Live from the Met - Cenerentola

[Dave2002]

I'm just wondering, perhaps particularly since it's raining, whether to go along to the cinema later today to see the Met's production of Cenerentola.

Whilst musing on this I discovered that it's possible to get a lot of the Met productions on demand via a subscription service - http://www.metoperafamily.org/ondemand/join/index.aspx At about £10 per month, or under £100 per year at current exchange rates that might be a reasonable deal - providing the quality is good. However I'm less sure about downloads and streaming now than I was a few months ago, as I think the quality is often not very good, or if it is, then there's a lot of faff and time spent actually doing the downloading. I used to think these might be a good idea, but although it's technically feasible I hear to download 1 Gbyte in 1 second (or less), which might make a whole opera in very good quality video download in a few minutes (say for 60 Gbytes - which should be good enough at present levels of HD quality), in practice I have found that downloads do take a long while, and the quality is still not always good enough. Streaming has the merits of almost instantaneous playback, but is subject to breaks as network problems arise.

These considerations make cinema presentations, which can be turned into an occasion, more attractive - rather than sitting at home cursing one's internet provider and equipment. However, I have been to a Met cinema screening which broke down ....

I've still not made up my mind about the Rossini - but there are a few hours to go still.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I've still not made up my mind about the Rossini - but there are a few hours to go still.

You might regret it if you go. You'll definitely regret it if you don't.

Go on! What else had you planned for today? Will you have another opportunity to see it? Is your computer screen as big as your local cinema's - or the sound quality as good?

[grandchant]

You have a cinema with good sound quality??
When I went to my first cinema relay (I was a bit late,) the opera had started and the sound was so bad that I nearly did a '180', but I stayed and, of course, within a few minutes I was into the performance and I didn't notice the sound quality any more.
Anyway, I hope you went to it.
On the download v streaming, I always download because my broadband speed is rubbish (I get 300 kb/s or less), and even if it wasn't, my lifestyle means it can take weeks or even months before I get round to viewing. And yes, it is a pain.

[Dave2002]

Go on! What else had you planned for today? Will you have another opportunity to see it? Is your computer screen as big as your local cinema's - or the sound quality as good?

We went - a very good evening.

However I'm not convinced that the sound quality was particularly good, and although there was ambience, in the first half at least there seemed to be very little stereo effect - as though the producers had decided that since it was to be a visual presentation that left-right location didn't matter much.

There was also a considerable amount of congestion and limiting in the loudest parts of the first half. If the problem wasn't in the source, the cinema needs much more powerful amplifiers and speakers (JLW take note - if she's not disappeared for good). I've just thought to sample the "repeat" on iPlayer - the basic sound quality is better via my headphones, and there is much more spatial information, though the overall effect is still sometimes very diffuse. At least the singers appear from the left and right sides though. At the start of the opera there is considerable background noise - and probably not all stage noises either. The background noise level is largely tamed during the performance. As in the cinema spatial localisations seem better later on.

In the cinema the voice of Juan Diego Flórez sounded very harsh. He sounds better on iPlayer.

It's worth listening to on iPlayer - as the performance is pretty good - with a few small problems which one should really ignore. My feeling is that some of the sound problems are from the source, but overall the sound on iPlayer is significantly better than the cinematic experience.

Visually it was a good production - and while listening is good, this production really does need the visual complement as well, and also the subtitles helped immensely. There's quite a lot going on in this opera, with the characters not only "talking" to each other, but also expressing their often subversive or contradictory opinions as asides.
However, one also notes that they often say the same things over and over again ....

Big screen - indeed! I suspect some modern TV sets could give a brighter effect, but most of us are not going to have screens which would give the same apparent size in our living rooms - probably an 80 inch set would be the minimum. Wait for the next generation of high definition TVs - but I think the size factors will be too significant for most domestic environments.

I recommend listening on the iPlayer - it's a good experience.

Go for it!

[gurnemanz]

Last time we went to one of these cinema broadcasts - the very good Donmar Coriolanus - I got fed up with the time spent sitting around waiting for it actually to start - at least half an hour + not very interesting interval presentations. (My wife was more patient, it should be said). Despite having previously relished the live Met Parsifal, I have been slightly put off going back again.

[aeolium]

Last time we went to one of these cinema broadcasts - the very good Donmar Coriolanus - I got fed up with the time spent sitting around waiting for it actually to start - at least half an hour + not very interesting interval presentations. (My wife was more patient, it should be said). Despite having previously relished the live Met Parsifal, I have been slightly put off going back again.

I agree, especially with the Met broadcasts with their long intervals. To be fair, the NT Lear which I recently saw at the cinema, started pretty quickly without much delay, though again had a lengthy interval with interviews, extracts from rehearsals etc. I really don't want to see rehearsals when I am in the middle of seeing the performance - perhaps they could find some way of offering these extracts on download to those who had paid to see the performance. I'm afraid I bailed out of going to the cinema yesterday and listened at home. It's a pity they cannot improve the presentation as I would certainly go if the padding was cut down to a minimum.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It's a pity they cannot improve the presentation as I would certainly go if the padding was cut down to a minimum.

So - not just R3, then?

[Pulcinella]

If you don't like the interval features, you can always pretend you're actually at the theatre/opera, and leave your seat at that point. I like watching the scene changes, but agree that some of the interviews and future presentation details can be a bit much. But there was still time last night to stretch my legs with a trip to the loo, eat an ice cream, and respond to a questionnaire one of the cinema staff was carrying out.
I'm not sure that I would have listened to it all on R3, but partner and I thoroughly enjoyed it in the cinema, despite the voice harshness commented on above. The reactions and facial expressions of the sisters were a delight. Well worth the outlay (reduced at our cinema since they accept Nectar points as payment!).