Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Opera simulcast in cinemas

This is topic Opera simulcast in cinemas in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=001847

Posted by Ron Curran (Member # 3631) on 03-19-2007, 10:58 PM:

Does anybody have any experience of the recent presentation of Eugene Onegin in cinemas throughout the world?
Metropolitan Opera simulcast their production of Tchaikovsky's opera to cinemas in North America, the UK and Europe.
Reports are that it played to capacity audiences.
The success may prompt other such screenings, Mozart's The Magic Flute is planned.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 03-20-2007, 05:24 AM:

Ron,

Could you clarify what you mean by 'simulcast' please? It has, or had, a meaning over here which wouldn't make sense in this context. Was this literally a live transmission of the performance as it took place, or a recording transmitted to various theatres, or what? If either of the above, do you know how the signal was transmitted to the theatres, and the resolution and sound format used? Obviously the sound would have been important for something like opera, and it's unlikely that a simple two-channel stereo system would be acceptable with a large screen. My guess would be multi-channel coded onto an AES pair with Dolby E, and then embedded into a HD-SDI stream for transmission; that would be a lot of data to handle.

At one time the showing of live events in cinemas was quite commom; demonstrations were given as far back as the '30s, and in 1951 live television (along with 3D film with stereo sound, but not widescreen) was shown in the 'Telekinema' at the Festival of Britain. In 1953 the Coronation of the present Queen was shown almost live (I'm told that it was actually film recorded from a video signal at the cinema, and the film processed and projected a few minutes later. A bit like the Baird intermediate film system in reverse! By my day, in the '60s most people had television sets at home, and the showing of live events had almost died out. About the only ones that I remember seeing advertised were occasional boxing matches, which at least three cinemas in London showed. I think even this had just about finished by the late '60s, and since I had no interest whatsoever in boxing, I never saw the system. It would have been black and white, with mono sound, and I doubt that the quality was that good. I don't know if the picture was the full size of the screen.

Technology has moved on a lot in the last 40 years; last year, or was it the one before?, the Odeon Leicester Square screened some of te football World Cup matches live and, I'm told, got reasonable audiences for them. I believe that this was at standard broadcast HD television resolution. There's little HD television broadcast in this country at present, almost none when these matches were shown, and few people have it at home.

Sport always seems to have been a more popular subject than art for live screenings, and there will always be the problem of the time difference when showing a live event around the World. While watching an opera from New York in mid afternoon in London wouldn't be too bad, you'd probably have to do it at a weekend, or too many people would be at work, going out to watch it in the middle of the night in Tokyo or Beijing might be a different matter. This is obviously somewhat different to a sporting match, where seeing it live can be important.

I hadn't heard about this, do you know where it was shown?

Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 03-20-2007, 06:17 AM:

here is an excerpt from the bay area reporter:

Went, saw, was not conquered

The Met's HD movie venture kicks off in select theaters
Published 03/15/2007

by Jason Victor Serinus

Reality clash. I had anticipated writing an enthusiastic review of the Metropolitan Opera's groundbreaking embrace of new technologies. After all, the country's most prestigious opera house, whose long-standing conservatism delayed adoption of supertitles (simultaneously-projected English translations) until long after they appeared in other major US houses, has countered the decline of opera on the airwaves with an unprecedented international outreach initiative. In December, the Met announced High-Definition TV and movie-theater airings of six star-studded productions from its current season. So successful have the movie showings proved that 90% capacity audiences of nearly 30,000 people have resulted in encore runs of two operas, the world premiere of Tan Dun's The First Emperor and June Taymor's English-language take on Mozart's The Magic Flute.

Last Wednesday, I visited the UA Emery Bay Stadium 10 (one of three Bay Area theaters booking the broadcasts) for the first of two encore satellite broadcasts of The First Emperor. I anticipated vivid colors, wonderful surround sound, and an HD experience that would foster unprecedented intimacy between singers and audience. Instead, I encountered blanched, washed-out colors; an irritating, ringing sound system with poor bass and a complete absence of midrange warmth; and far less clarity than I had hoped for.

I can't account for the discrepancy. According to the theater's manager, their tech had declared everything A-OK just two days earlier. Furthermore, theaters have no control over broadcasts per se, which arrive via satellite feed. At least the Regal Emery Bay fared better than AMC's Bay Street 16, a quarter-mile away, which refunded patrons' money after the picture quit in the middle of the opera. One of those patrons, who dashed to the Regal to see the rest of the opera, reported that the AMC's malfunctioning HD machine was not even broadcasting at the highest possible resolution.

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 03-20-2007, 06:52 AM:

What a pity!

We only get one chance to make a "first" impression.

There will be more details on the causes of this alleged failure to deliver.

KEN

Posted by Ron Curran (Member # 3631) on 03-20-2007, 05:53 PM:

Thanks for the detail Carl. The report in Variety (March 5-11) lauds the event as a success.

Stephen, I have never warmed to the argument that DC will bring extra revenue to theatres via sports events. In our part of the world licensed clubs show satellite transmissions of anything that grunts and sweats, and you can swill a beer and swallow a pie while you watch.

But transmissions of theatrical shows could be interesting.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 03-20-2007, 06:49 PM:

"Live event" over satellite has proven to bankrupt so many promoters that I have lost count. At least 15 since 1970. Most were live but some were delayed on film. Louis

Posted by Chris Parry (Member # 4178) on 03-21-2007, 12:39 AM:

Be that as it may, I can tell you that our local Cineplex has been showing these every Saturday morning for a few months now, and they're not only packing them in, but it's a heck of a show.

For starters, a live showing of a Saturday matinee performance at The Met is piped in via satellite once every month or so, and on off-weeks they've been running 'encore performances' that are reruns of the live show. Tickets run at premium prices - $19 a head in Vancouver BC. The shows happen at 10:30am on the west coast, which is a little early for the teenagers, but right on for the older crowds that love opera.

I saw The First Emperor and enjoyed it a lot, and I'm no opera fan. My wife is, however, and has gone to most of them - Magic Flute, Barber of Seville, etc. She said the Eugene Onegin performance was the best she's ever seen - live or otherwise - and she's seen literally hundreds of opera performances all over the world. Her father, who is another boffin for opera, backed that up.

What's interesting is that some of these have a cinema tie-in. For example, The First Emperor was directed by Zhang Yimou, and was composed by the guy who composed the score for Hero and House of Flying Daggers. The costume designer had previously designed for Kurosawa films.

As for attendances - the first show blew their expectations away, according to reports. I can tell you that the showings we've seen have played to crowds generally between 2/3 and 1/2 full, for a 300-seater auditorium. What was surprising was, a good 1/3 of those present were teens or young adults.

To be honest, I think it's a great move, and I think it would really lend itself to Broadway, or big concerts. You might think that folks in Podunk don't care for things like opera or Broadway, but given a chance to see something on a grand scale that they'd otherwise never get to see, most folks will take a chance on a ticket, just so they can say they did.

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 03-21-2007, 09:48 AM:

Louis,

I was "projectionist" for many of the live fight 'casts and all of them sold out. These were held in the local hockey/concert arena.

I remember taking cover under the temporary projector platform when the "Thrilla from Manilla" only lasted a few seconds and the audience was still coming into the arena.

Those were the days of three tube projection and temporary microwave feeds. The images looked great on the TelCo monitors but, somehow, didn't translate to the "big screen". Projection TV has come a long way baby!

The checks for my work were all signed by Don King, the wild haired fight promoter.

We also had Indi-500 Race parties at the theatre. Noisy but great at the concession stand. Those ended when broadcast TV started to show them live.

KEN

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 03-21-2007, 10:31 AM:

I would like to have seen MAGIC FLUTE, but there was absolutely no advertising or promotion.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 03-21-2007, 11:07 AM:

So are these only being shown with theatres equipped with 2K DLP systems or are they letting houses that have lower rez projectors put them on as well? The Brooklyn Museum has invested in a 3LCD Eiki "theatre" projector. Would they be able to book into this gig?

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 03-21-2007, 12:47 PM:

Cinemark has been doing these here for a while. The next one scheduled is ROSSINI'S "IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA", Sat. March 24th. Supposed to be "live". $18 admission. I hope they're using 2K and not a preshow toy projector.

[checks online schedule]

Looks like "300" is playing in 2K digital that day and its first show overlaps with the opera.

Well. Maybe they at least use a nice bright new lamp in the preshow projector for the opera. [uhoh]

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 03-21-2007, 06:00 PM:

quote: Louis Bornwasser
"Live event" over satellite has proven to bankrupt so many promoters that I have lost count. At least 15 since 1970. Most were live but some were delayed on film. Louis

And then they go broadcast something that no one wants to see/hear. Opera has such a smallish following world wide that it could hardly be worthwhile. Even here in SLC the local Opera joined with the Symphony to become one and it has practically ruined the Symphony.

Mark

Posted by Chris Parry (Member # 4178) on 03-21-2007, 06:28 PM:

The reason opera has such a small following in general (ditto most live performance formats) is because the price to put on a production (and thus, to buy a ticket) is really freakin' high.

But by increasing the potential audience to hundreds of thousands, and lowering the price point to get in as these shows have been doing, people do come out of the woodwork. There are a lot of folks at these shows who haven't seen the inside of a cineplex since Jimmy Carter was in office.

And the fact that these shows are just not some fat woman in a viking helmet busting out a few numbers, but instead are humungous big budget productions featuring well known singers like Placido Domingo, and directors like Zhang Yimou and Julie Taymor (Titus, Frida, The Lion King), open it up to new people who could usually not give a damn but can appreciate a spectacle (like me). The sub-titles and hand-outs at the theater that tell the story and give a little background also help make it more accessible, even if they do mostly end up on the floor.

Let's face it, most people, if they took a vacation in New York, would go see the opera at the Met or a Broadway show just to say they did, and they'd pay a hundred bucks to do it. This allows them to do it between dropping off the kids at soccer practice and hitting Costco.

BTW, according to the Met's website, they're happy for more cinemas to take the feed.

Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 03-21-2007, 07:33 PM:

They use the preshow projector - Christie LW40 - to show the opera. They turn on the second bulb. [Confused]

I would like to show them what HD would look like in this instance. I have had other HD events in the past, and no one from corp would come see it.

Problem is that for these theatre that have one or two screens turned on with DLP, the studios probably wouldn't allow dropping a showtime or two for a non-studio showing.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 03-22-2007, 08:27 AM:

Yeh and it the past we just "did it" and didn't tell anyone. Now, D-Cin "reports" everything to Big Bro. Louis

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 03-22-2007, 09:00 AM:

quote: Paul Konen
Problem is that for these theatre that have one or two screens turned on with DLP, the studios probably wouldn't allow dropping a showtime or two for a non-studio showing.

Ah-ha! So much for digital's claim that one of the big deals about it will be the "alternate content" potential. Yeah, if you want to show your alternate content programming at 10am on Mondays which is probably the only time any major studio will agree not let you drop one of their shows. They sure as hell won't let you get away with dropping a prime time slot of theirs so you can make a few extra bucks on something they get not a penny.

Personally I can't see given the very limited demographics of opera lovers -- certainly not that all important 16 to 39yr old that they drool over -- that showing them basically the same content as can been seen on a PBS Great Performances (for decades every week the opera is broacast live on radio stations a cross the country). PBS can now bring operas, symphonies -- you know, all the content that hardly anyone watches -- into the American living room, and no longer on a 19in tv screen as in days of yore, but in your spanking new hot-shot home theatre setup. The question is how long can these live events continue to be a economic advantage for the exhibitor, other than perhaps as a prestige item (which can be quite a marketing plumb; not everything a savvy exhibitor does needs to make money -- building a brand is just as important).

Will it be a cash cow or something that fades or is viable in only limited markets. Time will tell.

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 03-22-2007, 10:29 AM:

If [dlp]

is the solution to bringing this kind of content to the theatre, it'll probably start at the 17+ screen houses, not the mom 'n pop singles. The mega will have to reserve an auditorium (with a [dlp]

, no less!), and book this alternative product on a daily basis, so as to avoid shorting the studios of their screen time. That means that for this to work, somebody's going to have to be very dedicated to the whole concept. [Roll Eyes]

Don't the US versions of our master licenses give the studios a way to draw percentages for anything that plays a screen in place of their film.

Posted by Chris Parry (Member # 4178) on 03-22-2007, 01:32 PM:

I can tell you in the case of my folks, the major draw to seeing opera in a movie theater for them was the sound quality - there ain't nothing they could run in their own home that would come close to hearing it in booming movie theater sound.

I can't imagine drawing a crowd for a screening of Thursday night Must-See TV, but if any crowd is going to be discerning about sound quality above all else, opera geeks are that crowd.

Posted by John Caswell (Member # 4024) on 03-22-2007, 04:11 PM:

Hi, we screened 'Eugene Onegin' last month, and we're showing 'Barber of Seville' on Saturday. Playing HD signal through Christie CP2000. Sound is only 2-channel, but still sounds amazing. Looks spectacular though. [Smile]

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 03-24-2007, 04:52 PM:

I listened to the radio broadcast today of "The Barber ...". This was a much closer sounding opera than is usual from the Met. I wonder how the HD Cast looked and sounded?

It will be interesting to hear comments on this opera because it is such a fun and entertaining story. The performers were unusually friendly toward the audience because of the staging.

KEN

In the Saturday, December 8, 2007 SAGINAW NEWS paper, there was an article covering 2/3 of the page with 2 full color photos describing the local outlet for the telecast. "Opera Hits the Silver Screen".

The local Goodrich multiplex will "recreate" the opera experience for Saginaw by showing it in their stadium seated, 270 chair theater. The article also indicated that it would be played again on Sunday from a recording.

I tried to book this event in the Temple theatre but got no response from the New York firm producing the show for the Met.

I hope they are successful. Tickets are $22.00, Seniors $20.00 and $18.00 for children.

KEN

[ 12-09-2007, 07:26 AM: Message edited by: Kenneth Wuepper ]

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 12-09-2007, 09:07 AM:

bump

Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 12-09-2007, 09:52 AM:

CineMark does it in Medford, OR using the pre-show projector. It sells out one of the smaller auditoriums in spite of the fact that the picture does not begin to rival 35mm.

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 12-23-2007, 09:51 AM:

In Sundays' Miami Herald there where complaints of the dim and not hi-def presentation of the most recent opera at the Regal Lincoln Road multiplex....all the managers could do is to point to the "fine print" on the poster saying "in selected cinemas" in HD. Ironic, with 3 to 5 minutes from this location are 3 performing arts centers with HD and flexible concert sound systems. [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 12-23-2007, 12:18 PM:

When I tried to book this into our newly restored 1750 seat theatre, I got no response. Now the local Goodrich is playing it in their "stadium seated" theatre. Really gives one a feeling of "being at the MET!"

KEN [Roll Eyes]

Posted by John Koutsoumis (Member # 1855) on 01-07-2008, 07:26 PM:

Are these performances in full 2k or just plain HD?
A local cinema here is advertising these screenings as 2k digital.

Posted by Andy Muirhead (Member # 712) on 01-07-2008, 07:31 PM:

If it's the same as our feeds, It's 1080i, which seems to be the standard for HD satellite.

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 01-08-2008, 11:25 AM:

My theatre is showing it on our 2k Digital Cinema projector, and I must say the video quality is breathtaking, especially compared to running it on a pre show projector, like we did at my old theatre. I'm not sure if the feed coming in is 1080i or 1080p, but I'll check next time its running.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 01-08-2008, 12:27 PM:

I'd be quite interested to see one of these. Does anybody have a list of dates for future ones? Iunderstand that the Duke of York's in Brighton and the Phoenix in East Finchley are showing at least some of them; any other theatres in/near London?

Do you book these individually, or do you sign up for a whole season? How are you pricing the tickets for these shows? Who is providing the satellite feed, and in what form are the signals presented?

Any other content on offer? I'm guessing that some events from the Olympics may well be next Summer. Anything else either sports or arts related?

Posted by Mark Hajducki (Member # 1732) on 01-08-2008, 06:53 PM:

In the UK they are mainly being shown by Cityscreen and Cineworld

http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/metropolitan_opera
http://www.cineworld.co.uk/metopera

Posted by Andy Muirhead (Member # 712) on 01-08-2008, 07:30 PM:

quote: Mike Olpin
My theatre is showing it on our 2k Digital Cinema projector, and I must say the video quality is breathtaking

I wouldn't say that, It's OK. Watchable, just. I'd say it's probably 1080i, I don't think Sat can handle 1080p.