Metropolitan Opera Live in HD


Metropolitan Opera Live in HD is a series of live opera performances transmitted in high-definition video via satellite from the Metropolitan Opera in New York City to select venues, primarily movie theaters, in the United States and other parts of the world. The first transmission was of a condensed English-language version of Mozart's The Magic Flute on December 30, 2006. Many of the video recordings are later rebroadcast via public television as part of the Great Performances at the Met series, and most are made available for streaming at Met Opera on Demand, a collection which also includes earlier SD video and analog telecasts and audio recordings from Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts.

History

To transmit the series via satellite simulcast in the US and Canada, the Met has partnered with Fathom Events. The series is broadcast to AMC Theatres, Cinemark, Cineplex Entertainment, Regal Entertainment Group, Goodrich, Kerasotes, Marcus and National Amusements movie theaters as well as a series of independent venues such as arts centers and college campuses. Its aims include building a larger audience for the Met and garnering excitement for arts at a local level.
The original idea for presenting operas in this way came from the new incoming general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb in late 2006. Gelb brought in veteran TV director Gary Halvorson to oversee the series. Exhibiting the Met's performances in digital movie theaters is in line with other audience-expanding efforts by the Met such as radio broadcasts on Sirius Radio, iPod downloads, live streaming video on the Met website, and free opening night screenings in Times Square and at Lincoln Center. The Met is also sponsoring free HD broadcasts into selected New York City public schools.
The simulcasts allow more people to experience the Met's performance offerings. This audience includes current opera fans unable to get to New York City to see the shows in person and potential opera fans looking for an easy, affordable method of checking out a new art form.
Tom Galley, chief operations and technology officer of National CineMedia, describes the experience by saying:
In the US, the series has also been broadcast in both high definition and regular TV as part of the Public Broadcasting Service's Great Performances series under the title Great Performances at the Met. In addition, selected performances can now be viewed online.

International expansion

The first season included seven theatres in Britain, two in Japan and one in Norway. After its successful launch, several other countries joined for the second season and 100 screens were added, selling an additional 20,000 tickets. These included cinemas in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
2008 saw the network expand even further to include more screens in the countries named above plus other countries such as Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Argentina, and Poland, as well as the territory of Puerto Rico.
Reaction in the British press has been positive:
The author Peter Conrad praised Gelb's showmanship:

Production

six Metropolitan Opera employees work full-time on Live in HD. About 40 people work on the technical aspects of each broadcast, with one comparing the scale of the logistics to the preshow coverage of the Emmy or Academy Awards. Host Renée Fleming volunteers her services. No same-day substitution of a major cast member for a Live in HD performance was necessary until January 2010, perhaps because of the appeal of performing for a worldwide audience and the opportunity to appear on the subsequent DVD of the broadcast.

Audience

Movie and radio broadcast revenue increased for the Met from about $5 million in 2006, Live in HD's first year, to $22 million in 2008, with Live in HD contributing the bulk of the growth. For the 2009/10 season, the Met spent about $12 million in production and received about half of the $47 million box-office gross. After paying royalties to its cast and crew, the Met earned a $8 million profit. The Met's Live in HD revenue for the 2012/13 season was $34.5 million.
According to a 2008 study commissioned by Opera America, most Live in HD attendees were "moderate and frequent opera goers". About one in five, however, did not attend a live opera performance in the previous two years, with some being completely new to opera and attending because of curiosity about it. The majority claimed to equally enjoy broadcast and live opera, and more than half stated they would "very likely" attend an opera performance at the Met if visiting New York. A 2011 University of British Columbia thesis found that "Live in HD does not at present cannibalize the local live opera audience... There is no evidence that generates more live opera attendance or brings new audiences into local opera houses".
A report outlines the economics of the Met's 2013–2014 season:
Last season, 10 operas were transmitted via satellite into at least 2,000 theaters in 66 countries, including more than 800 U.S. theaters. Box office hit $60 million worldwide, with theater owners splitting sales 50–50 with the Met and Fathom taking a small percentage as well.

Vladica and Davis have utilised Q methodology to analyse audience reactions and judgments of entertainment value with respect to this series, and related cultural events transmitted to cinemas.
By the time the Met began planning for its tenth anniversary season, its Live in HD series had become a major source of income, bringing in $60 million in yearly revenue and $17 to $18 million in profit, 12% of the total for the company. It was being presented in 2,000 theatres in 70 countries and 11 time zones.

Seasons

2006–2007

Beginning on December 30, 2006, as part of the company's effort to build revenues and attract new audiences, the Met broadcast a series of six performances live via satellite into movie theaters. The series was carried in over 100 movie theaters across North America plus others in Britain, Japan and one in Norway. It included:
In addition, limited repeat showings of the operas were offered in most of the presenting cities. Within the US, digital sound for the performances was provided by Sirius Satellite Radio.
These movie transmissions were successful at the box office as well as having received wide and generally favorable press coverage. The Met reports that 91% of available seats were sold for the HD performances. According to General Manager Peter Gelb, there were 60,000 people in cinemas around the world watching the March 24 transmission of The Barber of Seville. The New York Times reported that 324,000 tickets were sold worldwide for the 2006–07 season, while each simulcast cost $850,000 to $1 million to produce.
If one counts Il trittico as a single work, this is the only Met Live in HD season in which every work broadcast is by a different composer. The Met nearly accomplished this during the 2014–15 season, but swapped Il barbiere di Siviglia in for The Death of Klinghoffer, thus causing a double-up of Rossini operas.

2007–2008

Due to the success of the first season, the Metropolitan Opera decided to increase the number of HD broadcasts to movie theaters from six to eight during the 2007–2008 season. Further, the number of available theaters expanded to 330 across the US and additional countries throughout the world.
The first showing on December 15, 2007, Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, was seen on 477 screens and sold an estimated 97,000 tickets. The series continued by featuring seven more of the Met's productions following Roméo et Juliette and ending with La fille du régiment on April 26, 2008.
The Met planned to broadcast to double the number of theaters in the US compared with the previous season, as well as to additional countries. The number of participating venues in the US, which includes movie theatre chains as well as independent theatres and some college campus venues, was 343. While "the scope of the series expands to include more than 700 locations across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.... The Met has said that it hopes to reach as many as one million audience members with this season's HD transmissions"
The schedule of live broadcasts included:
By the end of the season, 920,000 people – exceeding the total number of people who attended live performances at the Met over the entire season – attended the 8 screenings bringing in a gross of $13.3 million from North America and $5 million from overseas.

2008–2009

The HD season for 2008–2009 included 11 productions, including the Opening Night Gala on September 22, 2008,.
As of February 2009, over 1.1 million tickets to HD broadcasts had been sold.

2009–2010

  • Puccini's Tosca, broadcast on October 10, 2009
  • Verdi's Aida, broadcast on October 24, 2009
  • Puccini's Turandot, broadcast on November 7, 2009
  • Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, broadcast on December 19, 2009
  • Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier, broadcast on January 9, 2010
  • Bizet's Carmen, broadcast on January 16, 2010Simon Boccanegra, broadcast on February 6, 2010
  • Thomas' Hamlet, broadcast on March 27, 2010
  • Rossini's Armida, broadcast on May 1, 2010

2010–2011

Lucia di Lammermoor became the first opera to receive a repeat HD broadcast, having previously been HD'd during the 2008-09 season.

2011–2012

2012–2013

2013–2014

  • Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, broadcast on October 5, 2013
  • Shostakovich's The Nose, broadcast on October 26, 2013
  • Puccini's Tosca, broadcast on November 9, 2013
  • Verdi's Falstaff, broadcast on December 14, 2013
  • Dvorák's Rusalka, broadcast on February 8, 2014
  • Borodin's Prince Igor, broadcast on March 1, 2014
  • Massenet's Werther, broadcast on March 15, 2014
  • Puccini's La bohème, broadcast on April 5, 2014
  • Mozart's Così fan tutte, broadcast on April 26, 2014
  • Rossini's La Cenerentola, broadcast on May 10, 2014

2014–2015

The 2014–2015 season presented 12 operas in 10 HD transmissions, including two "double-bills" where two short operas were staged together on the same program. John Adams's The Death of Klinghoffer was originally planned for an HD transmission but was replaced by Il barbiere di Siviglia due to controversy after the work was accused of being anti-Semitic. The 2014–15 season is the most recent season in which more of the operas being broadcast were first-time Live in HD broadcasts than repeat broadcasts ; all seasons since then have either had equal numbers or more operas getting repeat broadcasts.Macbeth, broadcast on October 11, 2014Le nozze di Figaro, broadcast on October 18, 2014Carmen, broadcast on November 1, 2014Il barbiere di Siviglia, broadcast on November 22, 2014Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, broadcast on December 13, 2014The Merry Widow, broadcast on January 17, 2015Les contes d'Hoffmann, broadcast on January 31, 2015Iolanta and Duke Bluebeard's Castle, broadcast on February 14, 2015La donna del lago, broadcast on March 14, 2015Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci, broadcast on April 25, 2015

2015–2016

Il trovatore, broadcast on October 3, 2015Otello, broadcast on October 17, 2015Tannhäuser, broadcast on October 31, 2015Lulu, broadcast on November 21, 2015Les pêcheurs de perles, broadcast on January 16, 2016Turandot, broadcast on January 30, 2016Manon Lescaut, broadcast on March 5, 2016Madama Butterfly, broadcast on April 2, 2016Roberto Devereux, broadcast on April 16, 2016Elektra, broadcast on April 30, 2016

2016–2017

The 2016–2017 season included the presentation of the first opera by a female composer in the series, L'Amour de loin of Kaija Saariaho, which also marked the first opera in the series to feature a female conductor, Susanna Mälkki. The presentation of Der Rosenkavalier marked the final performances in their respective roles by Renée Fleming and Elīna Garanča.Tristan und Isolde, broadcast on October 8, 2016Don Giovanni, broadcast on October 22, 2016L'Amour de loin, broadcast on December 10, 2016Nabucco, broadcast on January 7, 2017Roméo et Juliette, broadcast on January 21, 2017Rusalka, broadcast on February 25, 2017La traviata, broadcast on March 11, 2017Idomeneo, broadcast on March 25, 2017Eugene Onegin, broadcast on April 22, 2017Der Rosenkavalier, broadcast on May 13, 2017

2017–2018

Norma, broadcast on October 7, 2017Die Zauberflöte, broadcast on October 14, 2017The Exterminating Angel, broadcast on November 18, 2017Tosca, broadcast on January 27, 2018L'elisir d'amore, broadcast on February 10, 2018La bohème, broadcast on February 24, 2018Semiramide, broadcast on March 10, 2018Così fan tutte, broadcast on March 31, 2018Luisa Miller, broadcast on April 14, 2018Cendrillon, broadcast on April 28, 2018

2018–2019

Aida, broadcast on October 6, 2018Samson et Dalila, broadcast on October 20, 2018La fanciulla del West, broadcast on October 27, 2018Marnie, broadcast on November 10, 2018La traviata, broadcast on December 15, 2018Adriana Lecouvreur, broadcast on January 12, 2019Carmen, broadcast on February 2, 2019La fille du régiment, broadcast on March 2, 2019Die Walküre, broadcast on March 30, 2019Dialogues des Carmélites, broadcast on May 11, 2019

2019–2020 (abbreviated)

The final three performances were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Turandot broadcast on October 12, 2019Manon, broadcast on October 26, 2019Madama Butterfly, broadcast on November 9, 2019Akhnaten, broadcast on November 23, 2019Wozzeck, broadcast on January 11, 2020Porgy and Bess, broadcast on February 1, 2020Agrippina, broadcast on February 29, 2020,
The following broadcasts were scheduled, but cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic:Der fliegende Holländer. Originally scheduled for March 14, 2020, the Live-in-HD performance was cancelled, but a video recording prepared from rehearsal tapes of earlier performances was telecast on July 5, 2020, as part of the PBS Great Performances series and is available for streaming at Met Opera on Demand.Tosca, originally scheduled for April 11, 2020Maria Stuarda, originally scheduled for May 9, 2020

2020–2021 (cancelled)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Met was forced to cancel its entire 2020–2021 season. The following performances were scheduled to be broadcast:Aida Il Trovatore Fidelio Die Zauberflöte Roméo et Juliette Don Giovanni Dead Man Walking Die Frau ohne Schatten Nabucco

2021–2022

Boris Godunov, broadcast on October 9, 2021Fire Shut Up in My Bones, broadcast on October 23, 2021Eurydice, broadcast on December 4, 2021Cinderella, broadcast on January 1, 2022Rigoletto, broadcast on January 29, 2022Ariadne auf Naxos, broadcast on March 12, 2022Don Carlos, broadcast on March 26, 2022Turandot, broadcast on May 7, 2022Lucia di Lammermoor, broadcast on May 21, 2022Hamlet, broadcast on June 4, 2022

2022–2023

The season was originally scheduled to include a broadcast of Don Carlo in a four-act Italian version on November 19, 2022. It was removed from the schedule and replaced with Falstaff following the firing of Anna Netrebko from the Don Carlo revival. This is the second time that an HD broadcast has been replaced, after the replacement of The Death of Klinghoffer in 2014.Medea, broadcast on October 22, 2022.La Traviata broadcast on November 5, 2022The Hours broadcast on December 10, 2022Fedora, broadcast March 18, 2023Falstaff broadcast on April 1, 2023Der Rosenkavalier broadcast April 15, 2023Champion, broadcast April 29, 2023.Don Giovanni broadcast May 20, 2023Die Zauberflöte, broadcast June 3, 2023

2023–2024

Dead Man Walking broadcast on October 21, 2023X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X broadcast November 18, 2023Florencia en el Amazonas broadcast December 9, 2023Nabucco broadcast January 6, 2024Carmen broadcast March 9, 2024Roméo et Juliette broadcast March 23, 2024La Rondine broadcast April 20, 2024Madama Butterfly broadcast May 11, 2024

2024–2025

2025–2026