Opera Cinema: A New Cultural Experience - Paperback

by Joseph Attard (Author)

Since 2006, leading opera companies have beamed their shows to thousands of cinema screens all over the world - live. 'Opera cinema' is the most successful marriage of this elaborate, esoteric art form and the silver screen. In the twenty-first century, more people watch opera on cinema screens than the stage. But what is different about watching Massenet at the multiplex, compared to a traditional stage performance? Is opera cinema a new, hybrid art form in its own right, or merely a new way of engaging with an old one? Is it bringing new opera fans into the fold? Is there a danger it could one day eclipse the stage altogether? This book deals with these questions by charting the history of opera transmissions, exploring how digital media changes our relationship with culture and inviting a group of 'opera virgins' to give their impressions on this developing cultural experience.

Author Biography

Joseph Attard completed his PhD in Film Studies at King's College London, UK in 2018 and is now an academic author and political journalist. His research focuses on the intersection be-tween media technology, social science and politics, the latter from a Marxist perspective. Most recently, he co-edited and contributed to a special edition of Opera Quarterly themed around the subject of opera cinema.