Chinese Movie Theaters To Present Live U.S. Operas1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteMovie theaters in China have been added to the National CineMedia (NCM) network that is scheduled to present 11 live and pre-recorded Metropolitan Opera productions during the 2011-12 Met season, the company announced Tuesday.
China is one of five countries added to the foreign lineup and its addition may provide a wedge in China’s policy of limiting the number of foreign-film imports to 20 per year.
The Met performances are transmitted live by satellite to theaters on Saturdays, augmented by nine pre-recorded presentations on Wednesdays. While technically not “films,” the difference is faint, inasmuch as the operas will be presented in Chinese cinemas using the same equipment that is used for projecting films and they will compete with Chinese productions.
Meanwhile, NCM said that it is expanding the number of theaters in the U.S. carrying its Metropolitan Opera broadcasts to 630 in 163 markets. Other countries added to the foreign line-up include Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Israel, Morocco and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
