Opera: Coming to a Theater Near You

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, February 28, 2008.

The word opera means "work" in Italian, and the combination of singing, acting and dancing on stage is indeed a labor of love.

But many Americans have never seen live opera. Attending the opera means you have to get there first, which isn't so easy for people living outside urban areas, and then paying for it, which at the Metropolitan Opera in New York means upwards of $300 a ticket - and that’s for a Saturday matinee.

So when the Met began simulcasting operas to movie theaters - from cineplexes in Fargo to shopping malls in France - for about $18 a ticket, the floodgates were opened, and it was a hit.

Even with complaints about the smell of fake-buttered popcorn and the crumpling Sno-Cap wrappers while, say, Rodolfo cries out in agony over the lifeless body of his lover, Mimi, the Met simulcasts have been selling out in venues world-wide. And other cultural organizations are catching on.

Marc Scorca is the president of Opera America, a group that represents the industry. Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott speaks with Scorca about this new way of reaching audiences.

See the schedule for the "Met Opera's Live in HD" series

UPDATE: Met General Manager Peter Gelb is scheduled to talk at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government on March 3rd. Click here for details.

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NHPR listeners should know that one of the lucky theaters qualified to offer the Met in HD/Dolby is VERY near them: The Music Hall in Portsmouth is smack in the middle of the 2008 opera season, with three performances still available: Pter Grimes (Britten)on Mar 15, Tristan und Isolde (Wagner) on Mar 22, La Boehme on Apr 5 and Daughter of the Regiment (Donizetti)on Apr 26. The series is underwritten by our own Granite State Opera. You should talk to Patricia Lynch, TMH Executive Director when you talk to the guy at Harvard.

And this comment is one I would expand on, in general. The topics you are exploring in "Word of Mouth" have resonance all over your backyard. Would love to see NHPR focus on New Hampshire roots and connections -- for another example, there are lots of great independent bookstores in New Hampshire and lots of fascinating authors, organizations, ideas here too -- as NHPR already knows so well. If Word of Mouth is an NHPR "salon" let's look local!

Submitted by sseacord on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 12:00.

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Word of Mouth is all about what's new. Online and on-air, the show looks at our fascinating and ever-changing world, and puts the latest ideas under a microscope. Word of Mouth investigates everything from science and technology, to health and the environment, to new trends in popular culture. The show airs Monday through Thursday at noon and is hosted by Virginia Prescott.