L.A. Opera making overtures to youth via podcast preludes: local company finds an audience for online outreach effort with its 'Behind the Curtain' features.

THE oldest form of musical theater is finding new life--and conceivably a new audience--via the iPod. The Los Angeles Opera's initial podcasts have proven surprisingly popular, and the company has now committed to producing an additional 14 episodes of its "Behind the Curtain at the L.A. Opera."

Online listeners to the first four episodes--available at no cost via the Internet--tuned in to a behind-the-scenes look at L.A. Opera's "Manon,'" directed by Vincent Paterson, and starring Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon. The downloads of the production outnumbered the tickets sold at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion by more than five to one in the first four weeks the shows were available over the Internet.

"The L.A. Opera is looking to cultivate the next generation of opera aficionados," said Eric Schwartzman, the podcasts' executive producer. Attracting new and younger fans is critical if the opera hopes to expand its graying fan base in the face of competition from so many other forms of entertainment.

Forward-thinking opera companies are trying all sorts of ways to connect with younger audiences. The New York Metropolitan Opera, for example, will simulcast some of its performances into movie theaters.

"These days, you can't blitz people with commercials, so you have to find a way to get them to opt into your message through content," said Schwartzman.

Producing the content for the 14 episodes, Schwartzman said, is "less expensive than to air a single commercial," and offers infinitely more consumer reach. The episodes, recorded at the Chandler Pavilion, include interviews and sneak peeks at opera productions.

Additionally, through partnerships with the L.A. County Museum of Art, the L.A. Philharmonic and New York's Metropolitan Museum, the opera is sending the podcasts to those organizations' subscribers, as well.