CinéBistro Siesta Key begins showing Metropolitan Opera performances

Resident opera-lovers don’t have to travel all the way to New York City to experience a live performance of the Metropolitan Opera.

Starting at 12:55 p.m. on Oct. 7, Sarasotans can make their way to CinéBistro Siesta Key to experience a live broadcast of a new production of Bellini’s “Norma” as it’s performed onstage at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

This partnership between CinéBistro parent company Cobb Theatres and Fathom Events will consist of 10 Metropolitan Opera productions including “Tosca,” “Luisa Miller” and “La Bohème.”

“With the arts community here, we thought it would be a great fit,” says General Manager at Cinebistro Sarasota Erica Hudgens.

Tim McGriff, director of marketing for Cobb Theatres and CineBistro, agrees.

“If you’re a fan of the arts and the Metropolitan Opera, it’s an incredible way to experience it,” he says. “Here you get the recliners and at-your-seat service from servers so you can have a glass of wine and food brought to you as you watch the opera.”

Hudgens thinks the audience will most likely consist of opera aficionados age 50 or older, but hopes it will attract art-lovers of all ages. McGriff thinks it’s the perfect event for the younger portion of the Sarasota arts scene.

“For a younger generation that is very tech-literate but maybe doesn’t have the resources to go to an opera, this is an incredible opportunity for not a lot of dollars,” he says.

The productions will be broadcast in high definition and will include a mix of comedies and dramas.

Both Hudgens and McGriff say the experience is unlike any other trip to the movies.

“It’s a profound theatrical experience,” McGriff says. “You can have the best of both worlds seeing it live and basically having it feel like you’re live in your living room.”