Met Live in HD - Romeo et Juliette

This morning (Sat 29th) KTP and I Will & Graced it down to Luna in Freo to see the first in the series of operas being broadcast by the Metropolitan Opera in HD: Gounod's Romeo et Juliette. To put it bluntly, the opera was FANTASTIC! My opinion on the story is well known around the traps, I am not fond of it, yet this is a version and a production that actually moved me to tears! Anna Netrebko is the BEST Juliet I have EVER seen in ANY version of the story: play, film, ballet or opera. If anyone is playing Juliet in the future they could do worse than grabbing a glimpse of this production (which will hopefully be released on DVD) to get some tips from Ms Netrebko. The rest of the cast were universally excellent; Set & Costumes were stunning (apart from the legion of silly hats); Placido Domingo in the pit gave a brilliant reading. What can I say - go see it tomorrow afternoon if you can - in Perth it i Playing at both Lunas @ 1:00pm. But my review was not meant to be about the production, I mean, come on, how can any of us EVER compete with The Met! This review was always going to be more about the concept. Eight operas, filmed live in HD from matinees at The Met and broadcast to cinemas around the world. Does it work? YES IT DOES! The picture is clear and vibrant, the filming is fantastic, the sound is mostly good (it is not without its problems, but these guys aren't miked, remember) This is definitely the best thing since sliced bread, and I am going to as much of the season as I can! Next up is Hansel und Gretel in about two weeks... GO SEE IT IF YOU CAN! [Was thinking all afternoon how to write this review, but I am still too buzzy to think clearly] :-)