BY NANCY JACOBS

Special to The Pilot

On Oct. 9, the Sunrise Theater will begin its second year of streaming "Live in High Definition" opera from The Metropolitan Opera in New York.

The initial season of nine operas was a sellout.

"Patrons were thrilled with the new sound system," says a spokesman. "There were comments about the intimacy of the theater, the fact that every seat in the house is a 'good' one, the streaming of the translation onto the screen being as subtle as it is, the fabulous intermission interviews and views backstage, left the audiences talking about the good fortune to have this at our local arts venue.

"You don't have to know a thing about the story. Translations are run at the bottom of the screen. Your seat is not up in the rafters, it's in front of the large screen. You will see amazingly artful stage sets. You are so close to the action, you see every performer. Every dazzling costume, subtle facial expression, every movement is visible. The camera pans the orchestra pit and you see the conductor and musicians in action.

"Local residents who traveled to Raleigh or Charlotte were happy not to have to travel anymore, and to have local performances," says the spokesman. "Opera lovers who had traveled to New York and spent $150 and up for a ticket commented on how much better it is to see the performances on the screen and have wonderful intermission entertainment where you might see how a set is constructed, or how scenery is moved around."

Ticket sales will be as follows: Met Guild members, beginning Aug. 27 (can be done by mail or in person); renewal season tickets, beginning Sept. 3 (a mailing has been sent out); new season tickets, Sept. 10 (can be done in person at the Sunrise, or online at sunrisetheater.org); individual operas, beginning Sept. 17, at the Sunrise or through sunrisetheater.org.

Pricing for all season tickets is $200 for the 11 operas.

Tickets to individual performances are $22 each. There are always tickets to individual performances available (either at the Sunrise or online). Subscribers turn their tickets in for resale when they are sick or out of town, and there are also some odd seats to every performance.

Encore performances will be held on Wednesdays, 11 days after the live performances. All encores are a complete showing of the opera, and include intermission interviews and comments. Encore tickets can be purchased at the box office one half hour before the opera for $22. There are no reserved seats for encores. This year the Sunrise is offering an encore flex ticket for 10 performances (which can be purchased at the theater or online) for $180. Flex tickets can be used in any combination the purchaser desires (one person can use the ticket 10 times, invite a friend and go five times, a social group can go once and use all 10 tickets in one day, etc.) at any time from Oct. 20 through May 25. Individuals and groups can purchase flex encore tickets multiple times during the season. There are also student tickets for $10.

Most live broadcasts and encores begin at 1 p.m., and end before 5 p.m.