The world famous New York Metropolitan Opera’s 2013–14 season of live transmissions to movie theaters in the United States and around the world begins on Saturday, October 5 with Tchaikovsky’s fateful romance “Eugene Onegin,” starring Anna Netrebko and Mariusz Kwiecien as the lovestruck Tatiana and the imperious Onegin.
As in previous years, Guadalajara’s Teatro Diana will host the series, which this season features ten operas running through May 2014.
The Met Live in HD international simulcasts began in 2006 with transmissions to seven theaters in Great Britain, Japan and Norway. The positive feedback helped the network expand rapidly in the next few years, with Guadalajara joining up in 2010.Although the Met says a major aim of the project is to “reach new audiences around the world who would have otherwise not had the opportunity to see an opera,” a recent study by Opera America showed that the majority of attendees at the simulcasts were “moderate and frequent opera goers.” However, the study concluded that about one in five had not attended a live opera performance in the previous two years, with some being completely new to opera and attending because of curiosity about it.
The 2013-2014 schedule at the Teatro Diana (Av. 16 de Septiembre 710) is as follows. (Length of the performance in brackets - hours.)
Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” Saturday, Oct. 5, 11:55 a.m. (4:00)
Shostakovich’s “The Nose” Saturday, Oct. 26, 11:55 a.m. (2:15)
Puccini’s “Tosca” Saturday, Nov. 9, 11:55 a.m. (3:35)
Verdi’s “Falstaff” Saturday, Dec. 14, 11:55 a.m. (3:20)
Dvorak’s “Rusalka” Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014, 11:55 a.m. (4:00)
Borodin’s “Prince Igor” Saturday, March 1, 2014, 11 a.m. (4:30)
Massenet’s “Werther” Saturday, March 15, 2014, 11:55 a.m. (3:15)
Puccini’s “La Bohème” Saturday, April 5, 2014, 11 a.m. (3:25)
Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” Saturday, April 26, 2014, 11:55 a.m. (4:05)
Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” Saturday, May 10, 2014, 11:55 a.m. (3:00)
Tickets cost from 100 to 250 pesos and are available from the theater box office Monday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. or through Ticketmaster. Call (33) 3614-7072 for information. Alternatively, lakeside residents may sign up for the Viva la Musica bus trips to the operas. Tickets are available at the Lake Chapala Society on Thursdays and Fridays, from 10 a.m. to noon. The cost is 300 pesos for Viva members or 400 pesos non-members.