Perhaps We're Being Luddites This Morning

There was only decaf in the kitchen after all...

But we're confused with this article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette calling Royal Opera House's 3-D cinema broadcast of Carmen a "game-changing stunner."

Granted, we haven't seen it and perhaps it is indeed the best thing since sliced bread (overrated) or a triple-espresso (much needed) but we'd like to remind everyone that live opera has always been in 3-D. Sure, there is something new and novel still about opera in the movies but opera in the movies is not opera. It's a movie.

The thing about attending live theatre is that you get to decide what to look at - be it a lead singer, the conductor in the pit, a bit of scenery or the incredibly cute chorister upstage left. The movies do all of that for you, and for us here at the Aria Serious Tower it is incredibly frustrating in an ensemble piece when we want to listen and focus in on the baritone and the film director has the camera trained on the tenor.

So, while Carmen in 3-D might be something novel and new it's not a game changer for opera because it is not opera. It's a movie in 3-D of an opera. Nothing can replace live theatre. Everything else is merely a substitute. So go see live theatre in your own city and leave the glasses at home. In the meantime, we're going to go find some strong coffee.