The praise keeps pouring in for Saturday’s live HD broadcast of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Mary McClymont from the Toronto Opera Club writes in, “What a treat! There was such a buzz from the audience when The Met appears on the screen as if we were actually in the hall. It was some of the most memorable afternoon at the opera that I can remember, and we were totally drawn into the story and music.”

Meanwhile, across the pond in the U.K., David from Henley-On-Thames, says of the Oxford screening, “Better than being at the Met! You can see everything really clearly wherever you sit.” Kate, a viewer in Cambridge, concurs: “So proud that Cambridge is involved in this link-up. We’re just so lucky!” Another audience member from Cambridge says, “It was fantastic! The sound and picture quality were excellent, as were the singing, music, costumes and choreography, and the camerawork. The subtitles meant I could actually follow what was going on (normally I find it impossible to work out what’s being sung). A really enjoyable experience.”

A viewer from Texas wrote to the Met to say, “Seeing the show on the big screen in HD, with the sets and the singers filling the field of view, was stunning and exceptionally entertaining. The costumes, makeup, puppets, sets, and all the action were visible in vivid color and fine detail, and the sound quality was excellent. The presentation in English, with subtitles for the songs and dialogue, made the story completely accessible and understandable, and we had no need to mentally translate the experience into an internal personal understanding of what was happening. I am a lover of Mozart’s music and operas, and this was the first time that I understood the entire story line of The Magic Flute. That (cerebral) understanding, and the emotional impact of the images, music, and singing, brought us fully into the opera. The total effect was enchanting, and at times deeply moving.”

Here’s a shot of the “Mozartmobile” pulling up to the Tinseltown theater in Dallas.

This entry was posted by Matt Dobkin on Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007 at 6:32 pm and is filed under New Production Countdown. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.