Opera in HD at the CCP

MANILA, Philippines - Picture this: The curtains rise, the music plays; the soprano sings, her pure and crystalline voice mesmerizing. It is opera at its finest, a night at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

But wait – this isn’t Lincoln Center, it’s the Cultural Center of the Philippines, right here in Manila. In an exciting collaboration, the CCP and the Metropolitan Opera (The Met), in cooperation with the Opera Guild Foundation of the Philippines, are bringing five encore performances of the latest season of The Met’s productions to Manila audiences via satellite,  using the high-definition (popularly known as HD) format and in Dolby digital surround sound. The first of this exciting collaboration happens on Tuesday, March 19, at the CCP Little Theater, with two screenings of Verdi’s Aida at 3 and 8 p.m.

Known in America as “Metropolitan Opera Live in HD” (The Met: Live in HD), the series of live opera performances is transmitted in high-definition video via satellite from the Metropolitan Opera in New York City to select venues all over the US and other parts of the world. The program is meant to reach existing audiences and to introduce new audiences to opera through technology.

The first transmission was a condensed English-language version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute on Dec. 30, 2006. Although it’s the first time for CCP to venture into such a project, the Met has an 80-year tradition of broadcasting live performances to millions of radio listeners globally. Most HD transmissions are also simulcast on radio. HD or high-definition gives exceptionally clear, crisp pictures with vivid colors and up to five times more detail than standard definition. About sixty countries around the world participate in The Met: Live in HD for the latest season. The Philippines is the third country in Asia to present the Met Opera in HD program.

The broadcasts are produced with at least 10 cameras, with multiple points of view. There are many different kinds of shots, including special camera zooms and close-ups. On-screen subtitles are available for all transmissions, similar to the Met titles seen when going to a live performance at the opera house. In most instances, the subtitles are in English.

Thus, watching the encore performances of operas like Aida in HD version is guaranteed to be a unique experience. It transmitted in a delayed telecast due to time differences between New York and Manila. During intermissions, which usually last from 30 to 40 minutes, Manila audiences won’t get bored, since there are specially produced segments that offer a look behind the scenes such as live interviews with singers, directors, designers and stage technicians, as well as documentaries and other short features.

But why even bother coming to the CCP to watch an opera in HD when you can just buy a DVD or watch it on YouTube? “For one, you cannot buy a DVD of the current productions,” says CCP artistic director Chris Millado. “Besides, the quality of a high definition production is better than that of the DVD, and you get the magnitude of a large screen.”

Aside from Aida (starring Liudmyla Monastyrska as the enslaved Ethiopian princess caught in a love triangle with the heroic Radames, played by Roberto Alagna, and the proud Egyptian princess Amneris, sung by Olga Borodina, with Fabio Luisi conducting), other encore performances lined up this year include Verdi’s Rigoletto on April 16, Donizetti’s L’Elisir D’Amore on May 28, Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda on July 9, and Ades’ The Tempest on Aug. 20, all at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Ticket price is P500 with discounts for senior citizens, military personnel, persons with disabilities and students, as well as a subscription package of P2,000.

Call the CCP box office at 832-3704 or visit the CCP website at www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.