The Washington Post looks into the growing trend of performing arts organizations broadcasting their productions to movie theaters around the world. The National Theatre does it. The Los Angeles Philharmonic will broadcast its Mahler’s Eighth, performed by more than 1,000 musicians in Caracas, Venezuela. And at the Angelika this week, you can go and watch a guided walk through of the Leonardi da Vinci exhibition at the National Gallery in London.

New York’s Metropolitan Opera, of course, was the pioneer in movie theater performance, and despite initial skepticism from critics, the company has turned the broadcasts, along with accompanying DVDs and recordings, into a profitable business model.

Critics have had to eat their words, since the HD broadcasts are the most successful single element of Gelb’s tenure, and have proved truly visionary. They have raised the profile of opera, created excitement where there was none, and rather than bankrupting the company, as many predicted, they have made money. In 2010-11 they netted an impressive $11 million.

But the Met has a particular brand and audience, built over decades of international radio broadcasts, so the model isn’t exactly replicable for other groups. That has not stopped ballet, theater, music, and other companies from trying. What many have found, though, is  is that not unlike their actually live performances, theater broadcasts require a good deal of marketing to sell tickets. And the competition – deep-pocketed movie studies – is steep.

Photo Marcello Giordani and Angela Meade will perform in the Met’s upcoming broadcast of Verdi’s Ernani.