Page "Metropolitan Opera" Paragraph 37

In 1995, under general manager Joseph Volpe, the Met installed its own system of simultaneous translations of opera texts designed for the particular needs of the Met and its audiences.

Called " Met Titles ", the $ 2. 7 million electronic libretto system provides the audience with a translation of the opera's text in English on individual screens mounted in front of each seat.

This system was the first in the world to be placed in an opera house with " each screen ( having ) a switch to turn it off, a filter to prevent the dim, yellow dot-matrix characters from disturbing nearby viewers and the option to display texts in multiple languages for newer productions ( currently Spanish and German ).

Custom-designed, the system features rails of different heights for various sections of the house, individually designed displays for some box seats and commissioned translations costing up to $ 10, 000 apiece.

" Due to the height of the Met's proscenium, it was not feasible to have titles displayed above the stage, as is done in most other opera houses.

The idea of above-stage titles had been vehemently opposed by music director James Levine, but the " Met Titles " system has since been acknowledged as an ideal solution, offering texts to only those members of the Met audience that desire them.