Archive of Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts on Rhapsody FREE (sort of)!

[Wendell_E]

I just got e-mail info on this from the Met.  Over 100 broadcasts are currently "available on demand, and some are downloadable. And the repertoire will increase each month!"

The current selection extends from the January 9th 1937 Carmen with Ponselle to the April 15th 2006 Don Pasquale (Alaimo, Netrebko, Flórez, Kwiecien, Benini).

You do have to download their player, which is easy, and requires no registration.  They do limit the amount of free tracks you can listen to per month.  For $12.99 per month you can upgrade to "Rhapsody Unlimited" (U.S. residents only).

I'm listening to that Carmen as I type this.  There do seem to be some problems (passages repeated or skipped, and a pause between the "tracks").  I hope this won't be typical, but you get what you pay for, I guess.  Also, I'm using the free version and about the time of the Michaela/Jose duet it pauses and tries to sell you the Unlimited version (or you can click the "continue" button).

Unfortunately, they just give the opera title and date, no casting info, but you can get that easily enough at the Met Opera Database (http://66.187.153.86/archives/frame.htm).

Damn.  I would have to find out about this on No Music Day (http://www.nomusicday.com/).

http://www.rhapsody.com/metropolitanopera

[Lobby]

This service is only available to people in the US, more's the pity.

Jon

[PerfectWagnerite]

I just got e-mail info on this from the Met.  Over 100 broadcasts are currently "available on demand, and some are downloadable. And the repertoire will increase each month!"


http://www.rhapsody.com/metropolitanopera

Yeah isn't it amazing. Got the same email. I guess if you have ordered tickets from them in the past they'll send you an email. I am listening to Parsifal right now. The cast (some of it at least) is on the link actually. Mine says Levine, Urmana, Domingo, etc., etc..