Entertainment

What fan of pay-per-view television duels could resist such an event? In this corner, the operatic heavyweight from Modena, Italy, Luciano Pavarotti! And in this corner, that Iberian emoter, champeen tenor Placido Domingo! The kings of the high Cs will head a list of stars on Sept. 23, when a 25th-anniversary gala at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City is broadcast in a way usually associated with professional punch-'em-ups: live pay-per-view television.

The price tag for the home viewer will be as elevated as the entertainment -- a glass-shattering $34.95. Presenters Cablevision, NBC Cable and Polygram are obviously hoping that the success of pay-per-view pugilism will be duplicated among opera lovers. The gala is described as "the first in a long- term agreement" with the Met, which currently presents free PBS opera broadcasts.