Though my grandfather would vehemently disagree with me, there is more to Opera than music. Listening to the show on the radio is nice, but seeing it is just so much better. Now, all cities have Opera houses, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to see productions from such legendary houses as the Metropolitan Opera in New York or the San Francisco Opera? Well, now you can, even if you don’t live anywhere near either city.

In 2006, the Met’s new general manager, Peter Gelb, set out to make Opera more accessible, especially to young people. Like I said yesterday, “Opera” and “new” aren’t words that we tend to associate with each other. Gelb wants to change that. In addition to making a deal with Sirius for a dedicated Met channel, he made a deal with Fathom Entertainment to offer live broadcasts streamed in HD to select movie theaters!!! Theaters in cities all over the country as well as some international cities will be receiving the simulcasts. Following suit, the San Francisco Opera has teamed up with The Bigger Picture to stream live broadcasts of their operas to select theaters, as well.

I think this is the best idea they’ve ever had. Of course, nothing can rival a real live performance, but for those of us who are about a thousand miles from either House, this is as good as it gets. I’m not sure how much the tickets are for the SFO performances (I’m lookin’, though), but the Met’s events are $22. I’m assuming the other events are of a similar price. So, you get best seat in the house views for a worst seat in the house price! How cool is that? This is a great way to introduce yourself to Opera, since it’s inexpensive and in a casual setting.