the Metropolitan Opera.

I Puritani, Encore Performance - February 13, 2007 (US)
The First Emperor, Encore Performance - March 7 and 11, 2007 (US)
http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events.aspx

I'll be trying out a different theater for I Puritani on 2/13 -- one that was not equipped for the live simulcast.

South Carolina ETV lists I Puritani as being broadcast on Saturday 2/17, 2:00-5:00pm. Unlike the Magic Flute, which had several repeat airings, no repeats are listed, at least through Tuesday 2/20.

It's also not being aired in SD! (again, at least through 2/20)

South Carolina ETV lists I Puritani as being broadcast on Saturday 2/17, 2:00-5:00pm. Unlike the Magic Flute, which had several repeat airings, no repeats are listed, at least through Tuesday 2/20.

It's also not being aired in SD! (again, at least through 2/20)

This will be a problem for those HD viewers with a PBS HD station that only broadcasts in the evening. WMPT in Maryland is an example. Their schedule shows "I Puritani" as airing from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., thus cutting out at least the first 2/3rds of the opera !!

And North Carolina's UNC-TV system doesn't turn on its HD subchannel until 8pm. However, TitanTV does list I Puritani at 8-11pm on 2/17 on WUNF-DT2 (the HD subchannel) in Asheville NC. So either PBS has a second HD feed for the evening, or UNC-TV has the ability to tape-delay HD feeds.

PBS now has Puritani on the web:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/gpatmet/puritani.html
Premieres February 17, 2007 on PBS
There's a link to see when your local station will be showing it.
My station (WTTW) has NO listing during the next two weeks!

PBS now has Puritani on the web:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/gpatmet/puritani.html
Premieres February 17, 2007 on PBS
There's a link to see when your local station will be showing it.
My station (WTTW) has NO listing during the next two weeks!

I called WTTW and spoke to someone who seemed to be low on the food chain. She checked with superiors and indicated WTTW planned to start showing the HD MET broadcasts some time in mid March.

I complained the station had raised tons of money promoting its new HD/digital services, but seemed way behind the rest of the nation in actually delivering product to interested early HD adopters like myself.

She said she understood but the powers that be didn't care much for folks like me. And there it stands.

Dr. A, The mid March date agrees with what I was told in an email --- 3/14, 21 and 28 for the first 3 operas.

I wonder if WTTW has any idea of how many people are watching 11-1 in HD, or what those people are interesting in seeing. Obviously the number of people who want to watch opera in HD is a small portion of the presumably small group watching 11-1 at all.

However, I'm very happy that they plan to show the Met in the evening rather than the more typical Sunday afternoon.

Dr. A, The mid March date agrees with what I was told in an email --- 3/14, 21 and 28 for the first 3 operas.

I wonder if WTTW has any idea of how many people are watching 11-1 in HD, or what those people are interesting in seeing. Obviously the number of people who want to watch opera in HD is a small portion of the presumably small group watching 11-1 at all.

However, I'm very happy that they plan to show the Met in the evening rather than the more typical Sunday afternoon.

I lost most of my interest in PBS when they dropped Brahms and Shakespeare in favor of country/pop and self-improvement-guru lectures. When they started fundraising on the basis of new HD and wide-ranging digital broadcasting, I started getting interested once again.

But now nothing I see on WTTW's over the air HD channel makes me want to even bother looking into a more-reliable antenna. They lost my vote years ago and have yet to win it back.

"Public" TV (i.e. TV paid for in part by our tax dollars) is a white elephant in a world encompassing privately-funded History Channels, Discovery Channel, etc., etc., etc., etc...

I'll be trying out a different theater for I Puritani on 2/13 -- one that was not equipped for the live simulcast.
The "encores" are beamed live, so those theaters could have been able to carry the live simulcast. They may not have been able to show it live due to scheduling conflicts.

Anyway, how did it look?

The AMC River East 21 was using a Sanyo projector, based on a look through the projection booth window - probably LCD. (I asked, but could not get a specific model number.) When I arrived the image was not centered, focused or zoomed properly. Someone fixed that about 30 minutes before the show started. The menu was used to make some adjustments. I noticed that it said "720P." Unfortunately, I think the major adjustment made was increasing the "brightness."

From midway up the upper seating area (perhaps about 1.5x screen width) the screen door effect was quite evident, but didn't prove to be overly distracting. Dark portions of the image were mostly a murky dark gray. Not much intensity to the highlights. Sound was acceptable.

I'm quite confident that my home system with an inexpensive 1280x720 DLP front projector will produce a far superior image with the HD signal from PBS. And probably better sound as well.

Attendance was disappointing -- only about 50. The snow storm kept some people away. Two friends of mine had bought tickets in advance, but had the bail out at the last minute. But people seemed to really enjoy the opera. Anna Netrebko's big numbers got a well deserved round of applause.

I do like the big theater communal experience. (And as you'd expect, this was a well-behaved audience.) I'm going to sit a further back for "The First Emperor" however.

hphase,
Here's the scoop on how the Metropolitan Opera performances get to the theater: (Emails from Mark Schubin, the Met's "Engineer in Charge")

"FYI, the live shows go via satellite at 1080i with 5.1-channel surround sound. The "encore" shows (like last night's) are trickled into the theater servers at 720p with Lt/Rt sound that feeds the theater's surround processor.

"The theater servers are the same ones that carry the ads you see before the movie trailers. There is a data connection to the servers, but it can be a slow one, because there's no rush. The data is trickled in until the full show is loaded on the server. It doesn't require a satellite or other high-speed connection, because it can be slower than real time.

"The live shows, of course, require high speed.

"TTFN, Mark"

The Puritani broadcast looks and sounds great on South Carolina ETV. There was a very brief glitch during the first act, but I don't know whether it was in the feed or in my OTA reception of channel 49-3 out of Spartanburg. Some of the intermission material is labeled as from the live broadcast on January 6 (backstage interviews), but there's also material that was recorded separately, including excerpts from a 60 Minutes piece about Anna Netrebko. Was that in the theater showings, or was it inserted for the PBS broadcast?

The Puritani "Encore" in the theater had both intermissions edited to about 10 minutes each. R Fleming interviews backstage and with Netrebko, B Sills, etc. Total run time was almost exactly three hours. I don't specifically recall 60 Minutes material.

For Chicago area folks: WTTW has scheduled "The Magic Flute" on channel 11-1 on Wednesday March 14 at 7:00 with repeats at 11:00PM, etc.

For those who'd like to compare their home theater presentation to that of the movie theater... "The First Emperor" encore showings are Wednesday March 7 (evening) and Sunday March 11 (afternoon).

A very interesting behind-the-scenes article:

"Opera and HD: Making Beautiful Music"
by Ken Freed, March 7, 2007
http://www.tvtechnology.com/pages/s.0082/t.2797.html

Here's a recent TV Technology (http://www.tvtechnology.com/pages/s.0082/t.2797.html) article summarizing some tech aspects of both the theater and PBS programming. Notice there's a wide range of bit rates, and the PBS (1080/60i, 30i) differs in that there are more closeups inserted. -- John

EDIT: Sorry about that! I duplicated the link given in the previous post. Gotta be fast at avs--and scan recent posts.

Tan Dun's "The First Emperor" with Placido Domingo will air on Saturday, March 24. Check your local listings on titantv.com. Following the same pattern as with "I Puritani," South Carolina ETV will show it 2-5pm and in North Carolina, UNC-TV will show it 8-11pm, on their respective HD subchannels.

I've seen a couple of reviews of the music and production which are not very encouraging: rather static and boring. At least we can try it at home without shelling out for tickets!

The PBS page at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/gpatmet/emperor.html still isn't active. I saw The First Emperor at Sunday's movie theater encore. Having read some of the same reviews, and having heard the radio broadcast, my expectations were not too high. But I was pleasantly surprised. I quite enjoyed the piece. There was 20 minute "making of / in rehearsal" segment for the intermission. And we get to hear the prompter giving Domingo a few lines... There were lots of drums and percussion, but the audio impact I would have expected wasn't there. Maybe it will be on our home systems.

WTTW, the big PBS station in Chicago finally showed "The Magic Flute" in HD (720p) last night (3/14). I was very pleased with the presentation on my 720p DLP projector and OTA STB. It looked BETTER that the live show in the theater. The theaters need to upgrade their projectors!

While it took WTTW a long time to show "The Magic Flute", "I Puritani" is next Wednesday (3/21), and "The First Emperor" is the following Wednesday (3/28)

Many of the theaters that show the encores do not have high quality video projectors. Normally those projectors just show commercials. If those theaters have true digital cinema projectors (properly maintained) the results are much better.

Also, the audio on the live simulcast feeds is often better than what many of the smaller encore houses can deliver. Again, the systems in the encore houses usually show commercials, not features, so the encore audio might be not be as good as the simulcast.

hphase: Perhaps the theaters in your area are showing the Met on DLP Cinema projectors, but that's not the case here in the Chicago area -- whether for the simulcast or the encore. (Even in locations that have at least one DLP Cinema screen.) The Cinemark where I saw Flute on 12/30 uses a Christie LW40 - a 1366x768 LCD. The AMC in downtown Chicago where I saw two Encores uses a Sanyo of some flavor that seemed of similar quality. And not terribly well adjusted at that.

So I fully expected the quality to be better on my home system. Perhaps more DLP Cinema units will have been installed by next season...

It's a shame more theaters don't use their real digital cinema projectors for these shows. The few operas I've seen on the smaller, dimmer projectors pale in comparison to the "movies" that are being shown in theaters with better projectors. I'm sure the Met programs would look stunning on them. It's good that the Met has been so successful with their series so far. Maybe they can negotiate to get themselves onto some of the better screens in the future, at least for the Saturday afternoon matinees where they may not have so much competition for the better screens.

High Notes in Hi-Def

By Wayne Friedman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/19/2007

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6425585.html

Live operas filmed in hi-def and fed to movie theaters have become surprisingly successful events, selling out in cities big and small nationwide.

In fact, performances by the New York Metropolitan Opera have been a more consistent draw in theaters than HD performances featuring pop icons Prince, The Who or Bon Jovi.

[.... snipped. Follow the link for more...]

Recently I sent a letter to AMC inquiring about the digital projectors they were using. Today I got a call and email from HQ, and call from a fellow at the local theater. They've just finished installing a Christie CP2000 with the 3D attachment in theater #7. They have Sanyo LCD units in all theaters for advertising. And that's what they used for the Met in theater #4. These projectors are XGA resolution -- 1024x768. And then cropped to 1024x576 for the 16:9.

No wonder I decided to move back for the second show I saw there. And no wonder that the 720p broadcast from WTTW 11-1 on my 720p DLP projector looked better than at the movie theater.

I told the AMC folks that I hoped they'd be installing more DLP Cinema projectors and that the Met could be shown that way next season. Hope springs eternal...

I'm looking forward to "I Puritani" on WTTW 11-1 tomorrow (3/21).

A reminder for Chicago area folks: The First Emperor is listed for WTTWD 11-1 on Wednesday 3/28 at 7:00 pm.

The PBS web page for "Eugene Onegin" is finally active -- http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/gpatmet/onegin.html -- saying that it premieres April 21, 2007 (check local listings).

I enjoyed today's "Eugene Onegin" a lot. The set was very minimalist, just a single bare room with leaves strewn thickly over the floor for outdoor scenes, and some furniture for the indoor scenes. Simple but effective colored-lighting effects. But who cares about the sets when you can listen to Renee Fleming and Dmitri Hvorostovsky?

Unfortunately, I won't be able to see it in HD again unless PBS re-runs it. :( (or someone releases it on Blu-ray or HD-DVD)

South Carolina ETV broadcast it this afternoon, and for the first time simulcast it on their main SD channel. (They carried previous productions in this series only on their HD subchannel.) I had go out of town today, so I set my DVR to record it, but somehow set it to record the SD version instead of the HD version! When I got home I realized my mistake, so I turned to North Carolina's UNC-TV which carried it at 8pm. I programmed my DVR to record UNC-TV Asheville's HD channel, and watched it simultaneously (along with the reassuring red "recording" indicator on my DVR).

When it finished, I checked the recording, and found that I hadn't actually recorded that one, either! UNC-TV's HD channel shows HD content only from 8-11pm. The rest of the time it shows a low-bitrate SD placeholder screen, and UNC-TV runs two extra SD subchannels. When my DVR started recording, the placeholder screen was still up, and it apparently got confused by the switch from SD to HD, so it stopped recording when the HD started (even though the recording indicator was still lit). My recording consisted of one minute of "HD programming will resume at 8:00 pm."

At least I hadn't deleted SCETV's SD version, so I still have that one.

Crap, missed it in HD. Its on later today in SD. crap crap crap!

Crap, missed it in HD. Its on later today in SD. crap crap crap!

CycloneGT: Neither WETA nor MPT broadcast the full opera in HD. MPT-HD is dark until 4 p.m., so all you could watch was the last hour. :(

Well, that is a relief. kinda. :D thanks

The Chicago Tribune's music critic published an article today on the Met's HD simulcasts. The video quality at the theater he attended came in for heavy criticism. (The quality on our home systems from PBS is generally better than at the theaters.) Some key portions of the article: (Follow the link for the complete article.)

=======

"Opera invades the multiplexes" - By John von Rhein, Tribune music critic - May 6, 2007 http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/arts/chi-0705041159may06,1,7116832.story

Will a generation hooked on giant plasma TVs, MP3 downloads and iPods come together to view opera in darkened movie houses? Will they crave Puccini with their popcorn? Apparently so, as attendance figures for the Metropolitan Opera's first "Live in High-Definition" broadcasts suggest. .... more than 500,000 tickets have been sold to the simulcasts, more than 50,000 of them in North America for the April 28 screening of Puccini's "Il Trittico," making it the 15th top-grossing movie in the nation last weekend.

.... the camera revealed stage perspectives available only to the movie house audience. This was not filmed opera, but a live, multimedia art form in and of itself. ... The big disappointment was the dim, murky picture quality. What happened to the brilliant red-orange sunset over the Seine that Georgetta apostrophizes in "Tabarro"? What became of the blinding celestial light that finally envelops the redeemed Sister Angelica? On the big screen, almost every color was reduced to a shade of gray, black or muddy brown, while the deep vistas were flattened out. "High definition"? Make that "No Definition."

... I told Gelb the problem with the Lincolnshire showing, and he sounded genuinely distressed. "One of the problems we face is that the quality of the projections are not always uniformly up to the high technical standards they are supposed to be," he said. "We transmit a pristine image from the Met and spare no effort or expense in making these broadcasts an extraordinary experience." But that, Gelb admitted, presumes the local playback systems linked to the satellite feed are functioning properly. He assured me that he would look into the problem and said that newer projection systems are being added to participating cinemas and other theaters as they join the Met's expanding network. (The manager for the Regal Lincolnshire could not be reached for comment.)

Gelb, of course, has a vested interest in seeing that the broadcasts are properly handled in movie theaters, given the expansion of the series from six to eight operas next season, and also given the expense: Each opera costs from $850,000 to broadcast -- this in addition to the $1 million-plus it costs the Met to mount a production in its own theater. ... I told Gelb I hope the Met will ride herd on local exhibitors to deliver the state-of-the-art picture and sound quality that the artistic product and we paying customers deserve. He vowed the company would do just that.

Once the startup problems are resolved, these "HD Live" transmissions can begin to deliver on the promise that an art form dating from yesterday can reinvent itself for tomorrow. The Met moviecasts are an idea whose time has come.

The May 21 issue of The New Yorker has a good article on the Met in HD in the movie theaters:
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2007/05/21/070521crmu_music_ross

Reminder: "The Barber of Seville" movie theater encore is Tuesday night 5/15.

The May 17 New York Times has an interesting article on the Met's simulcasts to the theaters: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/arts/music/17broa.html

GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: "The Barber of Seville" Premieres May 26, 2007 on PBS (check local listings)

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/gpatmet/barber.html

GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: "Il Trittico" Premieres on June 16, 2007 on PBS (check local listings)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/gpatmet/trittico.html

For those few opera and HD fans in Chicago: WTTW 11 will show Onegin, Barber, and Trittico on three successive Sunday afternoons at 2:00 PM - 6/17, 6/24, and 7/01. (In regular old NTSC.) But we're out of luck for HD.

An email today from the Member and Viewer Service Department:
"Unfortunately, they are not currently scheduled to air on WTTWD.
WTTW11 depends on the generous support from viewers like you."

I'm not terribly surprised, nor am I feeling particularly generous.

Thanks for the heads-up! I got back from a three-week trip just today, and didn't think to check the date of the next Met broadcast. "Barber" was the day after I left, and it's waiting for me on my DVR. Now I need to clear some more disk space for tomorow.

I guess you're one of the lucky folks who has a PBS station which actually broadcasts opera in HD. I checked WNET in NY and they're showing Trittico tomorrow (6/16) at 2:00pm. And on six successive Sundays starting on 6/03, they're doing all 6 shows! I'm jealous... (However the main SD WNET channel has Trittico on at 1:30AM 6/21.) I can't understand why WTTW here in Chicago is showing the final 3 in SD, but hasn't scheduled them in HD. Hopefully they will at some future date.

BTW, I think you'll like Barber. I saw the encore in the theater.

Good news, bad news: The Met has a deal with EMI to distribute the HD transmissions on DVD. But no mention of HD DVD or Blu-ray.
-------

Five Metropolitan Opera High-Definition Transmissions from the 2007-08 Season to be Released on DVD
July 18, 2007
http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/press/detail.aspx?id=351

These are from an "initial selection of five performances from the Met’s ground-breaking new series, all chosen from next season’s schedule of eight productions"

"...the Met retains the digital distribution rights for these five programs, as well as the DVD rights and digital distribution rights to the other programs which it has produced."

Hopefully with 5.1 audio. Our local (Tampa) PBS HD is stereo only.

For those of you willing to venture into a movie theater to see the Met's HD LIVE simulcasts, the list of participating theaters is now available. There are quite a few more than last season. See http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events.aspx for dates, repertoire, and links to the theater locations.

PBS broadcasts will follow in Spring 2008. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/gpatmet/index.html

Hopefully with 5.1 audio. Our local (Tampa) PBS HD is stereo only.
Then your mission is clear. Call them and tell them you want 5.1 audio. You won't "become a member" until they do. The Met opera shows are aired with 5.1 from PBS.

Nice. Quality productions from the Metropolitan Opera, though one should be able to attend a performance of the Met in person in NYC at least once in your life.
FYI I thought at this time of the year the other New York institution with "Met" in their title would be on HD, at least TBS HD. Oh well.

http://pressroom.pbs.org/programs/great_performances/the_rise_and_fall_of_the_city_of_mahagonny_from_la_opera

GREAT PERFORMANCES

'Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny' From LA Opera

Four-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald stars in a new production of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny , one of the great 20th-century operas. From composer Kurt Weill and playwright Bertolt Brecht -- creators of The Threepenny Opera -- comes a savage and lyrical satire told in a highly entertaining blend of opera and raucous music hall songs conducted by music director James Conlon. Tony Award-winners Patti LuPone and John Doyle, the star and director of Broadway's highly acclaimed revival of Sweeney Todd , re-team for their LA Opera debuts, joined by acclaimed tenor Anthony Dean Griffey. It's every man for himself in the newly founded city of Mahagonny, devoted to life's illicit pleasures, where anything goes and the only crime is to run out of money. The brilliant score, featuring the classic song "Moon of Alabama," masterfully creates a vivid picture of determination, desperation and debauchery.

Visit website on pbs.org Airdate : 12/17/2007 Time : 9:00 - 11:30 pm GPER # : 3216

==========

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/112116.html

DVD Release of Mahagonny, with LuPone and McDonald, Set for December

By Andrew Gans

22 Oct 2007

A high definition DVD of the Los Angeles Opera's February production of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny -- co-starring Tony winners Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone -- will be released by EuroArts Music International Dec. 18.
....

Metropolitan Opera Teams With iN DEMAND

November 28, 2007 http://www.tvtechnology.com/pages/s.0114/t.9906.html

Opera buffs rejoice: The Metropolitan Opera and iN DEMAND Networks have agreed to offer all eight new performances from the Met's second season of "Metropolitan Opera: Live in High Definition" to on-demand subscribers in both HD and SD.

[snipped]

the Met's press release: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/press/detail.aspx?id=3090

Metropolitan Opera Teams With iN DEMAND

November 28, 2007 http://www.tvtechnology.com/pages/s.0114/t.9906.html

Opera buffs rejoice: The Metropolitan Opera and iN DEMAND Networks have agreed to offer all eight new performances from the Met's second season of "Metropolitan Opera: Live in High Definition" to on-demand subscribers in both HD and SD.

[snipped]

the Met's press release: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/press/detail.aspx?id=3090

I guess this is good news. I hope it doesn't mean that they will not be carried by PBS.

Looking at the "iN DEMAND" web site, it appears that they make most of their money with wrestling and pornography. Seems like a strange combination.

I guess this is good news. I hope it doesn't mean that they will not be carried by PBS.
PBS is scheduled to show the Met, but about 60 or 90 days after the live performance. And as always, "check your local listings." I'm still upset that PBS here in Chicago (WTTW) didn't show all six shows from last season in HD -- just the first three.

I guess this is good news. I hope it doesn't mean that they will not be carried by PBS.
They will still be available to PBS. It's in the MET press release.

A blatant plug/reminder for the Met at the Movie Theaters:

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events.aspx

Roméo et Juliette – Gounod
Saturday, December 15, 2007 (1:00 – 4:30 pm ET)
Running time: 3 hours, 30 minutes. 1 intermission

Gounod’s ultra-sensual interpretation of Shakespeare is an ideal vehicle for star soprano Anna Netrebko and the remarkable tenor Roberto Alagna, both of whom bring their incandescent appeal to the title roles. The irresistible Nathan Gunn is Mercutio and Plácido Domingo presides on the podium.

Pay your $22 or wait and hope your PBS station broadcasts this...

Heads up... the Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny will be on PBS-HD tomorrow night (12/17) 9:00-11:30 pm and 12:30-3:00 am, at least on South Carolina ETV.

With music by Kurt Weill and libretto by Bertolt Brecht, this is definitely not typical opera fare. I once heard and taped a radio broadcast of it, but I've never seen it live or on video, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

(OK, this isn't the Met as per the thread title, but rather the LA Opera.)

Heads up... the Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny will be on PBS-HD tomorrow night (12/17) 9:00-11:30 pm and 12:30-3:00 am, at least on South Carolina ETV.
Maybe I should move.
PBS in Chicago is only showing it in SD.
I've put the DVD near the top of my Netflix queue.

Actually I couldn't watch Mahagonny on Monday since I have tickets for "Doctor Atomic" at Lyric Opera....

"Doctor Atomic" at Lyric Opera....

Now, that's something I'd like to see! (I teach physics.) I think that's the only opera ever to get reviewed in Science magazine, the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and I think also in Physics Today, the news magazine published by the American Institute of Physics.

Now, that's something I'd like to see! (I teach physics.) I think that's the only opera ever to get reviewed in Science magazine, the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and I think also in Physics Today, the news magazine published by the American Institute of Physics.
You might be able to LISTEN to it next spring. The Lyric opening night performances are broadcast live here in Chicago, and then rebroadcast via national syndication after the Met's season ends.

San Francisco is jumping into the "Opera at the Movies" market, promoting better quality pictures than the Met.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/arts/music/18cnd-opera.html
http://investor.accessitx.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=282373

Now, that's something I'd like to see! (I teach physics.) I think that's the only opera ever to get reviewed in Science magazine, ...
Well, it was quite an experience. We attended a 30 minute pre-show talk by Peter Sellars, the librettist/director of Doctor Atomic. In addition to giving us background on the opera, he promoted total nuclear disarmament.

I very much enjoyed the music. Some aspects of the staging were stunning, but other aspects just didn't work for me, even after learning about it from Sellars. Even though this was the second performance in Chicago, John Adams was still here, and came out for a bow along with Sellars. Rather unusual.

Metropolitan Opera's First Simulcast of 2007-08 Breaks Attendance Records

http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/7502.html

The Metropolitan Opera's "Live in High Definition" series of live satellite transmissions into movie theaters achieved record-breaking attendance in its first weekend of the new 2007-08 season.

The first transmission, on Saturday, December 15 — Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, starring Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna, conducted by Plácido Domingo — drew a worldwide audience of 97,000. 435 venues (477 screens) in the United States and Canada sold approximately 77,000 tickets; 100 international venues (100 screens) sold an additional 20,000 tickets.

Good stuff - I am going to try and make Macbeth.

Surprised we have theaters here in South Florida that are participating - this place is a cultural wasteland.

On March 26th, PBS will broadcast Great Performances at the Met: Hansel and Gretel.

For other PBS HD programming, check this thread each month:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13048509#post13048509

On March 26th, PBS will broadcast Great Performances at the Met: Hansel and Gretel.
Thanks for the heads-up!
But perhaps more accurately, PBS will transmit H&G to member stations on 3/26.
Unfortunately for me, it's not a given that my local station will actually broadcast this in HD.
But at least I saw it in the theater. Movie and live.

Coming up on PBS HD:

Thursday, March 20, 8 pm (Live from Lincoln Center): Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" from the New York City Opera. Repeats the same night at 11 pm, and on Monday, March 24 at 11 am.

Wednesday, March 26, 9 pm (Great Performances at the Met): Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" from the Metropolitan Opera. Repeats the same night at midnight, and on Sunday, March 20 at 1 pm.

(Times are for South Carolina ETV. "Your mileage may vary.")

Live from Lincoln Center was not in HD. I watched a little and was not impressed by either the performance or the picture quality.

Hansel and Gretel was in HD last night on PBS. (Don't let the kids stay up to watch it -- it's not the cute operetta that you may remember from grade school!) They also included some of the backstage/intermission that is a staple on the live theatre-casts. Considering the PBS delivery system, picture quality held up quite well.

Some good news for Chicago area HDTV opera fans: According to http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?erube_fh=wttw&wttw.submit.EpisodeDetail=1&wttw.EpisodeID=167731&wttw.Channel=WTTW Channel 11 will be showing the Metropolitan Opera in HD. (Also on NTSC.) Generally on Sunday afternoon at 2:00PM.

Upcoming WTTW Digital (HD) Episodes
04/13 Hansel and Gretel
04/20 Romeo Et Juliette
04/27 Macbeth
05/04 Manon Lescaut
05/25 Peter Grimes
06/22 Tristan und Isolde
06/29 La Boheme

[presumably La Fille du Régiment will follow]

I noticed that PBS has now updated the GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET website for the second season: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/gpatmet/index.html

PBS is intermixing rebroadcasts of the six from 2006-7 with the eight from the current 2007-8 season. As always, "check your local listings."

I just noticed that South Carolina ETV is showing the "Metropolitan Opera Opening Night Gala" tomorrow (oops, this) afternoon at 1:30. Our neighbors to the north are apparently not getting it on UNC-TV at that time, so different stations / regional networks are probably showing it on different dates to coordinate with their fundraising drives this month.

I hope this means more "Great Performances at the Met" broadcasts are coming. The only one I've seen on SC ETV so far this season has been "Doctor Atomic," a few days before New Year.

Our local WBRA (Roanoke, VA) showed this about two weeks ago. I was lucky enough to see the listing in time and my wife and I enjoyed it very much.

Last year and the year before, I had great hope for seeing this series continue and possibly expand over the coming years. Alas, it's not happening. So far we have gotten only Dr. Atomic ( a waste of time in my humble opinion), and the Met Gala. Our station didn't run Salome (probably too racy for SW Virginia), and I see little prospect for additional opera broadcasts. There is no web site for a 2009 series as there was in 2007 and 2008.

The good news is that many operas are coming out on Blu-Ray DVD now (see the Opus Arte label), and they are spectacular.

And we have tickets to the complete Ring Cycle at the Met in Late April :).

WTTW in Chicago showed Salome and Doctor Atomic. Instead of the Opening Night Gala during the pledge period they did a rerun of the Pavarotti special. Twice. At least Thais is scheduled for 3/29.

WTTW in Chicago now shows the following dates/operas:

03/29 Thais
04/05 La Damnation De Faust
04/15 Lucia Di Lammermoor
04/26 La Rondine
05/17 Orfeo Ed Euridice

(There was an email saying that La Damnation De Faust would be shown on 3/29 preceding Thais but the schedules do not reflect that.)

WTTW in Chicago now shows the following dates/operas:

03/29 Thais
04/05 La Damnation De Faust
04/15 Lucia Di Lammermoor
04/26 La Rondine
05/17 Orfeo Ed Euridice

(There was an email saying that La Damnation De Faust would be shown on 3/29 preceding Thais but the schedules do not reflect that.)

Thanks for posting this. Can you provide a link? I would like to chide our local station about it.

Lucky you!

Thanks for posting this. Can you provide a link? I would like to chide our local station about it.
Here you go... http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?erube_fh=wttw&wttw.submit.EpisodeDetail=1&wttw.EpisodeID=186344&wttw.Channel=11.1
Good Luck!

WTTW appears to be catching up with the Met broadcasts with a double feature on Sunday July 12: http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?erube_fh=wttw&wttw.submit.EpisodeDetail=1&wttw.EpisodeID=193216&wttw.Channel=11.1
07/12 La Sonnambula at 12:00 pm
07/12 Madama Butterfly at 2:30 pm
followed by
08/23 La Cenerentola at 12:30pm

South Carolina ETV has been showing last season's "Great Performances at the Met" during the summer at the rate of one every two or three weeks. Next Sunday they're showing "Salome" in a 90-minute time slot. Is it really that short, or is this a censored version?

My PBS recording of Salome was in a two-hour slot, though it ran about 1hr50min. I very much doubt that it is censored.

Originally WTTW here in Chicago had La Cenerentola in a two-hour slot, but as the air date approached, it became the proper three-hour slot.

"Salome" did end up taking two hours altogether, 1:50 plus some snippets of other Met productions and some SCETV fundraising stuff. None of my program guides ever updated, though. The program that was supposedly going to run during the last half hour simply disappeared.

More HD Distribution for Met Opera

50 Fifty New Theaters Online for Telecast's Fourth Season

by George Winslow -- Multichannel News, 9/23/2009

The Metropolitan Opera has expanded the distribution of its HDTV live-opera productions to nearly 500 digital cinemas and venues in the U.S.

That's an increase of about 50 theaters for the effort's fourth season, which begins on Oct. 10 with Puccini's Tosca.

Worldwide, more than 900 theaters in 42 countries will receive The Met: Live in HD transmissions.

Earlier this year, the productions won an Emmy and Peabody Award and last week The Met: Live in HD was awarded the International Broadcasting Convention's highest award, the International Honor of Excellence.

"The IBC award recognized not just what the Met is doing now for HD-cinema transmissions, but the whole history of the Metropolitan Opera's work with media," noted Mark Schubin, engineer in charge for the New York-based opera company. "January of 2010 will mark the 100th anniversary of the Met's first radio broadcast in 1910.

"We've been doing location recording since 1901 and we have been doing television since 1940," said Schubin. "The first Met transmission to cinemas was actually in 1952, when we went to 31 cinemas in 27 U.S. cities live" via closed circuit.

The creation of a live HD feed with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound has required a wide array of technical innovations, particularly in the area of subtitling, robotic cameras and camera-motion systems, frame-rate conversion, lip synching and surround sound, Schubin noted.

The main vendor for The Met: Live In HD is All Mobile Video, which provides remote production and transmission services.

The operas are produced with as many as 16 Sony HD cameras and are generally equipped with a wide array of Fujinon lenses.

Screen Subtitling Systems in the U.K. developed an innovative subtitling system that allows the operas to be delivered worldwide in multiple languages. FOR-A, which provides FRC-7000 HD frame-rate converters for delivery to markets outside the U.S., worked closely with the Met to overcome difficult challenges for frame rate conversion with subtitles, Schubin added.

More than 100 technicians may be involved in the work on the production, including 16 camera operators, three video operators, two tape operators and a 10-member audio team, Schubin said.

All Mobile Video transmits the production from the Met and some of the transmission to theaters in North America. Arqiva provides a trans-Atlantic fiber link to the U.K. and is the main transmission provider in Europe.

The Met has also worked with Atlantic Cine Equipment in the development of "some new technologies for camera moving platforms" and robotic cameras, Schubin noted.

For example, Atlantic Cine has developed a camera that runs along a small track just below the stage. "It provides a wonderful shoot looking up that works particularly well in the cinema because that is the kind of view the audience has in a theater," said Schubin.

Over the years, the production team has learned to pay particular attention to camera angles. Typically, most of the Met operas are shot looking straight onto the action or looking up, because those shots work best in the theater, Schubin said.

"Most of the other companies that have been producing operas have cameras located in balconies or somewhere else looking down," he noted. "For television, that doesn't matter, but in the cinema, it is very uncomfortable for an audience that is looking up at a screen to be watching shots looking down on the performance."

The performances are currently shot in 1080i, in part because the TV technicians are not allowed to add lights or do anything else that would detract from the way the audience sees the live performance.

"I would love to go to 1080p, but only at a higher frame rate," Schubin said. "If you are shooting at 1080p at 60 frames per second, those cameras are not as sensitive as a 1080i camera. We need to work out some of the sensitivity issues."

The technical team has taken similar care in the way it revamps The Met: Live in HD productions for telecast on PBS, said Schubin.

"Some of the things that work great for the big screen might not work so well for the small screen," Schubin notes, forcing the Met to re-edit the production with more closeups or other material that would work better for television.

The Surround sound also has to be redone.
"In a theater, every speaker you see is the Surround sound speaker and the main speakers are behind the screen," Schubin says. "But in the typical home setup, the Surround sound speakers are behind you. We have to do a very different mix."

The 2009-10 Met Opera season on PBS starts in mid-December. The controversial Tosca is scheduled for Wednesday 12/16 on WNET in New York and on WTTW in Chicago. As usual, check your local listings...

Amazingly, South Carolina ETV is airing this on schedule. They waited until summer and fall to show most of last season's Met productions, at odd times like 5:30 PM Sunday.

By chance, I just got around to reading the Oct. 5 New Yorker magazine with Alex Ross's story about opening night of the new Tosca, which describes it pretty much as a train wreck. I wonder if we'll get to hear the boos. :rolleyes:

http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/release.php?get=3456

Great Performances at the Met

....

Broadcast premieres on Great Performances at the Met are scheduled as follows (Please check local PBS listings):

Wednesday, December 16, 9pm TOSCA - Karita Mattila, Marcelo Alvarez, and George Gagnidze star in a new production of Puccini's Tosca directed by Luc Bondy. Joseph Colaneri conducts.


Wednesday, January 20, 9pm THE AUDITION - Directed by award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke, this acclaimed documentary looks at the intense pressures young opera singers face as they struggle to succeed in one of the most difficult professions in the performing arts.


Sunday, January 31, 12pm AIDA - Violeta Urmana, Dolora Zajick and Johan Botha portray the love triangle at the center of Sonja Frisell's production of Verdi's Aida. Daniele Gatti conducts.


Sunday, February 28 at 12pm TURANDOT - Maria Guleghina sings the title role of Puccini's Turandot in Franco Zeffirelli's stunning production. Marina Poplavskaya, Marcello Giordani, and Samuel Ramey also star. Andris Nelsons conducts.


Wednesday, March 24, 9pm LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN - Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher directs Anna Netrebko, Joseph Calleja, and Alan Held in a new production of the Offenbach favorite. Kathleen Kim, Ekaterina Gubanova, and Kate Lindsey round out the cast. James Levine conducts.


Sunday, April 25, 12pm DER ROSENKAVALIER - Renee Fleming and Susan Graham star Richard Strauss's popular favorite, also featuring Eric Cutler, Kristinn Sigmundsson, and Christine Schafer. Edo de Waart conducts.


Sunday, May 16, 12pm CARMEN - Elina Garanca sings the title role opposite Roberto Alagna in director Richard Eyre's new production of Bizet's masterpiece. Barbara Frittoli is Micaela and Mariusz Kwiecien plays the matador Escamillo. Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducts.


Sunday, June 20, 12pm SIMON BOCCANEGRA - Placido Domingo sings the baritone title role of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra for the first time in his Met career, in Giancarlo del Monaco's production. Adrianne Pieczonka, Marcello Giordani, and James Morris star. James Levine conducts.


Sunday, July 18, 12pm HAMLET - Simon Keenlyside and Natalie Dessay headline the Ambroise Thomas opera based on Shakespeare's play, in a new production directed by Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser. With Jennifer Larmore, Toby Spence, and James Morris. Louis Langree conducts.


Sunday, August 22, 12pm ARMIDA - Renee Fleming plays Rossini's vengeful sorceress in this opera's Met premiere, directed by Mary Zimmerman. The cast of multiple tenors includes Lawrence Brownlee, Bruce Ford, Jose Manuel Zapata, Barry Banks, and Kobie van Rensburg. Riccardo Frizza conducts.

WTTW in Chicago has scheduled Rosenkavalier for 5/09 and Carmen for 5/23. But they've managed to skip Aida and Turandot.

More HD Distribution for Met Opera

50 Fifty New Theaters Online for Telecast's Fourth SeasonThey had it in Batavia here last night.

There's an encore showing (Armida) May 19, 6:30 PM, at the AMC Yorktown Theater in Lombard, IL.

For Boston area folks:

Please reserve the morning of Saturday, 5 June 2010 for a special event:

Mark Schubin discussing the technology behind the Metropolitan Opera world-wide live HD theatercasts.

Mark Schubin, the Metropolitan Opera HD Theatercasts’ Engineer-in-Charge, will describe:
• The history of opera and on-stage operatic effects and illusions.
• The history of operatic broadcasting, including many audio and video firsts that occurred with opera broadcasts and recordings.
• The technology behind the HD theatercasts (including cameras and microphone placements, the
production trucks, the international satellite links, and the multiple audio and video formats), plus the very tight schedule and constraints under which they prepare and produce the broadcasts.
Schubin will play a short excerpt from a Met Opera HD broadcast.

Date/Time: 9AM, Saturday, 5 June 2010
Location: AMC Framingham 16 (Theatre #7)
22 Flutie Pass, Framingham, Massachusetts 01701

http://www.bostonaudiosociety.org/index.htm
http://www.bostonaudiosociety.org/pdf/SchubinInBostonMeetingAnnouncement.pdf

The 2010-2011 season of Great Performances starts on PBS on January 5, 2011 with "Don Pasquale", followed by "Boris Godunov" on February 12 according to http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/search.php?keywords=Great+Performances+at+the+Met&program_specific=yes

And for those of you in the Chicago area, WTTW will be showing Don Pasquale on Wednesday the 5th. Even better, they're catching up on the 2009-2010 season with Aida and Turandot on Sunday January 2!