The Met: HD Live in Schools Series to reach 18 School Districts nationwide began January 10
NEW YORK, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of the Metropolitan Opera's continuing efforts to bring opera to a wider audience, the Met has joined with educators and representatives from opera houses around the country to introduce its educational program, The Met: HD Live in Schools, to 18 school districts in 13 states. The program, in which students, parents, and educators experience live Met performances transmitted for free at participating movie theaters, began with Puccini's La Rondine on January 10, followed by Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor (February 7), Puccini's Madama Butterfly (March 7), and Rossini's La Cenerentola (May 9).
The Met launched the program last season in partnership with the New York City Department of Education and the Metropolitan Opera Guild, incorporating live opera into lessons in New York City classrooms. The program, which will now be extended to approximately 180 schools nationwide, is designed to fully immerse students in the opera experience and integrate it into the classroom. The Met has created a set of standards-driven curriculum guides and other opera resources for teachers and administrators and provides teachers in each district with in-person training seminars to learn how the program can be woven into the curriculum. Through a network of participating movie theaters, free tickets are distributed to each school district for the HD broadcasts of the live opera performances.
"New York City is proud to have been the first school system to participate in The Met: HD Live in Schools program," New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said. "The program has already greatly benefited several school communities by bringing opera to students and families who may not otherwise experience it. The HD events at five of our high schools this fall and spring also provide a unique opportunity for our students to learn about music, theater, production, running a box office, and theater management."
"The Met HD Live in Schools program has given our students a new perspective on what was previously an unfamiliar art form for many of them," said William Bassell, the Principal of Long Island City High School in New York City where the program was introduced in all five New York City boroughs last year. "Our students now see interdisciplinary relationships between opera and various elements of other courses in the curriculum. The HD broadcasts give us a way to engage our students further in the learning process by highlighting and revealing many cross-curricular connections."
"The Metropolitan Opera's HD Live in Schools performances will afford our urban students in San Antonio, Texas, a unique opportunity. Most of our students come from an environment where they have no contact with opera," said Ann Burbridge, Teacher Specialist for Vocal Music K-12 in San Antonio's Independent School District. "Our students have enjoyed the advance class preparations and are looking forward to experience a rich musical tradition with world-class performances."
"The Met's Live in HD presentations are a good way to introduce opera to the next generation," said Met General Manager Peter Gelb. "I am very pleased that we are able to bring the program to students and teachers across the country."
The Met: Live in HD series, now in its third season, is the company's award-winning series of live performance transmissions shown in high definition in movie theaters around the world. Featuring the world's leading opera singers and artists, the series expands from eight to eleven transmissions in 2008-09 and is now seen in over 850 theaters in 31 countries around the world. The Met: Live in HD reached more than 935,000 people in the 2007-08 season, more than the number of people who saw performances in the opera house in a single season.
This introduction of the Met's HD series is a key part of the company's larger public initiatives under the leadership of Met General Manager Peter Gelb and longtime Met Music Director James Levine. In addition to the more than 8,500 students, educators, and parents who will once again participate in the New York City program, the national program will involve another 4,700 people for a total of over 13,000 participants.
While many of the students and teachers involved in The Met: HD Live in Schools are studying an arts curriculum, there are a significant number of English, foreign language, and history class participants in the program.
The 18 school districts participating in the program this year are: Atlanta, GA; Baton Rouge, LA; Charlotte, NC; Cleveland, OH; Colorado Springs, CO; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Helena, MT; Houston, TX; Jacksonville, FL; Las Vegas, NV; Memphis, TN; Nashville, TN; Portland OR; Reno, NV, San Antonio, TX; San Diego, CA; and Tulsa, OK.
The Met's HD Live in Schools Broadcast Education Program is scheduled as follows:
Saturday, January 10, 2009LA RONDINE (1:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. CT / 11:00 a.m. MT / 10:00 a.m. PT/ 18:00 p.m. UTC; 19:00 p.m. CET) - Renowned husband and wife team Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna star in Nicolas Joel's production of Puccini's La Rondine, originally mounted by the Theatre du Capitole, Toulouse, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Marco Armiliato conducts. (Co-production with the Theatre du Capitole, Toulouse, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.) NEW PRODUCTION
Saturday, February 7, 2009LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (1:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. CT / 11:00 a.m. MT / 10:00 a.m. PT/ 18:00 p.m. UTC; 19:00 p.m. CET) - Dynamic opera duo Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon star in Mary Zimmerman's acclaimed production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. Marco Armiliato conducts.
Saturday, March 7, 2009MADAMA BUTTERFLY (1:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. CT / 11:00 a.m. MT / 10:00 a.m. PT/ 18:00 p.m. UTC; 19:00 p.m. CET) - Cristina Gallardo-Domas sings the title role of Puccini's Madama Butterfly in Anthony Minghella's stunning production. Marcello Giordani stars as Pinkerton. Patrick Summers conducts.
Saturday, May 9, 2009LA CENERENTOLA (12:30 ET / 11:30 a.m. CT / 10:30 a.m. MT / 9:30 a.m. PT/ 16:30 p.m. UTC; 17:30 BST; 18:30 p.m. CEST) - Elina Garanca stars in Rossini's bel canto Cinderella story, La Cenerentola. Lawrence Brownlee stars as her Prince Charming, Don Ramiro. Maurizio Benini conducts.
Visit www.metopera.org/education for more information about the program.
About the Met
Under the leadership of General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director James Levine, the Met has a series of bold initiatives underway that are designed to broaden its audience and revitalize the company's repertory. The Met has made a commitment to presenting modern masterpieces alongside the classic repertory, with highly theatrical productions featuring the greatest opera stars in the world. Six new productions debut at the Met in 2008-09, including the company premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic.
Building on its 77-year-old international radio broadcast history - heard over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network - the Met now uses advanced media distribution platforms and state-of-the-art technology to attract new audiences and reach millions of opera fans around the world. The Met: Live in HD, the company's Emmy-winning series of live performance transmissions, shown in high definition in movie theaters around the world, expands from eight to eleven transmissions in 2008-09 and includes distribution in New York City public schools and a number of pilot programs in schools around the country. Global distribution of the series this season reaches over 850 participating venues in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. These performances began airing on PBS in March 2008. Commercial releases include Eugene Onegin (Decca), I Puritani (Deutsche Grammophon), The First Emperor, Hansel and Gretel, Macbeth, Manon Lescaut, Peter Grimes, and La Boheme (EMI). The Magic Flute is the latest and ninth HD production to be released on DVD and the first on the Met's own label.
Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Radio is a subscription-based audio service broadcasting both live and rare historical performances. The Met recently introduced Met Player, a new subscription service that makes its extensive video and audio catalog of full-length performances available to the public for the first time online, and in exceptional, state-of-the-art quality. In addition to providing audio recordings through the Met on Rhapsody on-demand service, the company also presents free live audio streaming of performances on its website once every week during the opera season with support from RealNetworks(R).
The Met has recently launched several audience development initiatives, including Open House dress rehearsals, the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Gallery Met, reduced ticket prices--including an immensely popular new rush ticket program, and an annual Holiday Series presentation for families. For more information, please visit: www.metopera.org.
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