Well! Call me late for dinner. I was idly browsing the net to see who else was
writing about the 2012 La Scala Lohengrin,
and I discovered that a film distributor called Emerging Pictures is presenting
the opera in movie theaters [in the US] this winter.
In addition to indie films, Emerging Pictures has an opera and ballet series, and they're offering a series of
performances from London and Milan over the next few months. Like all
good websites, you enter your zip code to find theaters near you. Most theaters seem to be showing it only once or twice. Living in a
major metro area, I have a choice of two dates in February at a cinema nearby, or two dates in January at a theater a bit further away.
Since La Scala had the YouTube video of Lohengrin pulled (can you blame them?), and since opera is way better in the cinema than on a laptop, I'm looking forward to seeing this on the big screen. Boy, am I glad I was
wandering around the net this afternoon. The internet: it's not just for porn anymore.
After this post, I'm going to see if I can go a whole week without posting about JK. I'll give it a try, but I'll tell you right now, I'm not optimistic!
After this post, I'm going to see if I can go a whole week without posting about JK. I'll give it a try, but I'll tell you right now, I'm not optimistic!
Except in Canada. The distribution company,who do opera and ballet broadcasts, have basically chosen to go with Cineplex Odious who also show the MetHD broadcasts. The Met contracts prohibit them from showing opera from other companies. So much for Gelb promoting opera to new audiences. It's all about turf protection.
ReplyDeleteOops. That su.. er, is a pain. I actually had "USA" in the original post, but for some reason I edited that out. I should update the post. Sorry to hear it won't be in Canada. How about a quick trip to Michigan or Upstate New York?
DeleteThe nearest option would be two hours drive away even if the border went smoothly which isn't quite as safe an assumption as it used to be.
DeleteHey, I can see it with only an hour's drive! Not sure whether I'll make it, but it's nice to know it's there.
ReplyDeleteRe: not mentioning JK - I'm trying to see if I can go a week without mentioning uh, any of the people I tend to mention over and over. It's really difficult: like trying to not think of an elephant.
Also, @operaramblings: that is really obnoxiously annoying that the Met does that.
Our locals who were running this series seem to have given up on it, not surprisingly, so rather than driving into the mountains in the middle of winter, guess I'll hold out for the DVDs and subsequent repostings to yt. Meantime I'll look forward to everybody's reviews.
ReplyDeleteI am sure the YT video will resurface soon. (But not from me, I already got one stern warning from the Berliner Phiharmoniker). And I'd be very surprised (and disappointed) if it's not released on DVD/Blu-ray.
DeleteOne of the three theaters in my 25-mile radius has cut back from two to one showing, and that one is on Tuesday at 11 AM (Are they kidding?) It may be a typo, and if that's the one I end up having to see, I will double-check before I head over. Is it worth taking a day off from work? Maybe....
And yes, the Met, or rather PG really needs to get a grip. These other screenings are not taking business away. I would think that the more opera that's available from any source, the more people would get in the habit of going. In fact, if I had one theater nearby that showed every concert or opera available this way, I'd have a season pass (or two).
A cooperative, aggregated schedule with a season pass would be ideal. I'd be in. I suspect the reason the Alternate Opera House series was dropped here was bc they couldn't compete with the Met at the Mall. OTOH, at least one of those alt venues clearly had no idea what the market was, how to promote to it, or what to promote. Maybe they need to hire consultants :-)
Delete