Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcasts - Simulcasts and Beyond

Simulcasts and Beyond

In conjunction with the live radio broadcasts, a series of live television broadcasts from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, called Live from the Metropolitan Opera, began in 1977. These live broadcasts, aired on PBS, were called simulcasts, as they were broadcast simultaneously by both a television station and an FM stereo radio station in the same geographic areas. Through these simulcasts, listeners were able to hear the operas in stereo, which was then unavailable on television. The first simulcast, La Bohème, featured Luciano Pavarotti as Rodolfo and Renata Scotto as Mimi, with James Levine conducting, and all three were interviewed during the intermission. In 1988, the television program title was changed to The Metropolitan Opera Presents, to accommodate the fact that the performances at that point were often taped prior to broadcast, although for a few years thereafter they were still sometimes live and simulcast on the radio.

On December 30, 2006, the Met expanded its live broadcast series tradition by premiering the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series, which transmits live Met performances in high definition video to select movie theaters and other venues across the U.S. and other parts of the world. These broadcasts are usually also aired on television several months later on the new PBS series, Great Performances at the Met.