Ludwig van Toronto’s weekly Critic’s Picks are a curated list of some of the best concerts happening now through the end of the week. For a look at the full breadth of what’s available in and around Toronto, check out our curated concert listings here.
Note: “We live in an extraordinary Age” – Carl Sagan. Recent events have demonstrated this in no uncertain terms. A tiny previously unknown microbe, COVID-19, has shut down our musical life, hopefully only temporarily. Several opera companies and music organizations are offering video streaming services during the hiatus, including the Met, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Berliner Philharmoniker, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, and the Royal Conservatory of Music. Now you can enjoy wonderful performances in the privacy of your own home — for free!
Monday 16
Wiener Staatsoper | Falstaff (performance of 30 January 2019) 2:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time). Stream remains available for 24 hours.
Conductor: James Conlon | director: David McVicar with Carlos Álvarez (Sir John Falstaff), Simon Keenlyside (Ford), Jinxu Xiahou (Fenton), Herwig Pecoraro (Bardolfo), Ryan Speedo Green (Pistola), Michael Laurenz (Dr. Cajus), Olga Bezsmertna (Alice Ford), Hila Fahima (Nannetta), Monika Bohinec (Mrs. Quickly), Margaret Plummer (Meg Page). | Details
Bayerische Staatsoper | Mixed program 3:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time)
After the cancellation of all performances at the Bavarian State Opera through April 19, they are making their performances available as live streams or as video-on-demand at www.staatsoper.tv. First up is Christian Gerhaher, Christina Landshamer and Gerold Huber performing Schumann’s Liederalbum für die Jugend op. 79, followed by the Schumann-Quartett of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester playing Mozart’s String Quartet No.14 in G major, KV 387 and Igor Levit with Beethoven’s Diabelli-Variations. The stream will conclude OPERcussion performing works by JS Bach and Chick Corea. | Details
Met Opera | Bizet’s Carmen 7:25 pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, starring Elīna Garanča and Roberto Alagna. (Originally broadcast January 16, 2010.) | Details
Tuesday 17
Wiener Staatsoper | Tri Sestri (performance of 18 March 2016) 2:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time). Stream remains available for 24 hours
conductor: Péter Eötvös | conductor of the stage orchestra: Jonathan Stockhammer
director: Yuval Sharon with Aida Garifullina (Irina), Margarita Gritskova (Mascha), Ilseyar Khayrullova (Olga), Eric Jurenas (Natascha), Boaz Daniel (Tusenbach), Clemens Unterreiner (Verschinin), Gabriel Bermúdez (Andrei), Dan Paul Dumitrescu (Kulygin), Norbert Ernst (Doktor), Victor Shevchenko (Soljony), Marcus Pelz (Anfissa), Jason Bridges (Rodé), Jinxu Xiahou (Fedotik) | Details
Met Opera | Puccini’s La Bohème 7:25 pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Conducted by Nicola Luisotti, starring Angela Gheorghiu and Ramón Vargas. (Originally broadcast April 5, 2008.) | Details
Wednesday 18
Met Opera | Verdi’s Il Trovatore. 7:25 pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Conducted by Marco Armiliato, starring Anna Netrebko, Dolora Zajick, Yonghoon Lee, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. (Originally broadcast October 3, 2015.) | Details
Wiener Staatsoper | Die Walküre (performance of 31 May 2015) 12:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time). Stream remains available for 24 hours
conductor: Simon Rattle | director: Sven-Eric Bechtolf
with Christopher Ventris (Siegmund), Mikhail Petrenko (Hunding), Tomasz Konieczny (Wotan), Martina Serafin (Sieglinde), Evelyn Herlitzius (Brünnhilde), Michaela Schuster (Fricka) | Details
Thursday 19
Wiener Staatsoper | Falstaff (performance of 15 December 2016) 2:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time). Stream remains available for 24 hours
conductor: Zubin Mehta | director: David McVicar
with Ambrogio Maestri (Sir John Falstaff), Ludovic Tézier (Ford), Paolo Fanale (Fenton), Herwig Pecoraro (Bardolfo), Riccardo Fassi (Pistola), Thomas Ebenstein (Dr. Cajus), Carmen Giannattasio (Alice Ford), Hila Fahima (Nannetta), Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Mrs. Quickly), Lilly Jørstad (Meg Page) | Details
Met Opera | Verdi’s La Traviata 7:25 pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, starring Diana Damrau, Juan Diego Flórez, and Quinn Kelsey. (Originally broadcast December 15, 2018.) | Details
Friday 20
Wiener Staatsoper | Tosca (performance of 5 December 2015) 2:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time). Stream remains available for 24 hours
conductor: Dan Ettinger | director: Margarethe Wallmann
with María José Siri (Floria Tosca), Roberto Alagna (Mario Cavaradossi), Michael Volle (Baron Scarpia) | Details
Met Opera | Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment 7:25 pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Conducted by Marco Armiliato, starring Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez. (Originally broadcast April 26, 2008.) | Details
Saturday 21
Wiener Staatsoper | La cenerentola (performance of 22 February 2018) 2:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time). Stream remains available for 24 hours
conductor: Jean-Christophe Spinosi | director: Sven-Eric Bechtolf
with Maxim Mironov (Don Ramiro), Alessio Arduini (Dandini), Paolo Rumetz (Don Magnifico), Ileana Tonca (Clorinda), Margaret Plummer (Tisbe), Isabel Leonard (Angelina), Luca Pisaroni (Alidoro) | Details
Met Opera | Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor 7:25 pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Conducted by Marco Armiliato, starring Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczała, and Mariusz Kwiecien. (Originally broadcast February 7, 2009.) | Details
Tapestry Opera | Songbook X 8:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time)
A free virtual concert of Songbook X will be streamed on its YouTube channel, @TapestryNewOpera featuring mezzo Krisztina Szabo and pianist Christopher Foley, on Saturday, March 21. | Details
Sunday 22
Wiener Staatsoper | Siegfried (performance of 16 January 2019) 12:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time). Stream remains available for 24 hours
conductor: Axel Kober | director: Sven-Eric Bechtolf
with Stephen Gould (Siegfried), Iréne Theorin (Brünnhilde),Tomasz Konieczny (Der Wanderer), Jochen Schmeckenbecher (Alberich), Monika Bohinec (Erda), Herwig Pecoraro (Mime), Sorin Coliban (Fafner) | Details
Met Opera | Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin 7:25 pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Conducted by Valery Gergiev, starring Renée Fleming, Ramón Vargas, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. (Originally broadcast February 24, 2007.) | Details
Can’t wait? The following events are available to stream online now:
Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto)
To access their free video streaming library with video on demand. Recent concerts include Johannes Debus conducting the Royal Conservatory Orchestra (Feb 14, 2020) and Against the Grain’s Ayre (January 11, 2020) | Details
Berliner Philharmoniker
To access their Digital Concert Hall with video on demand, go to their website and register for free. | Details
Teatro Massimo di Palermo
The Sicilian opera house is providing free daily streaming. | Details
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