TV Worth Blogging
by David Thiel, Program Director for WILL-TV
An insider's view of public television programming and the issues that help determine what and how you watch
Your Opera House of the Air
One of the things that continues to distinguish public television even in the 500-channel universe is our ongoing commitment to fine arts programming. While Bravo and A&E have ceded the field in favor of endless reality TV, WILL-TV regularly takes Central Illinois viewers to Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Opera. This Thursday at 7:00 pm, you can enjoy a live performance of "Madama Butterfly" by the New York City Opera, as James Valenti and Shu-Ying Li sing Puccini's tragic tale of culture clash. But that's only a taste of what opera buffs can expect in the months to come.
Over the last several months, selected area theaters have been presenting live digital video screenings of Metropolitan Opera productions, and these have proven to be popular events. For those who were unable to make it to the multiplex--or who want to experience them again--WILL will be offering a second season of Great Performances at the Met featuring all eight operas.
The first, "Hansel and Gretel," airs Wednesday, March 26 at 7:00 pm on WILL-TV, and will be simulcast in high-definition on our HD digital channel. The remaining seven are scheduled for select Sundays at noon over the next several months, and again, these new productions will air simultaneously on WILL-TV and on our HD channel. They include:
April 6: "Romeo et Juliette"
April 13: "Macbeth"
April 27: "Manon Lescaut"
May 18: "Peter Grimes"
June 1: "Tristan und Isolde"
June 15: "La Boheme"
June 29: "La Fille du Regiment"
These presentations will vary in length from two hours for "Hansel and Gretel" to four-and-a-half for "Tristan und Isolde." Obviously, they present a scheduling conflict for viewers of our regular Sunday fare, but the length of the programs and the lack of suitable evening time slots suggest that the best option will be to present them at the time of their national satellite feed on Sunday afternoons. On the above dates, our usual afternoon public affairs shows will temporarily shift to late Sunday evenings, with The McLaughlin Group airing at 10:00 pm, followed by Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, Foreign Exchange and Motorweek. I know that that will make some viewers of those programs unhappy, but I hope that they understand that this will be a temporary change made necessary by unusual circumstances.
In addition to the above new productions, several Metropolitan Opera shows from last year's season will be repeated on Sundays at noon on our digital high-definition channel only. (They will not air on our primary channel.) They include:
April 20: "The Magic Flute"
May 4: "I Puritani"
May 11: "The First Emperor"
May 25: "Eugene Onegin"
June 8: "The Barber of Seville"
June 22: "Il Trittico"
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