As some of you know, I am a big fan of the Live from the Met in HD Saturday matinees. What a wonderful way to spend a chilly Saturday afternoon in a dark theatre watching live opera, broadcast directly from New York's Metropolitan Opera, with superlative casts and production values.

On Jan. 21, the much acclaimed new production of Gounod's Romeo et Juliet will be broadcast live starting at 12:55. The doomed lovers will be sung by German soprano Diana Damrau and Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo. For a $25 dollar price of admission, you get a LOT for your money...great sound and picture, a Met superstar host or hostess, interviews with the artists as they leave the stage, and sometimes a look at the backstage stuff I love...costume or wig departments, carpentry/painting/set building shops, and occasionally a live rehearsal of an upcoming production. As a lifelong opera nut (and singer!), this now 10 year old tradition is an affordable option to the hassle of traveling to NYC and spending hundreds on a good ticket.

There are 10 broadcasts this season (tomorrow's R&J is the 4th), and I attend at the Hooksett Cinemagic on Hooksett Road...and let's not forget the free parking! I hope some of my students and friends will take advantage of this enriching cultural offering.