Bringing Met HD Live to the Town Hall Theater

By Tom Jones

Have you ever followed your dream? As I listened to Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel at Regal’s Crossgates Theater in Albany, my mind wandered as the fairy tale unfolded. I asked myself, “Why do I have to drive all the way to Albany to see the Metropolitan Opera’s HD broadcasts?” Our Town Hall Theater was being renovated. They plan to install a large movie screen and projector. I wondered if … I remember little about Humperdinck’s classic opera, but my continuing dream is a vivid memory!

How could I sell the idea to the Met? THT will become a fabulous, intimate arts theater with great acoustics and sound system. Location: possibly ideal! It is located at least 90 miles from the nearest HD broadcast location. There are no other HD locations in Vermont. And, we are located on the Route 7 corridor linking Burlington and Manchester which means easy access for a relatively large base of opera lovers. The Opera Company of Middlebury has established that there are many loyal opera fans within a twenty-mile radius of Middlebury.

My letter to Peter Gelb, General Manager at the Met, was in the mail the following Monday. Not unexpectedly, there was no answer from Peter.

“Hello, may I speak to Mr. Gelb?” After several phone calls, Gelb forwarded my letter to the person who manages the HD series. More telephone contacts and finally an application came in the mail. I was elated for a few minutes and then realized I needed to sell my crazy idea to Town Hall Theater. The first reaction was a surprise!

“Great idea , ..” Silence. “The THT board would never approve this. Too big a risk. Equipment too expensive. We need Saturday afternoons for weddings.” Several days later THT’s Executive Director Douglas Anderson came back and told me to go ahead and see if we could get it!!

It required some additional persistence to obtain Met approval and to make sure that we purchased the proper equipment. Thanks to you, to our members and to our supporters, we raised the money, needed to buy a more expensive, but ideal projector for HD.

Success!!! Our first Met HD opera, La Rondine by Puccini was sold out on January 12th 2009. Our audience rushed home to buy tickets online for Lucia di Lammermoor. The response exceeded our wildest expectations and resulted in an expanded schedule for second (Encore) presentations, for the better known operas. The rest, as they say, is history.