Romeo et Juliette in Springdale

It wasn't well publicized, and the weather outside was frightful. But on Saturday afternoon, as the season's worst snowstorm (so far) was transforming into driving sleet, more than 150 opera lovers risked icy roads to get to Springdale 18 Cinema DeLux for our region's first-ever High Definition broadcast LIVE from the Metropolitan Opera to a movie theater.

The verdict of most of those who attended: It was enthralling.

Carolyn and Tom Hieber of Price Hill-Covedale, brought their niece, an aspiring singer, and student at Our Lady of the Visitation: "I thought it was wonderful," said a starry-eyed Holly Reckers, 14.

The opera was Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette," with in the title roles, Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna (one of about five Romeos this season after Rolando Villazon inexplicably and sadly bowed out of everything he is singing this year), and the extraordinary Placido Domingo in the pit.

For many in the audience, from familiar opera fans to first-timers, it was an adventure. "I'm just an opera buff from way back," said Ilse Van der Bent, of Springfield Township, who attends the Met in New York and was excited to have it right in her own backyard.

We were immediately transported via the Big Screen to the Met's theater, as the noisy New Yorkers settled down for the three-and-a-half hour opera.

"Your movie theater is no longer just a movie theater," announced the Met's Peter Gelb, a wizard of new media, as he introduced the satellite transmission. The show was airing simultaneously around the world in 600 theaters, from London's Piccadilly Circus to the Arctic Circle in Norway.

It was fantastic to see Domingo's face as he conducted in the pit, as viewed from the perspective of a musician. He is not just a superstar -- he is superhuman. (He had sung "Iphigenie en Tauride" the night before.) During his richly dramatic introduction, the cast was introduced to viewers in pre-filmed clips, movie-style. Overall, the picture was remarkably vivid and realistic. The brilliant colors of the masked ball were stunning, and one could see every sequin and brocade pattern of the opulent costumes. It helped, too, that the cast looked like movie stars.

Cameras angles ranged from close-ups of singers' faces to dazzling views filmed from above. Some of the crowd scenes got to be a little dizzying, noted Janice Cook of Mount Lookout.

The sound quality, at first a bit off-balance, improved as the opera progressed and was clear and quite good. People who had attended last year's HD performances outside of town complained that the sound in those theaters had not been as good.

And so, we were swept away as the doomed lovers met, fell in love and journeyed to their inevitable fate. This cast, perhaps of necessity, consisted of singing actors. You couldn't take your eyes off of Anna Netrebko, who girlishly romped, blew out her candles and twirled in her pink gown. Her lightheartedness came to a crashing halt when she learned that her lover was a Montague.

Netrebko sang in glowing ribbons of sound, only experiencing a glitch in her opening waltz. Her love duets were rapturous (if her French was a bit murky), and as she began to grasp the tragedy of her situation, her portrayal became dark and even almost mad as she took Frere Laurent's potion.

Alagna, though perhaps not the steamy love interest that Villazon might have been, projected with ease, naturalness and an agreeable character (though not always on pitch). He sang his "Ah! lève-toi, soleil!" against a night-time galaxy that seemed to evoke the vastness of time and space, in a moment that was simply stunning.

There was another standout in this cast. The young mezzo singing Stephano the page -- Isabel Leonard, a recent Juilliard grad in her first season at the Met -- was graceful, confident and wonderfully expressive.

Some elements of the Guy Joosten production were breathtaking, such as the Act 4 wedding night scene. Filmed from above, the lovers, on a suspended bed, appeared to be floating in a starry sky, as they sang in a tangle of legs and silken sheets. Johannes Leiacker's design involved a circular, rotating astronomical (or maybe, astrological) clock for a stage, backed by a large porthole through which we saw swirling galaxies and sunrises. It was as if we were looking, as operagoer Frank Pendle remarked, through the Hubble telescope.

The fight between the Capulets and Montagues took place against a solar eclipse.
It got one thinking about how mysterious the universe must have seemed to those in 14th-century Verona -- but I found myself wondering about that contraption that rotated more than I wanted to.

During scene changes, we were taken backstage for interviews (Renee Fleming with the cast and Domingo), and we saw stage crew springing into action as the stage manager led the countdown to curtain.

The theater was welcoming, selling desserts and wine at intermission (a la Met), although most opted for cokes and popcorn. Springdale presented an "Encore" show on Sunday, and they will do so for each of the 8 productions.

Next one: A 1 p.m. matinee, New Year's Day, of Hansel and Gretel Live from the Met, with an Encore show at 3 p.m. Jan. 6.

Tickets to Springdale's HD Met presentations can be purchased at www.movietickets.com, by calling 513-699-1500 or in person at the theater. Or call 513-671-0140 for more info.

Did you attend the Deerfield showing? Let us know how it went.