Bainbridge Cinemas brings the Metropolitan Opera to the island, starting Oct. 10.
After more than a century in operation, the Metropolitan Opera is rethinking the stereotypical notion of “a night at the opera.”
For starters, on this coast, the cliche should now technically read: “a morning at the opera.”
“This is live,” explained Jeff Brein, co-owner of Bainbridge Cinemas at the Pavilion, which will stream The Met’s 2009-2010 season, live in high definition this fall. “It’s the 1 p.m. matinee show in New York, so it’s 10 a.m. here.”
This is the fourth season of the The Met’s Peabody and Emmy Award-winning series, “The Met: Live in HD,” which showcases all nine live transmissions, each simulcast to movie theaters around the world in real time. Bainbridge Cinemas brings the phenomenon to Kitsap for the first time this year, in response to a request from its patrons.
It all kicks off at 10 a.m. Oct. 10 at the Pavilion (403 Madison Ave. on Bainbridge) with Puccini’s “Tosca.”
“Being up close, with an incredible view and sound makes this even better than the real thing,” Brien, an admitted non-opera-goer, opined.
“O, the Oprah Magazine,” contends: “The Met: Live in HD” is “the closest thing to a front row seat.”
“The New Craze,” raves Vanity Fair.
But Seattle-area opera aficionado Norm Hollingshead — a renowned opera lecturer, who’ll be previewing Seattle Opera’s “La Traviata” at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Bainbridge Library — says it’s not quite the real thing.
“It’s like comparing apples to oranges,” he prefaced his opinion, noting that he’s attended past years’ screenings of “The Met: Live in HD” at Seattle’s Pacific Place. “It’s movie theater sound. It’s not the sound that you get in the opera house that’s all around you, with the orchestra and the singers on stage … . As good as the sound might be, it’s not the true sound of an opera house.”
On the other hand, tickets to “The Met: Live in HD” are considerably cheaper than season passes to the opera.
Tickets and more nfo: www.bainbridgepavilion.com
2009-2010 Season of ‘The Met: Live in HD’
October 10: ‘Tosca’ – Giacomo Puccini
October 24: ‘Aida’ – Giuseppe Verdi
November 7: ‘Turandot’ – Giacomo Puccini
December 19: ‘Les Contes d’Hoffmann’ – Jacques Offenbach
January 9: ‘Der Rosenkavalier’ – Richard Strauss
January 16: ‘Carmen’ – Georges Bizet
February 6: ‘Simon Boccanegra’ – Giuseppe Verdi
March 27: ‘Hamlet’ – Ambroise Thomas
May 1: ‘Armida’ – Gioachino Rossini
(All performances stream live from New York, beginning at 10 a.m. at Bainbridge Cinemas, 403 Madison Ave., $22/adults, $20/seniors, $15/kids, season passes are available).
