This gala evening, hosted by mezzo-soprano Susan Graham in the opera house, included interviews with Met General Manager Peter Gelb, Met Music Director James Levine, Renée Fleming, Ramón Vargas, Thomas Hampson, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Martha Stewart, novelist Ann Patchett, and painter Francesco Clemente. Diva Deborah Voigt interviewed audience members at Times Square. I really enjoy these interviews as it adds another dimension to the whole experience.

From the perspective of someone who has been to more operas sitting in the orchestra pit, than on stage or in the audience, I truly enjoy seeing the magnitude of effort it requires to change the sets at the Met. The HD Live transmissions are the perfect medium for this sort of bonus feature.

I could give you a running account of the whole transmission, but you can get the full story on the Met’s website and see the opening night photos, instead, I will tell you a little bit about the movie theater experience.

I always purchase my ticket online from Fandango long before the day of the performance. In my neck of the woods, these shows have sold out and, luckily, they’ve added theaters as each show sells out. I believe last season’s La Boheme had three theaters at our cinema, and seating was fairly full.

We had a couple of local organizations set up with tables in the lobby immediately outside the theater for a local opera company, Opera Tampa, and our local public radio station WUSF. This is a great targeted marketing opportunity for these cultural outlets. They distributed program notes, their own program guides and schedules and also had personnel on hand to chat with audience members during the intermissions.

I saw a few familiar faces in the audience, too, as you might at any local opera performance. You will see the same people over and over in attendance.

As I was telling a colleague last night, these performances are so spectacular that I feel as if it’s my personal mission to tell as many people as I can about them. I am constantly inviting friends to these operas. Last year, I brought someone to her first opera, and she came back a few weeks later to enjoy her second! This was not someone I expected to like opera, but I keep inviting everyone!

How much did this wonderful evening cost? $22 for the ticket, $2 convenience fee for ticket purchase, and $11.75 for a medium drink and popcorn, for a total of $34.75. I frequently skip the concessions to cut down my expense, but it was the opening night gala, so I splurged a little. I had no wardrobe expense as I wore the clothes I had on all day and brought a sweatshirt in case it was cold. This was a long event, too, so you have to prepare for that.

The pre-show started at 6pm, and the credits were rolling around 10:30pm. You will get hungry and thirsty, so be prepared to spend a bundle at the concession, or bring a bottle of water with you and refill it at the water fountain in the lobby. I am not suggesting that you bring in a cooler full of snacks and drinks. Please be considerate of your fellow audience members and also be respectful of the theaters you frequent. I would hate for “those opera people” to be a negative connotation at the theater. Last season, I had the displeasure of sitting in close proximity to someone who brought a 1/2 gallon drink thermos in with her along with what must’ve been an enormous bag of pistachios IN THE SHELL! For the love of Donizetti, people! Please don’t do this! She was completely oblivious to all of the picking and popping of her own peeving pistachio habit. I have photos!! I’ve got my plan-to-avoid in place for this season.

The experience was one not to miss. If you missed any last season or the season before, you can pick up DVDs from the Popcorn Opera store here.

Enjoy!

Although the New York City event is sold out, you can still get tickets for your local movie theater’s simulcast. Unlike the rest of the HD Live season, the gala will be broadcast to North and South America only.

• Buy your HD Live tickets now!
• Watch the HD Live trailer for the 2008-2009 season

If you’re short on cash, there are a few free options!

• In Times Square, there will be free seating for 2,000 people at 5pm. Before the seating opens, an audience queue will be located on Broadway, between 42nd and 43rd Streets. Get there early!
• Fordham University’s North Meadow, one block south of Lincoln Center, will host the plazacast. This event is free, but tickets are required. You can pick up a maximum of 2 tickets/person this Sunday at noon, at the Met’s box office.
• On the web, you can listen free on Sirius Radio Channel 78, or streaming live from the Met’s website.