Times Square Opera House

Simulcast of 'Lucia' offered at outdoor sites
Friday, September 21, 2007

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

You may not expect to hear an accolade like "It was bone-chillin' " from an opera critic. But Elena Park of the Metropolitan Opera says that was her favorite comment about its production of "Madama Butterfly" last year.

[Left: Natalie Dessay as Lucia di Lammermoor. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera.]

The critic in question was a young man on the street in Times Square, speaking in a television interview. He had been passing through when he looked up and saw the iconic large screens of Panasonic, Toys "R" Us and Anheuser-Busch -- not showing advertisements, but instead a live broadcast from the Met, complete with music by Giacomo Puccini pouring out of a cluster of speakers in the square.

Park hopes this year's season premiere production, "Lucia di Lammermoor," will inspire a similar reaction when it hits the square Monday."It was easier this year, because last year we were still calling up to the city and the mayor," Park said. "It was such a surprising idea -- the Met Opera live in Times Square -- that people were excited, but they didn't understand logistically how it would work. Everyone had to scramble and work together to figure out on-the-ground details like traffic and security."

This time, everything is on track for a simulcast from the opera house that will be shown on screens in Times Square as well as the Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center.

"We're just hoping it won't rain!" Park said.

If you don't score one of the 1,500 seats at Times Square, don't worry, she added. Last year, passers-by leaned against seating area barricades to watch a scene, an act or even the whole show.

This production of "Lucia" was masterminded by Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman of "Metamorphoses" fame and is highly visual, Park said. Lead soprano Natalie Dessay is known for her acting prowess in addition to her singing talent, and is expected to be striking on the big screen.

The Donizetti opera, beloved as a fine specimen of bel canto style where musical embellishments sometimes overwhelm the story, features a "mad scene" in which Lucia raves about the love of her life after having murdered the man she was forced to marry instead.

And lest you think the plot is overly dramatic, remember that it was taken from a true story, Park said.

"It's made for the New York Post," she joked.

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.