If you can’t see it live, you can see it live in HD.
And it’s not just opera anymore. From rock concerts and plays to museum tours, audiences are flocking to movie theaters and performing arts halls to get a virtual reality entertainment experience.
“Nowadays, you can do so much on the Internet; there are a lot of live streaming programs there already,” said Sarah MacGillivray, box office manager for the Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center in Fryeburg. “But to see things live on a big screen is still exciting for a lot of people. It’s almost like being there.”
Located on the Fryeburg Academy campus, the Leura Hill Eastman PAC began streaming live broadcasts of the New York Metropolitan Opera three seasons ago. Those shows have been so popular that it’s since expanded to include performances from the National Theatre in London and various other performing arts companies.
On Feb. 16, the hall will stream “Leonardo Live,” a tour of a Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at The National Gallery in London. Since the pieces are too fragile to travel, the show will provide an opportunity for people to get a docent tour without having to visit the museum in person.
Movie theaters also broadcast concerts periodically — last year, a live concert broadcast by Red Hot Chili Peppers sold out at the Nickelodeon Theater in Portland.
But the Met Opera is still the biggest draw. Since its first live in HD broadcast in 2006, the Met is now streamed worldwide. Besides the Leura Hill Eastman PAC, Mainers can catch “The Met: Live in HD” regularly at the Strand Theatre in Rockland, Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta, The Grand in Ellsworth, the University of Maine Collins Center for the Arts in Orono, and the Regal Cinemas Brunswick 10 multiplex movie theater. Tickets usually range between $20 and $30, with discounts for children and seniors.
At the Leura Hill Eastman PAC, where attendance for live HD shows range from 100 to 250, some patrons dress to the nines as if they were attending the show in person. And almost everyone joins the live audience in applause.
“At the end of the performance, when the audience at Lincoln Center is applauding, our people are applauding too — and cheering,” MacGillivray said. “And I’m like, ‘You know, they can’t hear you.’ (Laughs). But they are so into it, they forget.”
At 12:55 p.m. Saturday, the Met Opera will broadcast “Enchanted Island.” For the Met’s full season, visit metoperafamily.org. For the Leura Hill Eastman PAC live in HD schedule, visit fryeburgacademy.org/pac.
Deputy Managing Editor Rod Harmon may be contacted at 791-6450 or at:
rharmon@pressherald.com
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