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New York's Metropolitan Opera is to relay live broadcasts of its performances on the Internet as part of its policy to open the rarefied world to a wider audience, the company announced Tuesday.
The weekly performances start Wednesday and will feature top artists such as Placido Domingo, famed as one of the Three Tenors, and longtime Met conductor James Levine.
The season schedule will include Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, Rossini's Barber of Seville and Puccini's Madama Butterfly and La Boheme.
"Streaming operas live on the Internet is the most immediate experience we can provide to opera lovers all over the world and a new way to introduce opera to the uninitiated," said Peter Gelb, the Met's new general manager.
"This is a distribution platform that can reach into homes and generate an interest in what's happening at the Met," added Gelb, who officially took over from long-serving head Joseph Volpe in August.
Other initiatives from the company's new management includes offering cheaper tickets, free live relays such as last month's performance in the city's Times Square and opening certain rehearsals to the public.
The house is hoping to shake off opera's stuffy image and attract a new generation of opera-goer.
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AFPEntertainment-music-opera-US-Internet
AFP 242111 GMT 10 06
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