Tonight's encore simulcast of the Metropolitan Opera's "Nixon in China" presentation was stunning on several levels. The writing (by the incredible - and locally-based - John Adams) was fresh and exciting, and gives as always new life to the genre of "opera." The Met's production was grand and visually exciting, full of breathtaking set pieces, and featuring the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the "Rolls Royce of opera orchestras," as one of the on-screen interviewees explained. Finally, the Live in HD simulcast was consistently engaging, featuring interviews with all of the key actors and producers before and between the acts. The interviews were occasionally too short, but they provided a context to the opera that the in-person production could never match. With only one problem - the Cinemark theater hosting the presentation, the "Pleasant Hill Century 16." Only minutes before the end of the final act, the projector abruptly faded to black, followed after a couple of minutes by the sound. After about 15 minutes of sitting in the darkened theater, as the other patrons started leaving, they announced that the theater's internet connection had failed - it had been acting up since Monday, and they hadn't bothered to fix it...
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