Screen capture

HI-DEF DRAMA Soprano Karita Mattila plays the title role opposite tenor Marcelo Álvarez in the Met’s HD production of Tosca.

On a gusty fall night, we witness Giacomo Puccini’s 1899 opera Tosca as we’ve never seen it before. Bare breasts abound, concubines in neon tights simulate oral sex, and the stark, beautifully designed set provides a powerful backdrop for the composer’s tale of lust and vengeance in 19th-century Rome. It’s a thrilling, modern and imaginative night at the opera.

Only, technically, we’re not at the opera. Some audience members may be decked out in pearls and plush coats, but others sport well-worn tracksuits. Instead of sipping on wine, we snack on popcorn. And no one has paid more than $18 for a ticket. At Logan Square’s City North 14 cinema on a recent Wednesday evening, we watch the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Tosca as it’s broadcast live in 19 cinemas throughout Illinois—as well as more than 1,000 screens in 42 countries across four continents.

Director Luc Bondy’s recent production notoriously kicked up a storm in NYC; the Met’s audience responded to the modernized scenery and eroticized interaction with a frenzy of boos. Yet tonight’s roughly 40 cinemagoers react to the racier scenes with only approving hoots of laughter.

Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, created the unique series the Met: Live in HD—which began in 2006, with Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte—to increase interest in opera, especially among those living in towns or rural areas hundreds of miles from the nearest opera house. This season, the Met will broadcast nine of its 26 productions via satellite, including Carmen, Hamlet and Turandot.

“It’s a wonderful thing for people who don’t have access to their own opera companies, and it’s a wonderful addition for people who do have access,” says William Mason, general director of the Lyric, which recently concluded a run of its more traditional but splendid Tosca. “But I think everyone would agree that there’s nothing like a live performance.” And we would, but cinematic viewing adds some nice touches: For the Met’s Tosca, the camera dives into the orchestra pit before the performance begins and captures the singers’ glowing faces as they walk off stage. During the intervals, opera star Susan Graham provides entertaining back-stage interviews with the performers and designers; Finnish soprano Karita Mattila, playing the titular role, enthusiastically declares that she “sings straight from the pubic bone” before bursting into giggles.

Afterward, the audience gathers in the aisles to discuss the performance. Operagoer Willow McKenzie, 45, says she enjoys seeing the performers’ faces up close. “The camera catches the sly and cheeky glances you’d otherwise miss and shows just how heartfelt the singers’ tears really are,” the Roscoe Village resident says. “I’m going to see Ernani at the Lyric next week, but it’s so great to be able to see productions that other companies put on.”

Whether the Met’s broadcasts could threaten struggling opera houses in cities such as Chicago remains to be seen. “[The Met] does a wonderful job, but it’s too soon to tell whether it’s having a positive or negative effect on some companies,” Mason says. According to a survey conducted by Shugoll Research this spring, the series not only attracts opera newcomers but also increases interest in attending live opera: 92 percent of cinema attendees said they’re likely to go to a live performance after watching a screening. While we have the real deal on our doorstep—not only the Lyric but also inventive companies such as Chicago Opera Theater and Chicago Opera Vanguard—the Met: Live in HD series offers an intimate insight into performance as only a camera can.

The Met: Live in HD series continues with an encore of Puccini’s Turandot on Wednesday 18 at 6:30pm. Visit ncm.com/fathom for more information.

See more Classical