Munich, 11 January 2010. The live gala of the TV contest "The Most Beautiful Operas of All Time" thrilled hundreds of thousands of viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and racked up extraordinary ratings for 3sat. The live production of 3sat, UNITEL CLASSICA and ZDFtheaterkanal was watched in the three countries last Saturday by up to a million viewers at its peak, and the market shares were clearly above the broadcasters' average. The participating stations 3sat, CLASSICA (on Sky) and ZDFtheaterkanal had already drawn a great deal of attention prior to the gala by airing the ten competing operas, and triggered a great media echo. In Germany alone, 380,000 viewers followed "La Traviata" on 3sat with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón (Salzburg Festival 2005), and 330,000 viewers watched "La Bohème" in Robert Dornhelm's film adaptation; both are productions of UNITEL CLASSICA. The Leipziger Volkszeitung acclaimed the "sensational ratings," the Sueddeutsche Zeitung stressed the "extraordinarily sophisticated program" and delightedly noted "how high culture was placed in television's center of interest." Austria's Standard wrote: "What commands respect is this project's formative will (…) and the wealth of the offering was truly remarkable." At the end of the seven-month-long contest, German, Austrian and Swiss viewers selected Verdi's "La Traviata" as the most beautiful opera of all time.