On Saturday, Alejandro and I had tickets to see the Metropolitan Opera simulcast of "The Barber of Seville" live from New York City. The performance was broadcast in high definition on a large screen in the National Auditorium in Mexico City. I had never been inside this venue which has a capacity of over 9000. By the time the opera began, most of the seats on the main floor were filled.
The Saturday matinees at the Met begin at 1:00 P.M. Since we are two hours behind New York, that meant that we had to be auditorium before 11:00 A.M.
The Metropolitan began broadcasting live performances into movie theaters via satellite in 2006. Today the series reaches more than 700 locations worldwide. In the 2024 - 25 season, eight operas were broadcast, and "The Barber of Seville" was the final one. Here in Mexico, the subtitles are, of course, in Spanish.
"The Barber of Seville" by Gioachino Rossini is one of the most popular comic operas in the repertoire. The silly plot revolves around the barber Figaro helping Count Almaviva win the hand of Rosina, the ward of the elderly Dr. Bartolo who wants to wed Rosina for her dowry. Everyone, even those who have no interest in opera, would recognize the first act aria in which the barber sings, "Figaro, Figaro, Figaro". (Click HERE to hear a YouTube video of the aria. It's the same staging that we saw, but with a different singer.)
It was an enjoyable experience. I like many of the well-known, traditional operas, but I am not much into contemporary works or avant-garde staging. The schedule for next season's simulcasts is already out, and we both want to see "La Boheme" in November.
No comments:
Post a Comment