What is the "Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD?"

"The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD" is a series of live simultaneous broadcasts of performances of the Metropolitan Opera to various venues throughout the world. The venues are primarily movie theaters in the United States.

The goal of the program is to build a wider audience for the Metropolitan Opera outside New York, as well as to generate general interest in the arts, especially classical music and opera. The Met had long broadcast its performances live over the radio, but in 2006 the company decided to add a visual component. The program began with six performances in 2006-2007, and has since expanded to eleven or twelve per season.