Three on Thursday | Live in HD.

We’re taking a break from Europe (but mostly those 700+ photos) today to join Carole and company and share three things I love about the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD offering.

But first, a little background – I love opera. and so does my mom. Before she moved here she told me she was looking forward to enjoying the Met’s Live in HD offerings. Thanks to Honoré, I knew about them, but I couldn’t imagine attending one by myself, and the closest theater offering one wasn’t really “close”. Fast forward to 2018 and the theater that’s just three (!!!) miles from my mom (and me) offers the live and encore performances! My mom and I only managed to see one performance last season (a completely delightful Cinderella), but we are all in for this season! The 2018/19 season kicked off this week with Aida, which we saw yesterday afternoon. It was amazing. and that experience sparked today’s post:

1. The Met. The cast, costumes, settings, conductors, orchestra … the best. Mother and I have both seen Aida before (she several times, me once, in Atlanta!) but neither of us has experienced a production on this scale. I’m of the opinion that all opera is good opera, but there is just something about it that lends toward opulence. and the Met delivers.
2. Behind the scenes. The HD broadcasts are filmed live – so there’s a real “audience feel” (I love the before-it-starts shots of the audience finding their seats and chit-chatting). but then I get the best seat in the house – which might be standing on top of the stage and looking down … or standing by the curtain as the sets are swapped … or visiting basement archives … or chatting with the leads (in costume!) about their roles or Met staff about the history of the production. One attendee remarked that the “behind the scenes” stuff was more than worth the price of admission. We agreed (almost). because (at least for me) …
3. A personal host. The entire broadcast is hosted by a featured Met lead. Yesterday, it was Isabel Leonard, who we’ll see again in Marnie. Maybe it’s something about opera fans loving other opera fans … but it’s very cool to see the production through the eyes of someone who really loves opera … and sings it! The hosts provide background on the opera and interview Met staff and performers – it really rounds out the experience. and it’s educational.

(also, comfortable seats, just a short drive from home … and experiencing all of this with my mom!)

I must say – even if you don’t think you like opera, I think you’d enjoy Opera in HD. and if you love opera, you need to find a way to see one (or all!) of these broadcasts – they’re wonderful!

Happy Thursday! (and thank you to Carole for hosting us!)