An Opera Critic Samples Bayreuth on the Web

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On Sunday, for the first time, an opera performance was streamed on the Internet live from the Bayreuth Festival. Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg” was made accessible to the first 10,000 people prepared to part with the sum of $77. Joe Public’s chance of buying a “real” ticket for this event is virtually nil — the waiting list for Bayreuth runs into many thousands — so this is a significant extension of its outreach.

Because the subscription gives you the right to replay for a week, you don’t have to watch it live or solidly for six hours but, perhaps unwisely, this is what I tried. Being mildly technophobic, it wasn’t easy, and even the preliminary effort to download the appropriate media player brought me close to nervous collapse. Eventually, I decided to borrow a more savvy friend’s computer: He being no Wagner fan, I was left to it. Things began badly. First, my log-in failed, then the screen froze, then I pressed the wrong button and had to start over, with the result that it was only about halfway though Act 1 that I could relax.

The sound was clean, but a little on the tinny side, and I couldn’t manipulate the picture to expand beyond a 5-inch-by-4-inch rectangle. Did I enjoy it? The interval backstage coverage was fun of a rather Teutonic nature (subtitles would be a help) but — quite apart from my dim view of Katharina Wagner’s wilfully perverse staging — I won’t feel impelled to repeat the experiment. Someone more Windows-competent than I am might succeed in conjuring up a better transmission, but I can’t see any crucial advantage that streaming scores over a top DVD recording, which comes out cheaper, more durable, and more flexible.

Yet there’s no doubt that opera broadcasting is busy reinventing itself. What is currently exciting the business most is live HD (high definition) or digital transmissions. These have been around for some years in the form of performances sent free to big screens in public parks or squares. But it’s the new commercial potential of cinema showcase events that cash-starved opera houses are eyeing most greedily. The pioneer in this field is the Metropolitan Opera, which last season transmitted eight of its Saturday matinee series in HD to 600 movie houses in 17 countries (as well as to cruise ships), reaching a total audience of nearly 900,000.

The forthcoming season promises expansion — 800 venues will receive 11 star-studded performances, including Karita Mattila in “Salome,” Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon in “Lucia di Lammermoor,” and Renée Fleming in “Thais,” with tickets typically priced between $20 and $50. This might seem a bit steep, but I can only report that the “Macbeth” I attended earlier this year at the Barbican was a very pleasant experience. In fact, on some levels, it was far superior to what you would get for a similarly priced ticket at the opera house, offering excellent picture quality with close-ups of sweating divas, the audibility of every word, and the bonus of interval interviews with the stars and fascinating backstage footage, all to be relished from plush cinema seats. Audiences seem to feel involved in the performance, applauding vociferously, and the enhanced nature of the transmissions will make them particularly appealing to those with poor eyesight or hearing.

Other opera houses are leaping onto the bandwagon with alacrity. But although there may be room for growth, this can’t be an infinitely expandable market. As long as careful attention is paid to quality and presentation, this format could well establish itself as a useful extension of the way opera is experienced.


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