Live from La Scala

How pleasant it has been this winter to hear and to see opera at the Capawock Theatre in Vineyard Haven. This has been the third winter of Sunday afternoon operas on screen on the Island. Last Sunday it was Bizet’s Carmen performed at Milan’s La Scala that was shown at the Vineyard Haven theatre. Anita Rachvelishvili, a mezzo-soprano from Georgia, was magnificent as the gypsy, Carmen. And the German, Jonas Kaufmann, playing the guardsman Don Jose, was a lyrical tenor. The supporting cast of young Italians was equally impressive. Altogether, it was an afternoon to remember. Benjamin L. (Buzzy) Hall, the inaugurator of the series, mounted the stage before the opera began to talk a little about Bizet’s life and his artistry, adding a charming personal touch. Mr. Hall, a tenor with the Edgartown Federated Church choir, and a distant relation of 19th-century Lillian Norton, Madame Nordica —the first great American Wagnerian soprano — knows his music and could offer insights.

Still to come before the Island’s operatic season ends in April are Bellini’s I Puritani, done at the Teatro Communale in Bologna, Verdi’s Il Trovatore from the Gran Theatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Donizetti’s Viva la Mama performed at La Scala, Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini done at the Salzburg Festival in Austria, and three Stravinsky ballets danced by the Mariinsky Ballet Company of St. Petersburg, Russia — formerly the Kirov Ballet.

Of course, there are off-Island excursions that take music-loving Vineyarders to hear the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but being transported to Milan or Salzburg, St. Petersburg or Barcelona to attend an opera — albeit a screen opera —is somehow more grand. It is also absent the hassle of ferry and bus on a wintry day. Within minutes of the performance, we’re home again beside a cozy fire.

Mr. Hall deserves accolades for bringing Islanders these satisfying and inspiring operatic afternoons.