The Athena Cinema brings the world of opera close to home with The Met: Live in HD

On Oct. 18, the Athena Cinema will once again bring the drama and spectacle of some of the greatest productions of professional opera in the world to the uptown screens of southeast Ohio.

The annual series, The Met: Live in HD is the Metropolitan Opera’s Peabody and Emmy Award–Winning series of opera performances transmitted live from the stage of the Met into movie theaters worldwide.

However, this opportunity would not exist without the local support of opera lovers and faculty members that value its cultural and artistic importance for our community. After these productions were canceled by other local theaters, OHIO music and classics faculty banded together to find a solution to bring them back.

Professor of Organ and Music History Paul Barte recalls that he and other music faculty gathered for a meeting with Athena Director Alex Kamody, and Barte had invited fellow opera fan and professor of Classics and Religious Studies George Weckman. They determined the cost to provide the necessary equipment to simulcast the productions was the primary barrier, so the small working group discussed how to grant fund the project.

Realizing that getting approvals for funding could further delay returning opera to local screens, Weckman stepped in and volunteered to sponsor the opera performances.

For Barte, Weckman’s generosity was critical to moving forward.

“Once we got the ball rolling…we had good attendance almost from the get-go,” Barte said. “It just grew and did really, really well. I think part of that is just the proximity and the availability, better availability to the Athens and the OHIO community.”

Barte is also what one might call a super fan of opera, spending his summers traveling and even seeing some of the productions that will be presented at The Athena live.

“I go to Europe, and I attend opera performances practically every day for two months. I'm hopping all over from one city to another to take in as many operatic performances as I can,” he explained.

Barte understands that the artform can seem intimidating for some, however, notes that once you’ve started immersing yourself in it, it’s also easy to get bit by the opera bug.

“I know that not everyone shares this with me, but I do know that I've heard from some of my students years later and…they realize how it's opened the door, opened the eyes of some of those now alumni to something that they've found and wanted to make a part of their lives.”

For first time attendees, Barte recommends doing at least a little research on the story ahead of time to orient yourself and suggests a classic showing this season as a good starting point for opera novices, such as Puccinni’s “La Boheme.”

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“First, it's relatively short. Second, it has lots of memorable tunes that people will find attractive from the get-go,” Barte said. “It's also a very beautiful and a heartbreaking story. The Met's production of La Boheme is a classic. It's a production that they've had on the stage off and on for something like 50 years, and it's just absolutely gorgeous.”

A second recommendation from Barte is another classic tale, “Tristan und Isolde” by Richard Wagner. Not only is he recommending this for the art itself, but he is also promoting the talented soprano, Lise Davidsen.

“In my opinion, the best active opera singer in the world. I just absolutely adore her singing and will be attending that performance in New York twice and will also be seeing her sing the role in Barcelona before that three times… she’s the ideal singer for that role,” Barte praised. “I think that promises to be really a magical theatrical experience to hear her singing the role of Isolde.”

For Weckman, trying out opera comes down to stepping outside your comfort zone.

“It’s the fact that we're not all the same kind of folk, even in the same community and even of the same age and whatnot. So, it's a stretch for some and a great deal of comfort for others,” he said. “It's hard to know what to recommend except to say…give it a chance. Let yourself get into it if you have at all the feeling that you want to enjoy theater and music and drama.”

The opening show of the season will be Bellini’s “La Sonnambula” at 12:55 p.m. on Oct. 18.

Admission to The Met: Live in HD is $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, $8 for children and free for OHIO Students with a valid ID on a first come, first served basis.

You can reserve your seat today by visiting the Athena Cinema in person or at https://athenacinema.com/metopera.