Sound the alarm
A few tidbits in reference to the impending Sirius broadcasts of the Met Opera. First, La Cieca’s backstage spy reports that the Met has installed literally dozens of permanent microphones in various spots in the auditorium. These mikes are described as being reminiscent of CIA spy equipment, “the kind of technology that kind pick up a whisper a hundred yards away.” (This sort of sensitivity will surely come in handy when Angela Gheorghiu sings Carmen a few seasons hence.) Our source went on to say that the Met and Sirius are trying for a completely different sound mix and balance from the familiar Saturday afternoon broadcasts.
La Cieca herself has signed up for the online-only Sirius service. The Met channel has not launched yet — amusingly, the station is at the moment running a “tune in tonight” announcement backed with what sounds like Robin Byrd-era porn music. And that’s for listeners who actually can access Sirius online: it seems that for some platforms (e.g., Safari) the stream may not be accessible until tomorrow. (Stone-age La Cieca is still on IE, which seems to work just fine. Right now she’s listening to Miss Rosemary Clooney singing “In the Cool Cool Cool of the Evening” on Channel 75 “Standard Time.”)
Following tonight’s performance, La Cieca will podcast her reactions to the plaza experience along with the third act of a 1967 Madama Butterfly featuring Renata Scotto. Check back here, oh, elevenish when La Cieca returns to base for debriefing and cocktails!
I wish I had known too…as I would have taped this one too. Maybe a “rebroadcast”??
I imagine they will broadcast some of these performances again and again. We need a schedule though.
This is like going back to the Golden Era. We haven’t heard a Rigoletto like Wixell’s from the Met in many years.
Shit! I had it on a timer and it stopped right before the chorus fucked up their entrance. Need to get a DVD recorder.
Totally off-topic, (and I hate to be a owner) but the local DC opera scene is mourning the passing of Thomas Stewart, who died yesterday afternoon while playing golf. Evelyn Lear was with him at the time according to the notice I got. Sad news.
Sad news indeed. Thanks for sharing.
owner=downer
As Rigoletto sings “La Meladizione!” I hear the only news that could darken this day. Thomas Stewart was a Great (capitalization on purpose) and a Great man. My dearest sympathies to Ms. Lear, your Husband was a wonderful man, and he will be missed.
This is going to be a real problem for me, and, I suspect, for lots of opera buffs. There are literally scads of broadcast throughout the almost 50 years I’ve been listening to these broadcasts that I would like to hear again, and plenty from the 30s, 40s, and 50s as well. Without the first notion as to what broadcasts will be streamed and when, about the only choice open to me is to leave one computer permanently connected and streaming. I really don’t know what else to do. Surely someone with Sirius and/or the Met understands that a schedule is imperative for the archived broadcasts, no?
agree, it is difficult to know when to listen without a schedule. they do it for the NFL, surely we deserve the same thing,.when I woke this morning they were playing the Manon Lescaut with Kirsten from 49 (I already have it)
I agree with everyone else here on the need for a schedule.
I figured that the internet stream would be pretty clogged (even though it worked pretty well when I signed up on Sunday), so I hied myself to Best Buy for hardware (about $100.00 for the cheapest receiver plus home kit). Fortunately, St. Louis has a repeater, so putting my antenna on a high shelf gets me decent reception (I’ve noticed that during the day, we get dropouts, but fewer than on a normal entry-level DSL stream. I haven’t noticed any at night.
I signed up online (clicking through from La Cieca’s link and hoping she gets her pittance) and am currently listening to the 3/9/74 Vespri with “Levine/Cabelle[sic]/Gedda/Milnes.” I haven’t found a place on their site (yet) to e-mail them about the necessity of a complete schedule. Maybe an e-mail to Ms. Juntwait would help?