Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor:

We have been given a valuable gift in northeast Louisiana by the people of New York and Wall Street ... but nobody thought to tell us.

Live performances of the New York Metropolitan Opera are broadcast in high definition and surround sound directly to the screen at Tinsel Town Theater in West Monroe ... but nobody knows because the area’s cowhide curtain has fallen, keeping all news of this cultural blessing covered in unintentional secrecy.

You would think the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council would be advertising this. You would think the liberal arts departments at Louisiana Tech, Grambling and ULM would be sending groups of their best and brightest talents to every performance so that they could learn from some of America’s premiere opera performances.But you would be wrong.

This isn’t happening.

The arts council isn’t promoting it. The school’s aren’t taking advantage of it and even many people who have a great love of live opera don’t even know the performances are available here. And that is a shame.

Having attended live performances at the Met and those at Tinsel Town, it is clear that the theater is able to provide a better viewing experience due to the technical proficiency of the film crew.

Facial expressions and details of clothing down to the sequins accenting an outfit are more clearly observed at the Tinsel Town than from the 12th row of the Met.

The Wall Street organization which gives us this blessing is the Bloomberg Corporation. It is a shame that with all the effort and expense they have gone to in order to give us this opportunity to see these wonderful operas, virtually nothing is being done to publicize their availability. If you aren’t lucky enough to notice the literature at the theater’s counter or hear about them through word of mouth, these cultural treasures remain hidden away behind our area’s cowhide curtain.

You can also learn more about this program by visiting www.metopera.com or calling the Tinsel Town Theater at 398-0882.

These operas are accessible and popular and something no one with a love of music or theater should miss. This is too great an opportunity waste not and take advantage of it.

Lonnie Walters
Alto