Mitch Friedfeld wrote:

> Went to my first New York Met broadcast to theaters today --
> Massenet's Thais, with Renee Fleming and Thomas Hampson -- and was
> very pleased.  And would you believe it: the 471-seat arena-style
> theater was sold out...weeks in advance!

Here in Santa Barbara we've experienced a similar phenomenon.  The new
350-seat Hahn Hall music venue (which has excellent acoustics) at the
Music Academy of the West was sold out for Thais.  The Met HD series is
also shown at a local movie palace, the 2000+ seat Arlington Theatre.
A friend who saw Thais there said that the theater was "almost full."
Well, let's say about 1500.

Dr. Atomic, a couple of weeks ago, was similarly attended.

If this is happening across the country, indeed, around the world,
the Met is really on to something exciting.  Dare we hope that there
is a large opera audience out there that can be enticed with reasonable
prices, startlingly clear video, and excellent sound?

C. Hugh Marsh
Santa Barbara, California
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