Aida - La Scala opera series at the Fronter

by B.J. Carter
Coastal Journal staff

BRUNSWICK - After the first aria in the pre-recorded presentation Verdi's “Aida” at Frontier Café and Cinema, the recorded audience clapped, as is the custom.  What those of us watching the pre-recorded opera should have done was less clear.  

A smattering of applause arose gingerly, then the rest of us followed suit.  The moment's confusion was indicative of the kinds of issues movie audiences will face with the string of operas landing in theatres across the country.  Opera isn't just a high performance art - it's a regimented ordeal that calls for specific norms of behavior from both audience and performer.  To what extent can a movie theatre broadcasting a performance, whether live or pre-recorded, simulate the experience of going to the opera house?  And is that even desirable?

The audience that I watched “Aida” with seemed to enjoy the imaginative exercise.  It was like a big game of pretend.  After the first aria, we clapped unapologetically when appropriate.  The opera looked and sounded great, if a little heavy on the orchestra and hard-to-read yellow subtitles, but really the applause was a way to engage more directly with the mores of opera.  After all, the performers couldn't hear us clap.

Intermission was another such opportunity to play by the rules.  The café was open, so you could venture out into the light and buy real food, not just “refreshments.”  As a bonus, anything you didn't finish you could bring into the theatre for the rest of the opera.  The cinema is arranged with little benches in front of the chairs to better facilitate the often tricky dynamic of eating and relaxing during a film.  I don't think this is allowed at the New York City Opera.

If the experience of going to the opera house can't be replicated in a movie house, people seem eager to try.  The effort just may be enough to forge a new kind of performance ceremony with its own rules and expectations.

Intriguingly, the artsy folks at Frontier aren't the only people who seem to think so.  The Regal Entertainment Group will broadcast live Metropolitan Operas in their theatres for the second year in a row, beginning Jan. 12.  According to a representative of National CineMedia , the distributor, the programming was so popular last year that they decided to expand the programming from six to eight operas.

Now, an opera like Tristan und Isolde is 5 hours long; it might seem hard to believe that the midcoast harbors enough enthusiasts willing to sit through such an ordeal-willingly!-to  make regular opera screenings a worthwhile enterprise, but these theatres appear to be on to something.  At least they think they are, which is good news for those dreading another trip to the Lincoln Tunnel.

Visit www.explorefrontier.com for programming and show times.  For more information on Regal’s opera series, visit www.regalcinemas.com.