Sopranos At the Cineplex; The Met is drawing new opera fans by broadcasting live to cinemas. Popcorn munching encouraged.(Metropolitan Opera)

Byline: Andrew Moravcsik

The line for the Metropolitan Opera snakes around the corner. A white-haired society woman clad in velvet rushes in out of the winter rain, passing out-of-towners clutching handmade need a ticket signs. An older man waits with his 6-year-old granddaughter--the third generation to be introduced to live opera with this showing of Mozart's "The Magic Flute."

A classic scene outside Lincoln Center? Actually, no; it's a movie theater in Albany, New York, where the Met performance is about to be broadcast live. Similar scenes are occurring simultaneously at more than 100 venues around the world, from specially redesigned Japanese Kabuki theaters to Norway's oldest movie house, 483 kilometers above the Arctic Circle. It's all part of a bold initiative recently launched by the Met's new general manager, Peter Gelb, to popularize opera and perhaps save it from obscurity. He plans to beam six live performances by satellite to remote movie houses. Broadcasts began in December with "The Magic Flute," and will continue this spring with "The Barber of Seville" and "Il Trittico."

So far, popular response has surpassed expectations. Satellite attendance exceeded 90 percent, and is expected to total about 500,000 for the six operas. Many venues sold out in advance; encore performances have been scheduled. Last week the Met announced the addition of a German theater network keen to air the productions, and plans to expand next year from six to eight operas.

Some might argue it's better than being at the Met. Almost every seat is a good one. Surround-sound makes for great acoustics, capturing even the pre-performance bustle of the audience in New York. Ten high-definition cameras take viewers right up to the action onstage. Arts critic Douglas McLennan of artsJournal.com believes the resulting mix of close-ups, panoramas and orchestra shots reinterprets opera with the expert editing, detail and emotional immediacy of film.

At intermission, the cameras transport virtual fans backstage--a privilege denied even the well connected in New York. When she is whisked offstage to her dressing room after a big aria, radiant soprano Anna Netrebko, star of January's "I Puritani," gives the camera a smile, a thumbs-up and a victory dance. Viewers can watch Katie Couric or Beverly Sills follow up with intermission interviews, and eavesdrop as stagehands rebuild the Met's massive sets. "Opera is the multimedia art form for a multimedia age," says ...