So it’s a surprise to me that the broadcasts are designed to serve the tiny group of listeners who are completely nuts about opera, rather than attempting to create an interest among those who might actually make time for the broadcasts, but don’t due to lack of interest. They’re doing other things – driving around, cleaning the house, and so on. It’s also a struggle due to the fact that the majority of radio listeners are like me – transient, background listeners who aren’t often in a situation where they can sit back, close their eyes, and allow themselves to be transported to New York. I think we can all agree with the fact that opera on the radio is always going to be a struggle given the lack of visuals. Luckily, many actually did this weekend, given that Manon was one of a handful of the Met’s highly successful HD theater broadcasts this season. Thanks, Ira – I wish I could actually, you know, see it. It was especially frustrating this weekend, when twice I heard Ira Siff allude to the “magnificent visual” performances during the Met’s new production of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. I want to marvel at the sets and the costumes. I want to be able to see the reaction of characters on stage who aren’t actually singing. This has nothing to do with opera itself, which is often intensely beautiful and dramatic, but everything to do with the fact that without the visual elements of opera, it doesn’t hold up for me. There are plenty of people who are, and that’s great, but it isn’t for me. So it’s safe to say, before I get any further, that I’m not a big fan of opera on the radio. It’s even rarer that I listen to an entire production from start to finish, and in those cases it’s usually when I’ve had to step in to run the board due to the regular board operator’s illness or vacation. So I’ll listen for as long as it takes to get where I’m going. When I do, it’s usually because I’m in the car and when I turn the ignition, the radio comes on, and it is almost always tuned to the station that employs me. I’ll start by admitting that I rarely tune in for the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts. A Metropolitan Opera Quiz being recorded in 1991.
0 kommentar(er)
