This Saturday, The Metropolitan Opera launches its 10th season of The Met: Live in HD with Verdi's Il Trovatore. Showcasing one of opera’s biggest stars, Anna Netrebko, the performance will be transmitted live on October 3 from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera house in New York to movie theaters around the world.
Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Met, spoke with WCLV's Angela Mitchell at this 10-year milestone.
New York, NY July 29, 2015 — The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of live transmissions, will mark its tenth season in 2015-16 with ten live broadcasts to more than 2,000 movie theaters in 70 countries around the world. The series will feature live transmissions of ten performances, including all six new productions in the Met season.
Since its initial broadcast in 2006 to 76 movie theaters, The Met: Live in HD has grown exponentially, with classical music lovers around the world demonstrating that opera can have a place alongside Hollywood blockbusters in their local movie theaters. More than 17 million tickets have been sold over the first nine years of the series, and distribution has expanded every season to match the growing global demand for classical music on the big screen. The Met: Live in HD is now the largest provider of alternative cinema content in the world and a consistent new revenue stream for the Met, with average net profits of approximately $17 million per season in recent years.
The tenth season of The Met: Live in HD will once again offer a variety of operatic styles to global cinema audiences, including five works being transmitted as part of the series for the first time: Wagner’s Tannhäuser, Berg’s Lulu, Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux, and Strauss’s Elektra. These works will be joined by starry performances of five repertory favorites: Verdi’s Il Trovatore and Otello and Puccini’s Turandot, Manon Lescaut, and Madama Butterfly.
“The HD transmissions stimulate opera lovers, and they are a catalyst for the singers, too,” said Met General Manager Peter Gelb. “Knowing that a global audience is watching and listening, our opera stars are inspired to give their greatest performances.”
Season at a Glance: The Met: Live in HD 2015-16
The HD season will begin on Saturday, October 3 at 12:55 p.m. with Il Trovatore. Future transmissions are as follows:
Otello (October 17 at 12:55 p.m.)
Tannhäuser (October 31 at 12 p.m.)
Lulu (November 21 at 12:30 p.m.)
Les Pêcheurs de Perles (January 16 at 12:55 p.m.)
Turandot (January 30 at 12:55 p.m.)
Manon Lescaut (March 5 at 12:55 p.m.)
Madama Butterfly (April 2 at 12:55 p.m.)
Roberto Devereux (April 16 at 12:55 p.m.)
Elektra (April 30 at 12:55 p.m.)
All ten operas will be Saturday matinee performances, transmitted live from the Met stage. All start times are Eastern Time; for local start times and rebroadcast information, please visit www.metopera.org/hdlive.