I've got my new AV system up and running at last, and I'm interested in streaming some opera to it. I'm aware of Operavision, which provides free performances from various European houses, but the audio quality ranges from poor to unacceptable. For instance, the Brno production of Osud that's currently available is simply unlistenable.

Is there a source of streamed opera I can access with suitable sound quality? I'm willing to pay if necessary, although not too much! My main interests are 20th/21st c. as well as baroque/classical. Not as much into 19th c.. fare.

Thanks!

On Sunday, January 23, 2022 at 6:08:44 PM UTC-5, Peter wrote:
> I've got my new AV system up and running at
> last, and I'm interested in streaming some
> opera to it. I'm aware of Operavision, which
> provides free performances from various
> European houses, but the audio quality
> ranges from poor to unacceptable. For
> instance, the Brno production of Osud
> that's currently available is simply
> unlistenable.
>
> Is there a source of streamed opera I can
> access with suitable sound quality? I'm
> willing to pay if necessary, although not
> too much! My main interests are 20th/21st
> c. as well as baroque/classical. Not as
> much into 19th c. fare.
>

The Metropolitan Opera on Demand:

https://www.metopera.org/season/on-demand/

Note however that the poor quality you
experienced may be caused by your ISP
and by your internet connection bandwidth
limits, rather than by the streaming producer.

dk

On Monday, January 24, 2022 at 6:08:21 PM UTC-8, Ricardo Jimenez wrote:
> On Sun, 23 Jan 2022 15:08:42 -0800 (PST), Peter <dor...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >I've got my new AV system up and running at last, and I'm interested in streaming some opera to it. I'm aware of Operavision, which provides free performances from various European houses, but the audio quality ranges from poor to unacceptable. For instance, the Brno production of Osud that's currently available is simply unlistenable.
> >
> >Is there a source of streamed opera I can access with suitable sound quality? I'm willing to pay if necessary, although not too much! My main interests are 20th/21st c. as well as baroque/classical. Not as much into 19th c.. fare.
> >
> >Thanks!
> I recently added the free Arte app from the Google play store to my
> smart TV and watched Catalani's Edmea from the Wexford Festival and
> Dukas' Ariane et Barbe-Bleu from Opera Lyon in excellent audio (stereo
> only) and video. I didn't care for the modernized eurotrash
> productions but the singing was excellent in both. I passed on
> watching a Fidelio set in a modern prison and Pippi Longstocking. They
> also have Smetana's Dalibor but currently not in the US. Verdi's Les
> vępres siciliennes will be available in the US starting February 21

Thanks. I doubt the audio problems are on my end, since the sound quality of streaming films (Amazon, Netflix) has been pretty good. Incidentally, I thought The Power of the Dog was greatly overrated -- mannered and obvious -- but the soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood was great.

On Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 7:46:50 PM UTC-5, Peter wrote:
>
> I doubt the audio problems are on my end,
> since the sound quality of streaming films
> (Amazon, Netflix) has been pretty good.

Bandwidth requirements for movies are
lower than for live opera, plus Netflix and
Amazon use different streaming protocols
that use aggressive pre/post compression/
decompression to svae bandwidth.

One's "end" is not a single point -- it is the
aggregation of your ISP, modem/router
and streaming receiver. Any one of them
could become a bottleneck under certain
circumstances.

dk

On Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 7:46:50 PM UTC-5, Peter wrote:
>
> I doubt the audio problems are on my end,
> since the sound quality of streaming films
> (Amazon, Netflix) has been pretty good.

Bandwidth requirements for movies are
lower than for live opera, plus Netflix and
Amazon use different streaming protocols
that use aggressive pre/post compression/
decompression to save bandwidth.

One's "end" is not a single point -- it is the
combination of your ISP, modem/router
and streaming receiver. Any one of them
could become a bottleneck under certain
circumstances.

dk

I gave Osud a listen. The sound is OK - it's rather wooden and lacks sparkle. Just a mediocre recording. But it's not "unlistenable", just not very comfortable at higher volumes. At lower volumes it's listenable. I do see your point. I've had better sound from YouTube.

On Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 9:03:36 PM UTC-8, dan....@gmail.com wrote:
> On Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 7:46:50 PM UTC-5, Peter wrote:
> >
> > I doubt the audio problems are on my end,
> > since the sound quality of streaming films
> > (Amazon, Netflix) has been pretty good.
> Bandwidth requirements for movies are
> lower than for live opera, plus Netflix and
> Amazon use different streaming protocols
> that use aggressive pre/post compression/
> decompression to save bandwidth.
>
> One's "end" is not a single point -- it is the
> combination of your ISP, modem/router
> and streaming receiver. Any one of them
> could become a bottleneck under certain
> circumstances.
>
> dk

Thanks for this clarification. I suppose I should look into the possibility of upgrading my equipment, given the limitations of my ISP, which in my monopoloid environment, are probably fixed in place.

BTW, while I appreciate the link to the Met, they are notoriously conservative in their programming, and their home page (for streaming) seems to say that I need a compatible service for them to stream to, none of which I have.

On Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 1:09:00 AM UTC-8, Andy Evans wrote:
> I gave Osud a listen. The sound is OK - it's rather wooden and lacks sparkle. Just a mediocre recording. But it's not "unlistenable", just not very comfortable at higher volumes. At lower volumes it's listenable. I do see your point. I've had better sound from YouTube.

I suppose if I were extremely interested in an obscure piece or a specific historic performance, I would not worry as much about sound quality, but since I have more CDs than I can listen to, not to mention other life pursuits, I don't have much incentive to spend a couple of hours with a sonically unpleasant opera. I guess I also have the feeling, after plumping for an expensive (for me) TV and connecting it to a pretty good sound system, why listen to something that doesn't take advantage of it?