Virtual Virtuosi: The Met Opera Series
at TSL
by Ross Rice
...being publicity director of the Boston
Symphony Orchestra (under Seiji Ozawa), and heading the classical
music division at Sony Records. Starting by broadcasting Madame
Butterfly last year to people outside the opera house
and on Times Square, the broadcast started becoming a bigger
hit when it became available via satellite, resulting in sold-out
venues hundreds, even thousands of miles from the actual performers.
This year, TSL opted to go for the live satellite feed, and
purchased a dish for the roof, which required some serious
fund-raising, much of it from private donations and the yearly
Opera Gala. Finally, after some tough negotiation with the
Met folks, the deal was made. Says Chameides, “They’re
mission is our mission. They want to have a more grass-roots
style opera, where people can see it all over the country.
It’s cheaper, it’s more accessible, and we are
sort of a model of what they’re looking for: a small
independent theatre, so they were more inclined to bend a
little.”
With broadcasts to over 600 venues all over
the world, including North America, Australia, Europe, and
Japan, Gelb might have found a way to bring opera to the Digital
Generation. It helps that the Met performances are spot-on,
with two of the most notorious and dynamic stars in the opera
firmament. Russian soprano Anna Netrebko has meteored to superstar
status almost overnight, starting with her breakthrough performance
as Natasha Rostova in Prokofiev’s War and Peace, originally
(and legendarily) with the Kirov Opera, later reprised at
her Met debut in 2002. As Juliette, she plays the part at
first with an actual teenage innocence, becoming more mature
and glamorous as the opera progresses. Netrebko has the full
package: amazing chops, movie star looks, and actual acting
talent...CONTINUE....
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