{"id":69316,"date":"2020-10-05T09:29:31","date_gmt":"2020-10-05T13:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=69316"},"modified":"2020-10-06T09:38:59","modified_gmt":"2020-10-06T13:38:59","slug":"critics-picks-classical-music-livestreams-absolutely-need-see-week-oct-5-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2020\/10\/05\/critics-picks-classical-music-livestreams-absolutely-need-see-week-oct-5-11\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical Music Livestreams You Absolutely Need To See This Week (Oct. 5 \u2013 11)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Classical
Classical music and opera events streaming on the web for the week of October 5 \u2013 11.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Critic\u2019s Picks (October 5 \u2013 11)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWe live in an extraordinary Age\u201d \u2014 Carl Sagan.<\/em> 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 parts of Europe. Some performances were cancelled, such as the Hessisches Staattheater Wiesbaden Le Nozze di Figaro<\/em> and Il Barbiere di Siviglia<\/em>. It has just been announced that Cecilia Bartoli\u2019s Barcelona concert on October 17 is no more. After the cancellation of a performance of Un Ballo in Maschera<\/em> 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. It starred soprano Sondra Radvanovsky as Amelia, with two more performances to happen this week.<\/p>\n

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<\/em>, 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.<\/p>\n

On this side of the pond, many theatres sadly remain shuttered. The Metropolitan Opera will stay dark for the whole of the 2020-21 season. The original plan of reopening with a New Year\u2019s Eve Gala proved unrealistic. With the closure of the biggest opera venue in the continent, it does not bode well for other opera companies in North America. A very few opera companies have found new ways to perform, such as San Diego Opera\u2019s Drive-In La Boheme<\/em> starring Angel Blue and Joshua Guerrero. This appears to be the new normal in the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Met continues with its free nightly stream at 7:30 p.m. ET, available for 23 hours. This is Wagner week, with some stunning performances on offer. Wigmore Hall, with its star-studded Autumn series, is well worth exploring. Equally noteworthy is San Francisco Opera\u2019s free streaming in October of three archived performances \u2014 Tosca<\/em> (Oct. 10-11), Attila<\/em> (Oct. 17-18), and Le nozze di Figaro<\/em> (Oct. 24-25). All streams start at 1 p.m. Saturday ET and are then archived for on-demand viewing until 2:59 a.m. ET Monday morning.<\/p>\n

Monday 5<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Met | Wagner\u2019s Tristan und Isolde<\/strong> Starring Nina Stemme, Ekaterina Gubanova, Stuart Skelton, Evgeny Nikitin, and Ren\u00e9 Pape, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. From October 8, 2016. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Tuesday 6<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Wigmore Hall | Robin Tritschler and Graham Johnson 8 a.m. ET<\/strong> The Irish tenor Robin Tritschler gives an all-Schubert recital, exploring settings of texts by Schulze, Schiller, Matthisson and Goethe, and he is joined by pianist Graham Johnson. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Met | Wagner\u2019s Tannh\u00e4user<\/strong> Starring Eva-Maria Westbroek, Michelle DeYoung, Johan Botha, Peter Mattei, and G\u00fcnther Groissb\u00f6ck, conducted by James Levine. From October 31, 2015. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Wednesday 7<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

University of Toronto Faculty of Music | Lawrence Brownlee Masterclass 12:00 – 2:30 pm ET\u00a0<\/strong> The marvelous American tenor is teaching two masterclasses available on YouTube. Link will be posted 11:00 am on day of class. Wednesday (Opera) and Thursday (Bel Canto). Details at https:\/\/music.utoronto.ca\/concerts-events.php?eid=2958<\/p>\n

Toronto Symphony Orchestra | TSO at the Drive-In: Kings of Ragtime 7 p.m. ET<\/strong> Hats off to the TSO for thinking outside the box with this physical concert at the CityView Drive-In on 20 Polson St in Toronto. When was the last time you were at a Drive-In? Experience classical music as you\u2019ve never before! Gordon Gerrard conducts 25 TSO musicians in a program of Ragtime favourites by Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, George Gershwin, and others. Tickets are sold on a per-car basis ($80-200). | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Met | Wagner\u2019s Das Rheingold<\/strong> Starring Christa Ludwig, Siegfried Jerusalem, James Morris, and Ekkehard Wlaschiha, conducted by James Levine. From April 23, 1990. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Thursday 8<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Met | Wagner\u2019s Die Walk\u00fcre<\/strong> Starring Hildegard Behrens, Jessye Norman, Christa Ludwig, Gary Lakes, James Morris, and Kurt Moll, conducted by James Levine. From April 8, 1989. This is an iconic performance, with a magnificent cast in the gorgeous albeit traditional Otto Schenk production that has since been replaced by the Lepage production. Not to be missed. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Friday 9<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Wigmore Hall | Louise Alder and Roger Vignoles 8 a.m. ET<\/strong> The wonderful British soprano Louise Alder was supposed to be Susanna in the cancelled COC Le nozze di Figaro this fall. You can still catch her here with Roger Vignoles on the piano, singing songs by Fanny Mendelssohn, Francis Poulenc, and Erik Satie. The centrepiece is Alban Berg\u2019s Sieben fr\u00fche Lieder.<\/p>\n