Opera on Blu-ray?

[assur191]

Does anyone know how operas were/are recorded? Were they recorded on film with the possibility of mastering for blu-ray, or were they recording on video, which would make blu-ray pointless?

[WickyWoo]

They had a whole series that was shown theatrically last fall live in highdef from the Metropolitan opera. When the market gets large enough for the size studio that would release such a thing to afford HD mastering, I'm sure it'll hit

[assur191]

That's true, and I know there have been sever HD broadcasts on PBS. What about older, pre-HD recordings. Would those have been on film?

[Shadowself]

The entire Ring Cycle on just four Blu-ray disks (one for each night) with 7.1 lossless sound.

I can't imagine HD DVD even attempting that.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Shadowself

The entire Ring Cycle on just four Blu-ray disks (one for each night) with 7.1 lossless sound.

I can't imagine HD DVD even attempting that.

Except that there hasn't been a good version of Wagner on video, either.
(With opera and ballet, we tend to get weirdo-modernization restagings from the classical-music studios--And the only complete Ring out there for watching has the 80's Beyruth production staging it in some stylized Industrial Revolution setting.)

Of the good top-selling REAL opera on video, we have "Turandot at the Forbidden City" and Criterion's Ingmar Bergman "Magic Flute", for starters--Both of which are too cheap too afford Blu-Ray right away.
But, with more and more PBS hi-def "Great Performances" broadcasts (and half the definition/WS work already done), who knows? Paramount?

[assur191]

One thing I'd like it see is Franco Zeferelli's "Otello" with Placido Domingo. That's actually an MGM release, so we could see that. However, it's not an actual staging, though.

[Shadowself]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Except that there hasn't been a good version of Wagner on video, either.
(With opera and ballet, we tend to get weirdo-modernization restagings from the classical-music studios--And the only complete Ring out there for watching has the 80's Beyruth production staging it in some stylized Industrial Revolution setting.)

Of the good top-selling REAL opera on video, we have "Turandot at the Forbidden City" and Criterion's Ingmar Bergman "Magic Flute", for starters--Both of which are too cheap too afford Blu-Ray right away.
But, with more and more PBS hi-def "Great Performances" broadcasts (and half the definition/WS work already done), who knows? Paramount?

Yes, I remember watching the 80s version on PBS and it was almost painful.

I was actually thinking of a new version being made (a new recording from the Bayreuth Festspielhaus perhaps?) which could take advantage of the bit rates and disk size available on Blu-ray which could very likely make a version that even Wagner lovers could enjoy.