Just Like Television, but Worth Watching

Thanks to Garth Trinkl, I was tipped off that our local PBS station in Washington broadcast the New York Philharmonic Opening Concert Gala last night! If you missed it, there will be one re-broadcast on WETA, early Friday morning (3 am).

Other performances of possible interest to Ionarts readers coming up on PBS are the Vienna State Opera 50th Anniversary Reopening Concert (September 18, 9 pm), a concert from the Salzburg Mozart Festival with the Vienna Philharmonic (September 26, 9 pm), and a film called Beverly Sills: Made in the USA (November 23, 9 pm). Check those dates when you set your Tivo.

Of course, I have to mention the jaw-dropping news, reported by Daniel Wakin in the New York Times last week, that the Metropolitan Opera is going to broadcast six live performances of its operas into movie theaters (for $18) and on PBS at the same time. The first one is scheduled for December 30. If things keep going in this direction, I may have to take back some of my harsh words for PBS. I hope this is a sign that the United States will ultimately have the cultural television network it deserves.