Beaming in New York Opera, Live at the Minor

Humboldt County opera lovers have a wonderful opportunity to experience world-class opera right here in Arcata.

The Metropolitan Opera broadcasts select live performances to more than 2,000 theaters in 66 countries, including the Minor Theatre. A Saturday afternoon matinee at the Met begins at 10 a.m. here, allowing us to experience the performance simultaneously with the audience in New York.

Of all the arts, music is what floats my boat. And at the very top of my musical list is opera — a complete sensory experience that combines grand theater, drama, passion, beauty and the transcendent power of music.

For me, what sets opera apart is its capacity to tap into the deepest human emotions. The human voice, supported by a full orchestra, becomes a powerful conduit for feelings too profound for words. Opera is not simply a showcase of technical skill; it can be a visceral experience of raw emotion that can leave me utterly undone.

My love of opera began in Chicago, where I had season tickets to the Lyric Opera for 17 years. After moving to Humboldt County, I often traveled to San Francisco to hear great opera. Since discovering the Met’s “Live in HD” broadcasts at the Minor Theatre, I haven’t made another opera trip to San Francisco.

I long felt that watching opera in a movie theater was inevitably something less than experiencing it live. Seeing an opera live in a great auditorium with three or four thousand other people is quite different from watching it on a movie screen. At a live performance, the enthusiasm and appreciation of the audience flow directly to the singers. That energy is missing in a movie theater.

Then, two years ago, I had the opportunity to see a live performance of Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. A few weeks later, I saw the same production at the Minor. To my surprise, I enjoyed the Minor Theatre experience more.

This may sound like sacrilege, but there I was, sitting comfortably in Arcata with an intimate, up-close view of the performers. The cameras take us onto the stage and into the performance in a way that is impossible from a distant seat in an opera house. We see every muscle in a singer’s face, every gesture and movement of the body and every subtle expression of emotion.

For those of us in Humboldt who love music, the Met’s “Live in HD” broadcasts are a remarkable gift. World-class opera is no longer something we must travel hundreds of miles to experience. It comes to us!

Roy Grieshaber is an opera lover in Eureka. The Met’s 2026-27 Live in HD began its 20th season in September. The next broadcast performances are Oct. 3 and 17; tickets go on sale at metopera.org/ season/in-cinemas/ about a week before show time.