Thanks for that news, gracey.
From the article --
QUOTE
The inaugural performance series will feature one opera and four ballet performances:
The Royal Ballet's Sylvia, starring English ballerina Darcey Bussell, who retired from the Covent Garden stage in 2007 (March 30).
The Royal Opera's production of Carmen, starring Italian soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci as the doomed heroine (April 19).
The Royal Ballet's Romeo & Juliet, starring Montreal-born, Spanish ballerina Tamara Rojo and Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta as the lovers (May 24).
The Royal Ballet's The Tales of Beatrix Potter (June 7).
The Royal Ballet's The Sleeping Beauty, featuring Romanian ballerina Alina Cojocaru and Italian dancer Federico Bonelli (June 21).
[ ... ]
Unlike the Met's live simulcasts, however, the U.K. series features performances pre-recorded at London's Royal Opera House.
Given the time differences, I can understand why they are showing videos of earlier performances. It's a bit sad, however, because one of the real thrills of the Met HD-Live project is that you are watching the performance in the theater
at the same time the audiences is watching it at the Met . There's also a large radio audience it listening to exactly the same performance from their homes.
Simultaneity (is this a word?) creates a powerful sensation of being part of something truly alive. Not to quibble, however. Canadian audiencs are lucky to be able to sit in a darkened theater, surrounded by fellow ballet lovers, watching Bussell, Rojo, Acosta, Cojocaru and Bonelli on the big screen. Much more fun than sitting alone at home with a dvd, despite the impossibility of rewinding, repeating, skipping ahead, and freezing the frame .