As
the art world continues to search for its place in today’s high speed
society, the Met has taken some important steps in keeping up the pace.
Nine years ago it launched a program called The Met: Live in HD. This
performance series, which involves broadcasting live opera performances
in 54 different countries, hopes to reach out to new audiences who may
not have the opportunity to hear opera otherwise.
Of course, the two experiences are widely different from each other, but as it turns out, both offer their own set of advantages. A live performance where one is sitting in the hall, allows for the audience member to pick and choose what to look at, to observe, to listen to and notice. In the HD performances, the cameramen make those choices for the public. However, the resulting effect remains cohesive, as hours of preparation go into the filming of these performances, and each crew member is acutely aware of all the details of the performance. As a bonus to those sitting in the audience of an HD performance, interviews with the stars of the show are broadcast during intermission and a behind the scenes look allows the public to peek into a world which would otherwise be closed off.
Of course, the two experiences are widely different from each other, but as it turns out, both offer their own set of advantages. A live performance where one is sitting in the hall, allows for the audience member to pick and choose what to look at, to observe, to listen to and notice. In the HD performances, the cameramen make those choices for the public. However, the resulting effect remains cohesive, as hours of preparation go into the filming of these performances, and each crew member is acutely aware of all the details of the performance. As a bonus to those sitting in the audience of an HD performance, interviews with the stars of the show are broadcast during intermission and a behind the scenes look allows the public to peek into a world which would otherwise be closed off.
Once
again, the lines between high and low art are blurred as a genre which
has been long been considered the epitome of elitist art has been made
widely available to the masses. However, I wonder if the Met has gotten
what it wants. Has it truly reached new audiences? Or has it simply expanded its pre-existing public? In France, newspapers are advertising The Tempest,
which will be shown live in about a hundred different theaters this
Friday. But how many of these movie goers haven’t seen or heard opera
before? Perhaps most of them, or perhaps none at all.
While
I applaud the Met’s work and I believe it is a huge step forward to
give the opportunity to all to hear and see one of the greatest opera
companies in the world, I wonder if the Met is truly directing its
efforts the way that it should. Where are these broadcasts advertised?
I realize everything is a question of money, but simply advertising on
their own website isn’t going to open the doors to newcomers. I think
it’s a wonderful thing that these broadcasts are offered in movie
theaters, as this maintains a fragment of the feeling involved in
actually going to the opera, but I can’t help but wonder what a huge
difference it might make if they made trailers the way they do for
regular movies. From my optimistic point of view, advertising to the
general public in a way that is familiar to them would draw in new and
excited crowds. People would probably enjoy the familiarity of the
movie theater, which is less intimidating than the opera house... and
after all, what’s wrong with watching Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro while munching on some popcorn?
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