MET Launches MET Player on October 22
Wagner Fan
Global Reach to Opera Lovers
New Subscription Service Debuts via the Internet featuring the Met's
Extensive Audio Visual Catalog and Recent High Definition Productions
Historic Video and Audio Performances Available for the First Time
New York, NY (September 22, 2008) - Continuing its innovative use of
electronic media to reach a global audience, the Metropolitan Opera
introduces Met Player, a new subscription service that will make its
extensive video and audio catalog of full-length performances available to
the public for the first time online, and in exceptional, state-of-the-art
quality. Beginning on October 22, 120 historic audio recordings and 50
full-length opera videos will be available during the first month of the new
service, including over a dozen of the company's acclaimed The Met: Live in
HD transmissions, known for their extraordinary sound and picture quality.
New content, including HD productions and archival broadcasts, will be added
monthly.
The Met is the first performing arts organization in the world to present
such a wide variety of performances in such high quality resolution,
available whenever its users wish to see or hear them. The service will be
available for a monthly charge of $14.99 or on a per view price ranging from
$3.99 to $4.99. The Met has been developing the new service over the past
year, working with a consortium of new technology companies -Move Networks,
mPoint, PermissionTV, and POP - adapting recently developed technologies to
ensure superior picture and sound quality for the Met's long-form
programming.
Met Player will offer a wealth of video performances to choose from,
including the 1977 La Bohčme with Renata Scotto and Luciano Pavarotti,
Plácido Domingo's Otello (1995), and La Forza del Destino with Leontyne
Price (1984), as well as the recent HD live shows from the 2006-07 and
2007-08 seasons, including Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez in La Fille
du Regiment. Some of the initial offerings have never been seen since their
original television broadcasts: Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci with
Tatiana Troyanos, Teresa Stratas, and Domingo (1978); Leontyne Price's Aida
(1985); and The Queen of Spades with Galina Gorchakova, and Domingo (1999).
"The Met has the richest reservoir of historic broadcast performances, to
which we have been adding scores of new performances shot in high definition
which were initially distributed live in movie theaters," said Peter Gelb,
the Met's General Manager. "Now, these same programs will be available
whenever opera lovers wish to play them."
"I am delighted that the Met's incredibly extensive archive of video and
audio performances will be so easily accessible to opera lovers everywhere,"
says Music Director James Levine. "I certainly look forward to reliving
some of those great nights in the opera house that first got me excited
about the art form."
The legendary audio performances include Rosa Ponselle's exhilarating 1937
Carmen, as well as other Met radio performances from such celebrated artists
as Carlo Bergonzi, Jussi Bjoerling, Maria Callas, Franco Corelli, Mario del
Monaco, Lauritz Melchior, Zinka Milanov, Birgit Nilsson, Joan Sutherland,
Renata Tebaldi, and Richard Tucker.
Utilizing the technology of Met Player, users have the option of hooking up
their computers to new HD TV sets and home-stereo sound systems, delivering
the Met's catalog in high quality. The cleanly-designed, simple,
easy-to-navigate interface on the Met's website will allow users to find
their favorite performances quickly.
Subscription fees are priced at $14.99 per month or $149.99 for a yearly
plan. As a special benefit for Met members who contribute at the $125 level
or above, a six-month introductory package will be available for $49.99.
Individual purchases will cost $4.99 for HD videos and $3.99 for an audio
performance or non-HD video; these individual purchases may be played in a
six-hour period within 30 days. Met Player will provide a free downloadable
audio and video website player with any rental or subscription order.
In order to purchase video or audio streaming, users must
register at the Metropolitan Opera's website for Met Player, directly
accessible at www.metplayer.org, and a one week free trial subscription will
be available to anyone after registration. For those who want to preview
Met Player for free, there will be three select video clips to choose from
for viewing at any time.
For a preview of the Met Player experience, go to
www.metplayer.org/preview. For an optimal viewing experience, a multi-core
processor, with at least 1GB of memory and 32MB of video RAM, is
recommended.
About the Met
Under the leadership of General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director James
Levine, the Met has a series of bold initiatives underway that are designed
to broaden its audience and revitalize the company's repertory. The Met has
made a commitment to presenting modern masterpieces alongside the classic
repertory, with highly theatrical productions featuring the greatest opera
stars in the world.
The Metropolitan Opera's 2008-09 season pays tribute to the company's
extraordinary history on the occasion of its 125th anniversary, while also
emphasizing the Met's renewed commitment to advancing the art form. The
2008-09 season features six new productions, 18 revivals, the final
performances of Otto Schenk's production of Wagner's Ring cycle conducted by
Levine, and two gala celebrations; the galas include the season-opening
performance featuring Renée Fleming as well as a 125th anniversary
celebration on March 15. New productions include the company premiere of
John Adams's Doctor Atomic as well as the Met's first staged production of
Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust since 1906, and Massenet's Thaďs, Puccini's
La Rondine, Verdi's Il Trovatore, and Bellini's La Sonnambula. Future
seasons include new presentations of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of
Versailles (2009-10) and Thomas Adčs's The Tempest (2011-12).
Building on its 77-year-old radio broadcast history - heard over the Toll
Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network - the Met now uses
advanced media distribution platforms and state-of-the-art technology to
attract new audiences and reach millions of opera fans around the world.
Met Player is the latest media platform to be introduced.
The Met: Live in HD series reached more than 935,000 people in the 2007-08
season, more than the number of people who saw performances in the opera
house. These performances began airing on PBS in March 2008, and eight of
these HD performances are currently available on DVD, on the EMI and
Universal labels. In the 2008-09 season, the series expands to feature 11
live transmissions, starting with the Met's Opening Night Gala and spanning
the entire season. The HD productions will be seen in over 850 theaters in
28 countries around the world. Five new productions will be featured,
including the Met premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic. The Opening Night
transmission will be seen in the Americas only; the remaining ten
high-definition productions will be shown live worldwide on Saturdays
through May 9 with encores scheduled at various times.
Live in HD in Schools, the Met's new program offering free opera
transmissions to New York City schools in partnership with the New York City
Department of Education and the Metropolitan Opera Guild, reached more than
7,000 public school students and teachers during the 2007-08 season. This
season, Live in HD in Schools expands to reach schools in 18 cities and
communities nationwide.
Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS channel 78 is a subscription-based audio
entertainment service broadcasting both an unprecedented number of live
performances each week throughout the Met's entire season, as well as rare
historical performances, newly restored and remastered, spanning the company's
77-year broadcast history. In addition to providing audio recordings
through the new Met on Rhapsody on-demand service, the Met also presents
free live audio streaming of performances on its website once every week
during the opera season with support from RealNetworksŽ.
The company's groundbreaking commissioning program in partnership with New
York's Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), provides renowned composers and
playwrights with the resources to create and develop new works at the Met
and at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater. The Met's partnership with
LCT is part of the company's larger initiative to commission new operas from
contemporary composers, present modern masterpieces alongside the classic
repertory, and provide a venue for artists to nurture their work.
The Met has launched several audience development initiatives
such as the company's Open House Dress Rehearsals, which are free and open
to the public; two are planned for the 2008-09 season with operas and dates
to be announced. The Met also presented a free performance of the Verdi
Requiem on September 18, in tribute to the late Luciano Pavarotti. Other
company initiatives include the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Gallery Met which
exhibits contemporary visual art; the immensely successful Agnes Varis and
Karl Leichtman Rush Ticket program which provides deeply discounted
orchestra seats two hours before curtain time; and an annual Holiday Series
presentation for families. This season's special Holiday Presentation is
Julie Taymor's production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, an abridged,
English-language version of the opera which is given four special matinee
performances and one holiday evening performance as a way for families to
celebrate the holiday season.
Bob
heard about it before this. The sample looks sensationally good on my
large monitor. I can't say that I'm ever likely to watch an entire
opera at the computer, but the lure here is that Cavalleria with
Troyanos. I've been trying to get a copy of that for ages without any
luck, my only copy being a videotape that's pretty much shot.
Thanks again, Wagner Fan!
Regards,
Bob