If you don’t know your Papageno from your Papagena; if you don’t know why Floria Tosca is so upset; if you can’t tell your Puccini from your Rossini from your Bellini, well, not to worry — you’re not alone. The world of opera (where all the above references come from) can be a little intimidating for those just learning about it.
With the high-definition broadcasts of performances from the Metropolitan Opera’s season, currently shown at Maine theaters including the Collins Center for the Arts in Orono, there’s an easy entryway into the sometimes-complicated world of opera. For first-timers, it’s a chance to see an opera that doesn’t cost a lot of money, and can be enjoyed without the need for dressing up or traveling long distances.
And for some students at Bangor High School, opera — specifically those performed and broadcast by the Met — will be part of life in the classroom.
Bangor High School is the first school in Maine, and one of only three in New England, to be accepted into the Metropolitan Opera’s HD Live in Schools program, a school year-long offering from the Met that offers students and educators free tickets to HD Met broadcasts, teaching guides and opportunities to speak with Met artists.
“Our education programs aspire to help the art form grow and thrive, and to demonstrate that opera really can be for everyone,” said Dan Marshall, program operations manager for the Met’s education department.
BHS in 2015 launched a Visual and Performing Arts Academy within its wider curriculum; the Met’s HD Live in Schools will be taught as a collaboration between that and the school’s Humanities program.
“We were thrilled to learn that Bangor High School was selected for the Met program, which [Superintendent Betsy] Webb and I immediately saw as a great next step for our Humanities and VPA programs,” said BHS principal Paul Butler. “The opportunity for our students to experience the performance quality of the Met on the heels of the rich and integrated classroom experiences that our teachers have planned is unique.”
The HD Live in Schools program in Bangor will be taught by English teacher Susan Thibedeau and art teacher Eric Hutchins, and will explore not just the music, but also the literary and historical aspects of opera, and the sets, costumes and other technical parts of the performances. The students will attend four broadcasts throughout the year, starting with Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” on Oct. 14.
The program was brought to the attention of Bangor High School by longtime local opera booster Esther Rauch, a devoted attendee of the Met broadcasts at the Collins Center since they started 10 years ago. Rauch and her fellow opera lovers on the Collins Opera Outreach Committee (affectionately known as the “kooks”) have done much over the years to raise awareness of the Met broadcasts, including hosting pre-broadcast discussions one week before each screening at area libraries.
They also spearheaded the effort over the summer to purchase the Collins Center a brand-new screen for HD broadcasts. Danny Williams, executive director, said the new screen will not only help Met broadcasts — it’ll improve the experience for National Theatre Live broadcasts, high-def broadcasts of the London-based theater company’s performance season, which the CCA also offers.
“It’s 34 feet wide by 23 feet tall and it looks fantastic,” he said. “A lot of opera patrons donated, but we also had gifts from folks who enjoy the NTLive broadcasts. At the end of the day, the screen will not only greatly enhance our broadcast series, but it will also be available for the many programs and presentations that utilize our screen.”
The Met in HD is broadcast at several other eastern Maine theaters, including the Grand Theatre in Ellsworth, the Waterville Opera House and the Strand Theatre in Rockland. The 2017-2018 season will feature the following operas: “Norma,” Oct. 7; “The Magic Flute,” Oct. 14; “The Exterminating Angel,” Nov. 18; “Tosca,” Feb. 3; “L’Elisir d’Amore,” Feb. 10 (noon start time); “La Boheme,” March 3; “Semiramide,” March 10; “Cosi fan Tutte,” March 31; “Cendrillon,” April 28; “Luisa Miller,” June 2. All broadcasts are at 1 p.m. on Saturdays, unless otherwise noted.
