Just in: The Met lets Covent Garden into its cinema monopoly
balletFor around two decades, Peter Gelb at the Met has expanded his reach into cinemas and done his best to exclude all other opera houses from his hoome market. Now, facing declining audiences, he has relented.
For the first time, the Met will give the Royal Ballet and Opera access to its US screens and Covent Garden will share its home turf with Gelb’s stream. This is not a win-win. It’s a climbdown by the Met.
Over the holidays, US audiences will see the Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker, screened in US cinemas on 22 and 23 December. Next June, UK audiences can see Bartlett Sher’s witty production of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia (pictured).
Alex Beard, Chief Executive of the Royal Ballet and Opera said: ‘We’re absolutely delighted to be working with The Metropolitan Opera to improve access to some of the world’s best ballet and opera. This first of its kind partnership will unlock audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, so even more people can enjoy performances from our world-class Companies in their own hometowns.’
Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera said: ‘This partnership will result in more opera lovers in the UK enjoying the Met and more ballet lovers in the US enjoying The Royal Ballet, a positive development for both of our companies.’
With its limited repertoire, unimaginative productions and questionable casting, the Met has become a second rate opera house. It is no longer in the same league as the Bayerische Staatsoper, La Scala, Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper or the Paris Opera et al.
I tend to think the Americans are getting the better part of this bargain.
As today’s Frau Ohne Schatten at the Met reminded us, the Met Orchestra vastly outranks that of the ROH. Certainly compared to the Tannhauser I saw in London in February 2023.
Never gonna argue about the orchestra. But what are they sitting in front of? And what crap are they playing?
Comments like this reveal how little people know about the Met and other opera companies, and that they probably never go to the opera.
Many new productions are co-productions, and often between the companies you have named.
If you don’t like a new Met production, well, chances are that it may have already premiered at the Covent Garden, for example, or will be coming to the Wiener Staatsoper.
Like the other month Norman was complaining about how long it was taking the Met to have a new Ring. Well that was because it was going to be a co-production with the English National Opera and they canceled it because of their funding issues that have been frequently posted about on this website.
This has been going on for like 20+ years.
Of the 17 productions on offer at the Met this season, none are co-productions with the top tier companies named above. The Simon McBurney production of Zauberflote is interesting but has arrived almost a decade after its premier in Amsterdam. The co-production of Alcina with Covent Garden was slated for this season but was inexplicably dropped for a new opera which was widely panned. The Met has to try harder. I wish it every success.
Is there any reason to ever have another new Ring production?
Having seen Vienna’s recent Don Carlo or Munich’s Rheingold or the Liceu’s Carmen I am less than enthusiastic about the “imaginative” eurotrash Regietheater. I want to see more traditional stagings (such as the late Zeffirelli’s Traviata in Verona) without obscenities and staging which distract from the music and the storyline.
Opera companies may want to please the critics and a very narrow sliver of elitist opera fans but if they do not please the ticket-buying audience they will be toast. European opera houses get significant state funding so it does not matter if the productions are not successful financially.
Why are most Broadway shows popular? Because the productions are entertaining and pleasing to the eye. I am not a fan of musicals but there may be something to learn from their commercial success.
Not really. Next May I will attend four operas in four days there. Aida, Salome, Figaro and Barbiere with fabulous casts.
Have you heard, for instance, the recent Frau Ohne Schatten? If not, I would not miss it. Iny any case, you need to get out more often.
BTW, when is the last time you saw something at the Met? – and God knows, I have my own problems with the current leadership of the Met.
can’t agree more and at any serous institution on earth Peter Gelb would have been sacked for a lousy track record
He doesn’t know Rosenkavalier
‘Abtreten die Leut’
What nonsense! I have the opposite reaction. Too much Eurotrash is appearing at the Met. Seen Luke Bondy’s Tosca or recently “updated” Lucia at the Met?
Still waiting for the Vick “Moses und Aron” HD, still not holding my breath….
Moses und Aron will never see the light of day at the Met under Gelb. The last outing over 20 years ago with Landridge and Tomlinson under Levine will have to live in our memories.
Instead of introducing Met audiences to the finest and proven of the 20th century repertoire, Gelb is focused on blowing (tons of) money on full productions of questionable new or commissioned works that should first establish themselves stageworthy at smaller (less costly) venues.
The repertory isn’t limited, but the new stuff Gelb commissions and co-commissions is pretty bad. The singers tend to be the very best. It’s the producers, set designers and costumers from hunger. Gelb still after all these years doesn’t get what his audience wants to hear and see. He thinks he knows best, his taate level is bloody awful and it has killed the company.
“For around two decades, Peter Gelb at the Met has expanded his reach into cinemas and done his best to exclude all other opera houses from his hoome [sic] market.”
How has Gelb done this?
My question is not sarcastic. I seek education from those with knowledge of the facts behind the quoted statement. Thanks.
This might refer to the exclusivity deal Gelb struck with movie theaters who contract with the MET to show the MET’s HD productions. If theaters show MET Live in HD, they are not allowed to show streamings from any other companies.
From what I understand, Fathom Events had an exclusive contract with Met Opera. Any movie theater that broadcast the Met HDs could not broadcast the Royal Opera House HDs.
It’s about time! And it may be a climb-down for the Met but it’s a win for American audiences.
I’ll wait for the return of the Bolshoi at my local movie theater. The trailer for the Paris Nutcracker on offer failed to impress me, and the transmissions from London have become Drag Queen Story Hour.
It is not Mr.Gelb but the theatre chains which control the distribution. Even after the MET started showing operas in the US theatres Covent Garden was also on the silver screens. I presume that due to low audience numbers I witnessed it was discontinued. This is similar to the wonderful “Exhibition on Screen” series which became less and less available in the US.
I enjoy both the ROH and Met screenings maybe both are playing a little too safe though The ROH only screened Figaro and Turandot fairly recently Why could we not have had E Onegin or Festen ?
In a similar way why did the Met not screen Die Frau or Moby Dick instead of another Tosca or Figaro?
I guess it’s to do with audience appeal.
The new Royal Opera Eugene Onegin was hideous- in terms of the director changing the plot (drastically) and the absence of a set altogether. It looked like a bad student production although it still had good singers. Turandot (brilliant) and Nozze (quite good) are admittedly old productions but the few that are still not embarrassing to be shown worldwide. The other good ones ROH have are Andrea Chenier, Don Carlo, Agrippina (modern reboot but coherent and acceptable), La Rondine, Othello, Billy Budd, Peter Grimes and Tosca ….a lot of their standard repertoire has been ruined by horrendous new productions. Festen hasn’t premiered yet- it opens in February next year.
Are these Met theater broadcasts still via Fandango?
They had some sort of exclusive arrangement, i guess?
Can we also try to break the Steinway monopoly in American concert halls? I want to hear Fazioli, Bechstein, Boesendorfer and other pianos.
I think the soloists are the ones that choose the make of piano- and it may be because Steinway is a reliably familiar brand so they choose it by default Daniil Trifonov is the only pianist I know of who now uses only Fazioli (and I heard that he has an arrangement with them- not sure if it’s sponsorship or just an agreement to provide and tune the pianos wherever he performs without any extra financial benefit).
I haven’t seen any concert standard Bechsteins or Boesendorfer in piano showrooms, public halls or supplier listings in the last 10 years, and it may well be a chicken and egg situation- because concert hall management don’t buy or hire them, they become more and more rare till they’re invisible. I’ve seen smaller Bechsteins and Boesendorfers for home use though.
I’m referring to British concert halls and venues, so it’s not just American ones. That said, for the last 20 years, the public here and many regions in the world have come to regard Steinway as the Cadillac, Ferrari, and Porsche (all rolled into one) of pianos, and even owners of Bechsteins and Boesendorfers don’t challenge that. Fazioli seems to be quietly building up its reputation among artists (Yunchan Lim has used Fazioli pianos) rather than trying to sell loads of pianos to the public.
I don’t understand. I go to the opera house to watch a cinema screen?
it is disappointing to see the decline in attendance for the Live in HD broadcasts
Just what we need. Another Nutcracker.
“Bartlett Sher’s witty production of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia”
Also known as “the only thing he ever did right right from the Vivian Beaumont…”
I’d love to see many of the Met’s operas that I’ve only had tantalising glimpses of from their social media pages or photos from the social media pages of singers like Lise Davidsen and Juan Diego Florez.
The Royal Opera leadership (various different people) have been systematically replacing their beautiful productions by Cox, Schlesinger, Copley et al with ugly or clunky new productions where the moving stage sets often fail to work and the unflattering or normcore costumes make the poor singers look awful. The Met productions at least look like how normal, pleasant opera productions used to look, rather than a kitchen sink drama or a set of a dystopian horror film.
Always delighted when ballet, such as Royal Ballet’s productions, can reach new audiences.