Classical music and opera events streaming on the web for the week of October 12 – 18.

Critic’s Picks (October 12 – 18)

“We live in an extraordinary Age” – Carl Sagan. COVID-19 continues to profoundly disrupt our musical lives. While some venues have reopened with strict precautions, the road has been difficult. The dreaded second wave has arrived in Europe. The surge in cases was so severe in the Czech Republic that all performing arts venues were recently ordered closed. Many casualties of performances being cancelled, such as an entire run of Tannhauser in Rouen, all of Le Nozze di Figaro and Il Barbiere di Siviglia in Wiesbaden, plus Cecilia Bartoli’s Barcelona concert on October 17. After the cancellation of a performance of Un Ballo in Maschera on Sept. 21 at the Teatro Real (Madrid) due to lack of physical distancing in the galleries, the opera house corrected the deficiencies and a subsequent performance on October 2 took place successfully, starring soprano Sondra Radvanovsky as Amelia. Sadly, a simple cold led to her cancelling one of her two remaining performances this week.

As an indication that creativity is alive and well amidst all the pandemic doom and gloom, a new piece has been commissioned by conductor Oliver Zeffman, Eight Songs From Isolation, exploring themes of distance. It features Zeffman conducting the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra, with artists such as Sarah Connolly, Iestyn Davies, Sophie Bevan, Toby Spence, Julia Bullock and others. Another piece of good news is the recovery from COVID of Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, who will return to the stage at La Scala on Oct 21, in an operatic recital. However, it has just been announced that the Russian tour planned for October by her and her husband tenor Yusif Eyvazov has been postponed to March 2021. Travel restrictions between countries have led to many cancellations and postponements, such as soprano Golda Schultz at Wigmore Hall this coming Sunday (Oct. 18).

The news isn’t great on this side of the pond either. Cineplex had planned to reopen with encore screenings of three Met performances beginning Oct. 17, but because of the spike in cases in the GTA, the government has ordered the cinemas closed. The National Ballet of Canada has to stop its run of The Dreamers Ever Leave You for the same reason. The Metropolitan Opera will stay dark for the whole of the 2020-21 season, and now the COC has cancelled its entire 2020-21 season. A lone bright light is the San Diego Opera’s Drive-In La Boheme starring Ana Maria Martinez (replacing the originally announced Angel Blue) and Joshua Guerrero, slated to start Oct 27. Let’s wish them luck!

On the virtual front, the Met continues with its free nightly stream, at 7:30 p.m. ET and available for 23 hours. This is Donizetti week, starring several big-name artists including Russian soprano Anna Netrebko and Canadian soprano Sondra Radvanovsky. The Canadian, together with her Screaming Diva pal Keri Alkema, had a whale of a time chatting with soprano Christine Goerke, available on demand. Finally, a bit of very sad news — the opera world mourns the passing of a luminous artist in Canadian soprano Erin Wall, who passed on October 8 from cancer, at the much too young age of 44.

Monday 12

Met | Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor Starring Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczała, Mariusz Kwiecień, and Ildar Abdrazakov, conducted by Marco Armiliato. From February 7, 2009. | Details

Tuesday 13

Wigmore Hall | Mariam Batsashvili piano. 2:30 p.m. ET The Georgian pianist plays a program of Franck, Ravel, Thalberg, Schumann, and Liszt. Available for on-demand viewing for the next 30 days. | Details

Festival of the Sound | Beethoven@250 7 p.m. ET The Festival’s Artistic Director James Campbell, the Cheng Duo and the Gryphon Trio, present the first of a series of six online concerts, playing two Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas, and the Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97 (Archduke). Ticket: $20, season pass: $99. | Details

Met | Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment Starring Natalie Dessay, Felicity Palmer, Juan Diego Flórez, and Alessandro Corbelli, conducted by Marco Armiliato. From April 26, 2008. | Details

Wednesday 14

Met | Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore Starring Pretty Yende, Matthew Polenzani, Davide Luciano, and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, conducted by Domingo Hindoyan. From February 10, 2018. | Details

Thursday 15

Met | Donizetti’s Anna Bolena Starring Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Gubanova, Tamara Mumford, Stephen Costello, and Ildar Abdrazakov, conducted by Marco Armiliato. From October 15, 2011. | Details

Friday 16

Wigmore Hall | Schumann Quartet This ensemble made its Toronto debut in April, 2018 and returned last February. The three brothers Mark, Erik and Ken Schumann are joined by violist Liisa Randalu in a program of Schumann and Beethoven. Details

Met | Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda Starring Elza van den Heever, Joyce DiDonato, Matthew Polenzani, Joshua Hopkins, and Matthew Rose, conducted by Maurizio Benini. From January 19, 2013. | Details

Saturday 17

Wigmore Hall | Stephen Kovacevich piano. The American pianist/conductor plays a program of Bach and Schubert. | Details

Royal Conservatory of Music/Koerner Hall | Resounding Concert 8 p.m. ET A gala fundraising event in support of Koerner Hall and the Royal Conservatory of Music, with a stellar lineup of artists. Meryl Streep, Lang Lang, Alex Cuba, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Sondra Radvanovsky, Daniel Hope, Jan Lisiecki, James Ehnes, Zakir Hussain, Gerald Clayton, DJ Skratch Bastid and Afiara Quartet, Chilly Gonzales, kd lang, Lighthouse, Rhiannon Giddens, and Barbara Hannigan. I understand more to come! | Details

Met | Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Elīna Garanča, Matthew Polenzani, and Mariusz Kwiecień, conducted by Maurizio Benini. From April 16, 2016. | Details

Sunday 18

Wigmore Hall | Gweneth Ann Rand (soprano) and Simon Lepper (piano). They replaced the originally announced soprano Golda Schultz and pianist Jonathan Ware, who were unable to appear due to travel restrictions. Rand sings a program of Schubert, Clara Schumann and Richard Strauss. | Details

Met | Donizetti’s Don Pasquale Starring Anna Netrebko, Matthew Polenzani, Mariusz Kwiecień, and John Del Carlo, conducted by James Levine. From November 13, 2010. | Details

Belfast International Arts Festival | Piatti Quartet with Janina Fialkowska 12:30 pm ET

Last minute addition! Don’ miss beloved Canadian pianist Janina Fialkowska, joining the Piatti Quartet in a performance of Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 3, arranged for piano quintet. For the live stream, you need to book a ticket – for free – at the link provided: https://belfastinternationalartsfestival.com/event/piatti-quartet-with-janina-fialkowska-piano/?fbclid=IwAR2kVJbtxkkHnxbDNXQG9YYSa9zCQIH0LgH-qL723lKjhwu10nC9cfNJGBU

Video-on-demand performances:

1) Screaming Divas with Sondra and Keri | Christine Goerke, aka Helden Mommy, joins the Screaming Divas Sondra Radvanovsky and Keri Alkema for a rip-roaring chat, about life during COVID, the notorious RBG, starting out at the Met, and everything else. For fans of these three great ladies and girl-talk.

2) ORF Live | Jonas Kaufmann & Helmut Deutsch. Lived streamed on August 16 and now available on demand, tenor Jonas Kaufmann and pianist Helmut Deutsch give an outdoor concert in Grafenegg. On the program is Schubert’s great song cycle Die schone Mullerin. Interesting to hear the Helden voice scaled down to achieve the necessary intimacy of a Liederabend.

3) Melbourne Symphony Orchestra | Vier letzte Lieder Critic’s Picks ends on a sad note this week, as the opera world mourns the passing of a luminous Canadian soprano Erin Wall, who died from cancer at age 44 on Oct 8. Recorded six years ago in Australia with Sir Andrew Davis conducting the Melbourne forces, hearing these songs is almost unbearably sad.

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Joseph So

Joseph So is Professor Emeritus at Trent University and Associate Editor of Opera Canada.He is also a long-time contributor to La Scena Musicale and Opera (London, UK). His interest in music journalism focuses on voice, opera as well as symphonic and piano repertoires. He appears regularly as a panel member of the Big COC Podcast.He has co-edited a book, Opera in a Multicultural World: Coloniality, Culture, Performance, published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group).

CRITIC'S PICKS | Classical Music Livestreams You Absolutely Need To See This Week (Oct. 12 – 18)