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Opera for all

The Wiener Staatsoper – the Vienna State Opera – is one of the world’s greatest opera houses. As you might expect, its performances are virtually all sold out well in advance.

To extend its reach, it launched staatsoperlive.com, an online service that offers much more than simple relays, although it does cover around 45 opera and ballet performances a year. Subscribers can choose between a live cut and a static view of the stage, both in HD.

Additional content including a synchronised score as well as subtitles adds to the viewer’s understanding. Extra video and multimedia content, tailored to specialist audiences, include a discussion of the opera, live rehearsals and backstage views, and more. And in May this year they gave their first 4K live relay, of Verdi’s Nabucco, to Samsung Ultra-HD smart TVs worldwide.

For all this and more, IBC presented Wiener Staatsoper with a Special Award last night. It was accepted by the company’s director, Dominique Meyer, who said “For us as an opera house with 150 years of tradition, presenting an art form that looks back on 500 years of history, to be rewarded with one of the most renowned awards in this highly innovative industry is a wonderful acknowledgement.

It shows how vivid we are, looking from a glorious past into a promising future.”

In return, Wiener Staatsoper gave the audience a wonderful treat, with 4K clips from three operas, including Placido Domingo in that pioneering production of Nabucco.

Visit www.ibc.org/awards for more details.