Verdi With Popcorn, and Trepidation

Opera, that most electrifying and moving of the high arts, has remained remarkably unchanged in its history, adapting to bigger houses, electric lights, electronic stage machinery, the recording industry. It has persevered despite accelerating waves of new claims on our attention, from television to Twitter.

But now another force has emerged, which has the potential to transform how opera is produced and received. You can check it out at your local multiplex.

Thanks largely to the efforts of the Metropolitan Opera, hundreds of thousands of people worldwide are seeing live opera performances in movie theaters, and many others in repeat showings. A dozen other important opera companies are now sending out broadcasts of their own.

Yet despite the general acclaim for the Met’s innovation, introduced and championed by its general manager, Peter Gelb, a few voices have raised concerns about long-term effects on the art form.

The dissenters say that the movement will lead to more conservative programming; that the voice will become subservient to appearance; that listeners will be trained to hear something electronic and lose an appreciation for a live experience.

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