VII: Captivated by Carmen

Every few Saturdays, the movie theatre is transformed into my place of worship. This is due to The Met's Live in HD Series which broadcasts operas performed by world-renowned singers live from New York.

It is a program that started in 2007 and offers viewers a chance to see all-star ensembles at an affordable price. I only started attending this past fall and have had my breath taken away each time--from the opening credits to the final curtain--and this feeling of awe stays with me for the rest of the day/week.

Now I prefer watching operas this way as opposed to going to the local opera house because there are so many benefits: ticket prices are cheaper ($24.10 at Silvercity vs. $50 at Vancouver Opera), you have close-up views of what's going on onstage with a variety of camera angles, the performance is hosted by one of the Met's famous opera singers who isn't in that night's production (today's production was hosted by Renée Fleming), who provides a brief synopsis and interviews the performers/conductor/other backstage before and after the intermission(s); you get to see what goes on behind the curtain (sometimes more than a hundred workers building the next set), and, most importantly, you see the world's best artists perform. And by perform, I mean sing and act--spectacularly.

Take today's performance for example: I went with my parents and two of my dearest friends, RaeRae and Smeek. For both of them it was the first opera they had ever attended. I was so honoured to...ahem...deflower them (operatically, that is), and so overjoyed that this would be their first opera: Bizet's Carmen -- one of my top 5 favourite operas with so many great arias and such a sexy and intriguing storyline. Then add the seductive temptress Carmen, in this production played by the beautiful Elīna Garanča (from Latvia), and the temporary object of her desire Don José, France's own Roberto Alagna. It takes place in Seville, Spain but don't be fooled, the opera is in French.

God, I'm still hyper from watching it, it was so fantastic. And everyone agreed!

I won't ramble much more about this, but I must say that, whether you have or have never seen an opera, a production at the Met's Live in HD Series is something worth seeing at least once in your life. You still have time to watch the encore performance of Carmen on Saturday, March 13th at 10:00am. I recommend buying your ticket a few weeks ahead of time as they sell out quickly (Scotiabank Theatre in Downtown Vancouver was already almost sold out for today's show last fall -- I tried!). Seats are assigned too so you get to choose when you purchase your ticket...and there are no online booking fees if that helps sweeten the deal.

Next Saturday I'm watching Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann for the second time. I loved it in December and I had to watch the encore performance. This time I'm taking my friend Anna (aka Numz) along.

I think I'll have to watch Carmen again...

Oh, and funny fact, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, who stepped in last-minute today to play the matador Escamillo, is from New Zealand (so we got to hear his awesome accent during the interview), and was an accountant until he was 32! Holy awesome career change (and success), Batman!