Did you think Opera and cutting edge technology did not go hand in hand? Well you may want to think again, as a groundbreaking collaboration between the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and the World Opera in Tromsø, Norway, is using the newest in media technology to make opera available to completely new audiences across the globe.
6/12/2007 :: The Opera version of the mathematical concept of chaos theory is as follows: When Madame Butterfly flaps her wings in New York City, applause will rain in Tromsø, Norway.
This, at least, is the idea behind a groundbreaking collaboration between the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and the World Opera in Tromsø, Norway – the northernmost opera house in the world, 400 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.
Using the absolute latest in high definition cameras and satellite technology, the Met can now film their performances and stream the signal out to movie theaters. And if you thought opera had any less of an appeal than its Hollywood competition, you are sadly mistaken: The performances from the Met have enjoyed standing-room-only reception across the country, whereas the theaters next door showing Hollywood blockbusters have been half-full at best.
Now however, the luxury of seeing a Met opera is not exclusive to Americans. This season, visitors to the World Opera in Tromsø, as some of the first in Europe, have been able to enjoy simulcasts of 6 different opera performances from the Met, such as Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” and Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville”. The performances are filmed in New York in incredibly high definition, making the performance and sound lifelike and supremely detailed (members of the audience have been seen sporting classic opera binoculars.)
Getting a crisp satellite signal from New York via Britain to Tromsø is approximately as easy as it sounds - presumably somewhere in the neighborhood of herding cats - but with the help of high-tech expertise at the University of Tromsø, the transmissions have been surprisingly smooth.
“We’ve had a very special relationship with Tromsø,” says Mark Schubin, engineer-in-charge at the Opera department of the Met.
“When we tested our satellite connection with theaters in various locations in Europe, the only place that received it perfectly every single time was Tromsø, despite being the most distant collaborator.”
“In my map, there is a big heart around Tromsø”, Schubin says smilingly.
What makes this technology even more interesting, however, is the fact that the satellite signals can go both ways:
“We can show a Met performance in Tromsø, but we can also show a performance from Tromsø at the Met,” Schubin says, “and there have been discussions about including operas from around the world on our schedule too. Or we can even have an orchestra playing in, say, New York, and a singer in Japan performing together.”
One of the challenges of a performance like this is the small time lag that beaming the signal across continents creates. Yet interesting problems call for interesting solutions:
“Interestingly enough, we have now seen composers adapting their music to this new technology,” says Schubin.
“Some composers have written music with a couple of seconds’ time lag in it, to make up for the time it takes for the signal to travel via satellite from Norway to New York. It means that you can have a singer in Japan performing with an orchestra in New York, without worrying about time lag.”
“It’s pretty neat,” he smilingly adds, “and opens some completely new possibilities.”
The "Verdensteatret" building, where the World Opera performances are being shown, is an architectural landmark in scenic Tromsø. (Photo courtesy of Tromsø kommune.)
The Opera transmission is the subject of a seminar at the University of Tromsø on Friday, June 22nd. The program is as follows:
13.00-13.15 - Welcome
13.15-14.15 - "Opera on Screen: Transmitting or Producing " by Mark Schubin, Engineer-in-Charge, The Metropolitan Opera, New York
14.15-14.30 - Pause
14.30-15.00 - Discussion
15.00-15.30 - "Around the Opera - Intermission show, texts etc." by Karen McLaughlin, the intermissions associate director of the Met cinemacasts, The Metropolitan Opera, New York
15.30-16.00 - The World Opera: introduction to a vision of a distributed Opera House by Niels Windfeld Lund, The World Opera, Tromsø
For more information about the seminar, please contact Niels Windfeld Lund at Niels.Windfeld.Lund@hum.uit.no.
Thor-Arne Englund / Royal Norwegian Consulate General, New York City