Welcome to the 'Met" Opera

For those who have never gone to see an opera here in NYC and any other place, the opportunity is coming to all, slowly but expanding as response has been far beyound the Mets expectations.

Sopranos At the Cineplex

The Met is drawing new opera fans by broadcasting live to cinemas. Popcorn munching encouraged.


March 19, 2007 issue - The line for the Metropolitan Opera snakes around the corner. A white-haired society woman clad in velvet rushes in out of the winter rain, passing out-of-towners clutching handmade need a ticket signs. An older man waits with his 6-year-old granddaughter—the third generation to be introduced to live opera with this showing of Mozart's "The Magic Flute."

A classic scene outside Lincoln Center? Actually, no; it's a movie theater in Albany, New York, where the Met performance is about to be broadcast live. Similar scenes are occurring simultaneously at more than 100 venues around the world, from specially redesigned Japanese Kabuki theaters to Norway's oldest movie house, 483 kilometers above the Arctic Circle. It's all part of a bold initiative recently launched by the Met's new general manager, Peter Gelb, to popularize opera and perhaps save it from obscurity. He plans to beam six live performances by satellite to remote movie houses. Broadcasts began in December with "The Magic Flute," and will continue this spring with "The Barber of Seville" and "Il Trittico."

The Met's Opera Broadcast to Cinemas - Newsweek: International Editions - MSNBC.com