House in London is famous for its world class performances and exemplary production values. But the company has also carved an impressive niche as an innovator in its field, with the latest example being a groundbreaking series of viral short films called Danny Knows Best.

The spoof chat shows are set firmly in the Jeremy Kyle/Jerry Springer mould, featuring outrageous stories of scandal and bad behaviour. One guest has been treated like a slave in her own home and another admits to sleeping with her father’s boss in secret. Modern day scandals, no? Perhaps, but also all borrowed from the storylines of some of the most popular operas and ballets, including Rigoletto, Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella.

The viral marketing campaign is designed to appeal to fans of reality television and introduce the themes of opera to an audience that may not have experienced it before – and may not have ever thought that they wanted to. Not only that, but the Danny Knows Best theme tune is a natty remix of La donna è mobile from Rigoletto – and is available as a free download from the website!

The Royal Opera House is extending its unique vision to innovations in opera production too.

In 2010, a special performance of Carmen was filmed in 3D. 3D requires shots of the action from various different angles, meaning lots more cameras than there would be at a standard filmed production. The logistics of lots more equipment on set meant thinking about staging in a whole different way. It also required steely concentration from the stars.

The fruits of this labour are now in post production and a cinema release for Carmen 3D is expected in 2011.

Another way that the evolution of technology has altered our viewing habits is through the ubiquity of downloads. Through its purchase of Opus Arte in  2007, the Royal Opera House has put itself at the cutting edge of classical music downloads, beginning with files for the latest opera and ballet releases, downloadable straight to your computer.

Not only that, but a wealth of single music MP3s or entire albums worth of classical music are available instantly around the site.