{"id":69544,"date":"2020-11-02T09:53:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T14:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=69544"},"modified":"2020-11-02T09:53:30","modified_gmt":"2020-11-02T14:53:30","slug":"critics-picks-classical-music-livestreams-absolutely-need-see-week-november-2-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2020\/11\/02\/critics-picks-classical-music-livestreams-absolutely-need-see-week-november-2-8\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical Music Livestreams You Absolutely Need To See This Week (November 2 \u2013 8)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Classical music and opera events streaming on the web for the week of November 2 \u2013 8.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Critic\u2019s Picks (November 2 \u2013 8)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWe live in an extraordinary Age\u201d \u2013 Carl Sagan.<\/em> The COVID-19 pandemic continues to profoundly disrupt our musical lives. The dreaded second wave has arrived with a vengeance, forcing many venues that had reopened to close again. Beginning on Monday Nov. 2, Germany will be in lockdown for at least a month, meaning all opera houses and concert halls closed. Ditto for the Paris Opera in France. The Czech Republic is under strict lockdown. Switzerland has new strict measures. Events with more than 50 people will be prohibited. That means the Lucerne Festival\u2019s planned Beethoven Festival is no more, and the Opernhaus Zurich and Grand Theatre de Geneve are closed for the month of November. The Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona is shut until November 24.<\/p>\n

The Italian government has just announced that all theatres and concert halls are closed until Nov. 24. Both La Scala and Teatro San Carlo di Napoli are reporting new COVID-19 cases. La Scala has seen 21 musicians test positive since the closing of the theatre. Among those testing positive, according to the theatre\u2019s spokesperson, were chorus members, string and wind players as well as star tenor Francesco Meli. La Scala will supposedly re-open after Nov. 24 for its run of La Boheme<\/em>. Belgium, one of the hardest hit countries currently, has ordered La Monnaie<\/em> closed until Nov. 22, reopening afterwards for performances of Mozart\u2019s Der Schauspieldirektor<\/em>. That said, in these uncertain times, nothing is certain, so I would not hold my breath.<\/p>\n

The news is equally grim on this side of the pond. Cineplex Canada cancelled its planned encore screenings of three Met HD performances. The National Ballet of Canada cut short its run of The Dreamers Ever Leave You<\/em>. The Metropolitan Opera will stay dark for the whole of the 2020-21 season, and the COC has cancelled its entire 2020-21 season. The Met Stars Live in Concert<\/em> featuring soprano Pretty Yende and tenor Javier Camarena, scheduled for Nov. 7, has been postponed due to the non-COVID illness of Camarena. Carnegie Hall just announced it has cancelled all live performances until April 5, 2021. Lincoln Centre has cancelled all performances for spring 2021, which means its Great Performers series and 2020-21 David Rubenstein Atrium Season, as well as the annual American Songbook series, are all gone.<\/p>\n

Thank goodness that music lovers can turn to cyberspace for solace. The Met continues with its free nightly stream, at 7:30 p.m. ET and available for 23 hours. Given that this is the 34th week of streaming, even the Met with its huge archives is recycling some shows through ingenious repackaging: this is the first of a two-week program billed as From the Baroque to the Present: A Two-Week Tour of Opera History<\/em>. Finally, be sure to watch the many video-on-demand offerings. A great choice is the Royal Conservatory Orchestra concert led by Jonathan Crow that took place earlier in October and now available for free streaming.<\/p>\n

Monday 2<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Wigmore Hall | Alice Coote & Christian Blackshaw: Winterreise 2:30 p.m. ET<\/strong> The distinguished British mezzo Alice Coote tackles Winterreise, the Mount Everest of song cycle. Christian Blackshaw is the pianist. Not-to-be-missed.<\/p>\n