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It all began as a home cinema project in a converted garage underneath our house in the south of France. Then came the discovery that opera on DVD was pretty good projected onto a 330 cm screen with decent DTS sound. And then came High Definition. As more and more operas and ballets were released on Blu-Ray, it soon became obvious that watching them on a big screen with a stunning full HD image and incredible sound was a truly unique experience! We therefore decided to make the “home cinema” into a fully fledged “Home Opera Theatre” with appropriate decoration and accessories to create the right atmosphere. And so, L’OperaDou was born! |
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Experiencing “La Traviata”, “La Boheme” or “Sleeping Beauty” under such ideal conditions is something that would be unbelievably self-indulgent if you kept it to yourself. And so, a small circle of friends was slowly built up with whom this experience could be shared. Some of them were seasoned opera-goers, while others had never seen an opera before in their lives! But NONE of them realised what High Definition could deliver and how many productions are now being released on Blu-Ray! This circle of friends evolved into the L’OperaDou Jury which now critically views one or two productions a month. Their findings and comments are posted on our “Trial by Jury” page. The aim is to help raise awareness of opera in general and opera on Blu-Ray in particular. This has encouraged many to go to local opera houses and the HD Live transmissions from the New York Met, as well as build their own opera and ballet collections on DVD/Blu-Ray. |
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This, in fact, is the real vocation of L’OperaDou - which, by the way, has absolutely no commercial ambitions. Guests are not asked to make any kind of financial contribution, so there are no admission or membership charges. They are however invited to bring along food and wine for the interval, which makes for a very convivial get-together in the theatre’s “Rosenkavalier Bar”. This break also gives everyone a chance to discuss the production and compare the experience with actually “being there”. |
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Creating this site was the natural next step. Not only to keep the pool of potential Jury members informed about future showcase screenings, but also to provide information about where to buy previously reviewed productions (see links in the “Programme”, “Trial by Jury”, “Resources” and “Archive” sections) and share it with the constantly growing number of visitors to the site from all over the world. For the site is becoming a means of spreading the news about the HD operatic experience to a very much wider audience. Many more than we can ever accommodate on one of our Juries ! In addition, the site will give some background information about L’OperaDou to those interested in our “Opera Holidays in the South of France” concept (from May 2010), which will enable “lovers of the Mediterranean climate and opera” to discover the delights of Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence - as well as the HD opera experience. We very much hope you enjoy your visit, and would welcome any comments or suggestions you may have. We’d love to hear from you!
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www.operadou.info |
