The demise of Viva La Musica last year also meant the cancellation of the popular Saturday bus trips to the Teatro Diana in Guadalajara to enjoy the Metropolitan Opera simulcasts.
That got opera buff Howard Willis thinking – and moving.
After some some serious investigation and a lot of intellectual sweat, he and a few others have put together The Chapala Opera Guild, an informal non-profit association, that together with interest from local opera fans and in conjunction with Movie Space Cinemas, will screen this season’s ten live MET transmissions in Ajijic.
Movie Space Cinema has agreed to show the live Met transmissions in two theaters, one with English subtitles and one sith Spanish subtitltes.
So far the Guild has received enough backing to pay for the antenna and receiver the cinema needs to stream the live performances. Now the goal is to sell enough seats (about 150 per performance) and get a few folks to become sponsors in order for the venture to break even this year – and hopefully continue for years to come.
Season tickets and individual performance tickets will be for sale on the Guild’s website at chapalaoperaguild.org and, beginning in early October, at Movie Space Cinemas. Email Willis at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more details.
The MET simulcasts begin Saturday, October 12, 11:55 a.m. with Giacomo Puccini’s “Turandot.” Thrilling dramatic soprano Christine Goerke brings her fierce portrayal of the title princess to the cinema, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium for Franco Zeffirelli’s dazzling production of Puccini’s final masterpiece. Tenor Roberto Aronica is the mysterious prince Calàf, alongside soprano Eleonora Buratto as Liù and bass-baritone James Morris as Timur.
The other nine performances are “Manon” October 26; “Madama Butterfly” November 19; “Akhnaten” November 23; “Wozzeck” January 11; “Porgy and Bess,” February 1; “Agrippina” February 29; “Der Fliegende Holländer” March 14; “Tosca” April 11 and “Maria Stuarda” May 9.