Wagner's "Das Rheingold," the first installment in the Metropolitan Opera's new "Ring of the Nibelung" cycle, will open the fifth season of "The Met: Live in HD." The successful live performance transmissions of the operas into movie theaters worldwide begins at 1 p.m. Oct. 9. Baritone Bryn Terfel will lead the cast in his role debut as Wotan, and James Levine will conduct.

The transmissions will air live on Saturday afternoons, with an "encore" Wednesday evenings, 18 days later. The two Pittsburgh-area venues are Cinemark Theaters in Robinson and Pittsburgh Mills (Frazer). In addition, most of the Met's HD performances eventually make their way to PBS's "Great Performances" (televised locally on WQED) and a commercial DVD release.

The cinema presentations have drawn a faithful following among Pittsburgh opera lovers and those less familiar who want to get to know more about opera. During the intermission features, a renowned artist such as Renee Fleming or Deborah Voigt will remind viewers that they should attend live performances at the Met or in their own cities. There also has been some discussion over whether opera in the movie theaters increases or cuts into attendance figures of regional opera companies.

While there is no hard evidence either way, Pittsburgh Opera general director Christopher Hahn believes "it's a very positive move, not just for the performances themselves but also for the behind-the-scenes aspect, which puts a flesh and blood face on opera production itself." Pittsburgh Opera usually has a presence at the movie theaters, handing out synopses of the opera of the day, along with schedules and subscription forms for the Downtown season. Mr. Hahn also points out that the Met's widely varied repertory broadens Pittsburghers' tolerance and interest in less familiar operas when the local company attempts something new. One of last season's biggest hits was Rossini's all-but-unknown "Armida," in part, of course, because the Met revival starred superstar soprano Renee Fleming.

There's further local interest in that several of Pittsburgh Opera's Young Artist Program alumni will appear in roles at the Met this season. Mezzo-soprano Lindsay Ammann, a young artist who took on several Pittsburgh Opera roles last season, will portray one of the Valkyries in Wagner's "Die Walkuere," the last of the upcoming live transmissions on May 14, 2011.

Last season a record-breaking number of 2.4 million tickets were sold worldwide, and the number of transmissions has been increased to 12 for 2010-11. The schedule follows. Saturday performances begin at 1 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For advance tickets, go to www.fathomevents.com.

Oct. 9 (encore Oct. 27): Wagner: "Das Rheingold."

Oct. 23, noon (encore Nov. 10): Musorgsky: "Boris Godunov."

Nov. 13 (encore Dec. 1): Donizetti: "Don Pasquale."

Dec. 11, 12:30 p.m. (encore Dec. 29): Verdi: "Don Carlo."

Jan. 8, 2011 (encore Jan. 26): Puccini: "The Girl of the Golden West."

Feb. 12, 2011 (encore March 2): Adams: "Nixon in China."

Feb. 26, 2011 (encore March 16): Gluck: "Iphigenie en Tauride."

March 19, 2011 (encore April 6): Donizetti: "Lucia di Lammermoor."

April 9, 2011 (encore April 27): Rossini: "Le Comte Ory."

April 23, 2011 (encore May 11): Strauss: "Capriccio."

April 30, 2011 (encore May 18): Verdi: "Il Trovatore."

May 14, noon (encore June 1): Wagner: "Die Walkuere."

Critics Andrew Druckenbrod and Scott Mervis talk about music on "The Beat," available exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.