The Voice that Fills the House: Opera Fills the Screen

In 1893, Thomas Edison in the New York Times predicted the time of being able to see an opera from a distant stage, and now, with television and video screens, his intentions are realized. However, among all the theatrical events rendered in and on film, the opera film is one of the most challenging and problematic as it presents a challenge in the commingling of the disparate elements of theatrical artifice, vocal music, and cinematic realism that is perhaps unique in the history of film adaptation. Here, Tibbetts discusses these challenges that arose in the development of opera films as he details its history.