Siriusly

A lot of chatter on opera-l, etc. about the new partnership between Sirius Radio and the Met. A lot of people are excited, not so much about the live broadcast I think, but about the historical ones.

I think that its a smart move for both the Met and Sirius. It will encourage opera audiences to subscribe to Sirius and open up a potential new audience to the Met (especially if Sirius survives the satellite wars). I've been debating subscribing to one of the two U.S. satellite services and this certainly helps me decide between the two. Now I'm just figuring out which hardware device to buy.

Whether long-term this will be successful will, of course, remain to be seen. Will this ultimately replace the Saturday afternoon broadcasts? Are those still viable? That, I think will partially be determined by the success of satellite radio in general. In any case, I think it smart of Gelb, to be on the forefront of new technology and to propogate the Metropolitan Opera name (and product) in as many places as possible.

Coming to a theater near you

A lot of chatter on the 'net about the Met's announcement of its new media partnerships. What it boils down to is this:

1. Six matinees (The Magic Flute, Puritani, The First Emperor, Eugene Onegin, Barber of Seville, and Il trittico) will be recorded in hi-def and shown in movie theaters
2. After a 30 day window has elapsed they will be available to PBS
3. Opera performances will be streamed on the Met website
4. Historic broadcasts will be available on Real Rhapsody
5. Other digital delivery methods (podcasts, ringtones) are being explored

While I think this is worth a try, I have some reservations.

1. This is not the first time the Met has tried releasing performances in theaters. In the 50s two performances were shown in theaters, via closed-circuit and the experiment was not deemed a success. And this is at a time when going to the movies was an event. No, I think On-Demand or Pay-Per-View (priced reasonably) is the way to go. I also think the draw is lessened by stating up front that they'll be available in 30 days on PBS. We have become a passive society and the idea of waiting 30 days (ok, probably longer and not in every market) for something in you home and for free will be appealing to some. Look at the incredible trajectory of the home video market and home theater over the past 20 years. People want entertainment in the convenience of their own homes.
2. The details of the streaming of performances on their website are sketchy. Is this video or audio only? Since this presumably will be for free, I see no commercial appeal, but do appreciate the gesture even if the quality is not likely to make for comfortable long-term viewing/listening
3. The thing I'm most excited about is the availability of historic performances on Rhapsody. I actually subscribe to Rhapsody and the appeal is greatly increased with this availability. I think this is a great medium for this and I hope that they will also be available for download. Because the audience is probably not commercially viable for wholesale CD release, I think via download is the perfect answer.

I believe that Mr. Gelb deserves the benefit of the doubt and I applaud him for trying to shake things up a bit. On the other hand I am still concerned by his populist and cross-over background and view an attempt to dumb-down or cheapen the performances with great caution and concern.

Still I guess only time will tell.

Among the immortals

Yet another of the immortals has left us. Valhalla has opened its gates once more for another of Wotan's daughters who join their father. Astrid Varnay was one of the great Brunnhildes and after a Metropolitan Opera career that neglected her true gifts, they bore fruit in Bayreuth under Wieland Wagner's watchful eye and in the company of her beloved father Hans Hotter (another artist who's true worth was not recognized by the Wagner-myopic Rudolf Bing).

Varnay's career began as a world catastrophe began, it survived it and thrived in its wake. She'll be remember for her warrior maidens, greek goddesses and other mythical figures. And as an artist who trusted her own instincts and whose instincts brought to life amazing characterizations spanning fifty-five years.

Her memoir is one of the most readable and remarkable of its kind. Coincidentally I happened to be listening to the new Testament release of the 1955 Bayreuth Walküre, which makes one wish to go back into a time machine and relive those remarkable days. This recording captures an superlative performance in superior sound and gives us the incredible pairing of Varnay and Hotter for all time. The price is a bit dear, but to my mind worth every penny.

Valhalla is full of the Wotan and his daughters now. We shall not soon see their like again.