Opera Club goes high tech

New meeting room features multiple screens, surround sound

Eight years ago, a group of friends who enjoyed watching operas together realized they had outgrown the living rooms they were meeting in. They formed a club and the first meeting of the Leisure World Opera Club was Nov. 4, 2014. The club watched “Don Giovanni” in two parts.

Watching operas requires a large screen and good sound. Most operas are not in English so the screen must have space for subtitles, which must be readable from all points in the room where the opera is showing. Previously, the club was using a long room that did not have a permanent screen. Often the screen could only be seen from four or five rows back. The sound from the equipment playing the operas did not carry to the whole room. Recreation and the custodians of the clubhouse were always helpful, but the equipment was not made for large audience viewing.

In mid-2022 a club member was discussing the issues with GRF Director Carole Damoci. “See if you can use the Learning Center,” Damoci said, and she described the room and its equipment to the club member. The Opera Club followed up with Recreation and had a tour of the Learning Center. They immediately asked Recreation if they could permanently use the Clubhouse 3 Learning Center for their meetings.

The Learning Center was set up for NOCE (North Orange Continuing Education) to use as a classroom. Each desk in the room has a desktop computer. If the computers are not needed for the class they drop into the desk and are completely hidden. At the front of the room is a teacher’s desk and three wall mounted 90” televisions that play whatever is playing on the teacher’s computer. All seats in the room can clearly see one or two of the screens. Surround sound is distributed through speakers in the ceiling so the back row can hear just as clearly as the front row. Because the room is large, there is lots of space to spread out if social distancing is required.

In addition the Learning Center has its own private secure Wi-Fi network. The Wi-Fi opens up many opportunities for the Opera Club. Operas and documentaries that were never released on DVD can be streamed from subscription services. European performances that were never released in the United States can be streamed from European channels like Medici.tv. In October 2022, the club watched its first opera via streaming from the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

With the additional streaming abilities the club can create a great mix of traditional and contemporary works and add documentaries to meetings where shorter operas are played.

The equipment has to be turned on and set up correctly to use the screens properly so a technology committee has been formed. This technology committee contains club members who have been trained in the equipment, so there are always people at the meeting who know how to use the computers and screens in the Learning Center.

This unique room is high tech and the club respects the technology. No eating or drinking is allowed in the room, so members use the intermission to stretch their legs and go outside to have a cup of coffee or cocoa from the vending machines on the patio.

The Learning Center is a forward looking resource that enriches the community. Watching these operas on large screens with clear subtitles makes it easy to follow and enjoy the presentations. Members watch a complete opera at each meeting.Thosewhomaybenew to opera are invited to join the club in its high tech environment to see if opera may be a new passion for you.

After several schedule changes this year, the Opera Club now meets once a month on the third Tuesday of each month beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the Clubhouse 3 Learning Center. The next Opera Club meeting will be held Dec. 20.

For more information, contact President Margaret Gillon at 562-370-3844. —Margaret Gillon