Not anymore.
Opera houses, ballet companies, even the National Theater in London, are competing to lure audiences to live high-definition broadcasts in movie theaters, many of which are then shown again. It is the HD-ification of the arts, and it is already affecting programming decisions along with costume and set design, lighting choices and even ticket prices.
Now orchestras are jumping on the HD bandwagon, hoping that big screens can entice new fans to watch black-clad men and women playing musical instruments. The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced on Monday that it would start beaming live orchestra performances under the baton of its charismatic music director, Gustavo Dudamel, to 450 theaters in North America.
This venture joins recent forays by the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra into playing live on screen.
While the HD phenomenon has brought performances to millions of people who would not otherwise see them, it also raises major questions. How will it reshape the way shows are cast, directed and designed? Will the photogenic gain the upper hand? Will musicians start acting for the camera? Will stage direction be shaped for close-ups instead of for the view from the balcony? What effect will it have on attendance at local orchestras, theater companies and operas? In a cultural world in which even the use of a microphone creates shock waves, how will the new onslaught of electronic sound change people’s aesthetic expectations?
The best-known purveyor of cultural movie-casts is the Metropolitan Opera, which pioneered the practice five seasons ago. This season, it is transmitting 12 operas live to popcorn-eating audiences on Saturdays, reaching roughly 1,500 theaters in 46 countries. The Met said 2.4 million tickets were sold last season alone. By contrast, six transmissions in the first season went to 248 theaters in eight countries, with a total attendance of 325,000.
The Royal Opera in London and La Scala in Milan are each offering two live opera feeds this season, and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona is providing one. Emerging Pictures, a distributor of European fare, is beaming eight live ballets from the Royal Ballet in London, the Paris Opera Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. The distributor has provided opera-casts from 11 other companies or festivals in the last several seasons.
Peter Martins, the ballet master in chief of the New York City Ballet, has mused openly about putting performances on a big screen.
The National Theater is providing six live transmissions of performances, including two from other British companies. They will reach 330 cinemas worldwide.
The producers argue that live broadcasts build support for the art form, stimulate interest and serve as inspiration to buy locally. There has been little research, and only anecdotal evidence that supports such a view. The broadcasts are not yet considered major sources of revenue; the Los Angeles Philharmonic said it hoped to break even on them.
But the trajectory is not linear. The two Royal Opera live broadcasts are down from five last year, and few of the half-dozen Italian opera houses handled by Emerging Pictures have signed on again this season, at least so far. “It’s still early days,” said Simon Magill, a spokesman for the Royal Opera.
Aesthetic issues are another matter. Already at the Met, consideration is given to how sets and costumes will look on screen. Singers at such broadcasts say they are acutely aware of close-ups. Some critics have questioned whether smaller voices will gain favor.
Cameras are now becoming an inevitable presence in halls and theaters, although technological advances have rendered them smaller and less noticeable.
At the National Theater, ticket prices are reduced for live broadcast shows because of the camera stations that are set up in the audience. Lighting and makeup are tweaked, said David Sabel, the producer of the National Theater broadcasts. But the season is programmed without regard to broadcasts, he said. “We’re not going to change what we do,” Mr. Sabel said.
High-culture performances were common on television in past decades, although in recent years they have generally been relegated to public television and arts cable channels. Operas have long been turned into movies. The market is flooded with DVDs of recorded performances. And the broadcasts are only part of the latest media strategies, which include online streaming, satellite radio broadcasts and on-demand playback.
What is new here is that the showings are live, on a big screen and part of a collective experience. They are also one-time events that are presented as something special.
“It goes back to the root of what makes live performance work, the sense of being in a space and experiencing something collectively,” Mr. Sabel said. “You’re experiencing it in the moment, and then it’s gone.”
Whatever the effect on art forms or audiences, new technology, audience appetites for what cameras can provide, and the hunger of marketers to reach new ticket-buyers are fueling a very modern way of consuming art.
