Opera's populist gamble pays off

Variety: "Metropolitan Opera general director Peter Gelb doesn't gloat. But if he did, no one could begrudge him an 'I told you so.' The Met topper has been the driving force behind his 130-year-old company's decision to transmit live opera into movie theaters via satellite. The effort -- which was initially greeted skeptically by many opera and exhibition-business insiders -- is now in its fifth season, and the numbers speak for themselves.