{"id":70089,"date":"2021-01-04T10:51:21","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T15:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=70089"},"modified":"2021-01-04T10:51:21","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T15:51:21","slug":"critics-picks-classical-and-opera-streams-you-absolutely-need-to-see-this-week-jan-4-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2021\/01\/04\/critics-picks-classical-and-opera-streams-you-absolutely-need-to-see-this-week-jan-4-10\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical And Opera Streams You Absolutely Need To See This Week: Jan. 4 \u2013 10"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Classical
Classical music and opera events streaming on the web for the week of January 4 \u2013 10.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Critic\u2019s Picks (January 4 – 10)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWe live in an extraordinary Age\u201d \u2013 Carl Sagan.<\/em> Best of New Year\u2019s Greetings to all Critic\u2019s Picks readers \u2013 May 2021 brings you happiness, health, and plenty of wonderful music. With the vaccine on its way, let\u2019s hope that it won\u2019t be long before we can once again gather to experience and share in the joy of music.<\/p>\n

Now into its 43rd week of nightly streaming, the Met Opera program starts at 7:30 p.m. ET and available for 23 hours. The theme this week is \u201cEpic Rivalries,\u201d which virtually include all opera plots! Canadians featured in the streams include Sondra Radvanovsky, Joshua Hopkins, and John Relyea. The Met\u2019s New Year\u2019s Eve Gala, livestreamed from Augsburg Germany, received excellent reviews, but it also encountered controversy over the Met of hiring non-Met musicians, while the Orchestra has been furloughed and unpaid since April 1.<\/p>\n

The musical focus this week centres on New Year\u2019s concert programming from opera houses and concert halls mostly in Europe. The New Year\u2019s Eve Die Fledermaus<\/em> and New Year\u2019s Day L\u2019Italiana in Algeri<\/em> from Wiener Staatsoper are still available on demand for a limited time. Of the many New Year\u2019s concerts, you can\u2019t go wrong with the one from the Musikverein in Vienna, with Riccardo Muti conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. As expected, it played to an empty house, but I was astounded that there were no masks and no physical distancing among the musicians in the pit. To conclude this week\u2019s Critics Picks, I\u2019ve chosen a marathon interview of the beloved American mezzo Frederica von Stade, a must-see for her many followers.<\/p>\n

Monday 4<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Wigmore Hall | Ema Nikolovska and Malcolm Martineau<\/strong> \u2014\u00a01 p.m. ET. Macedonian mezzo Ema Nikolovska, a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, sings Schubert, Dvo\u0159\u00e1k, Britten, Boulanger, Slonimsky, and Canadian composer Ana Sokolovic. Malcolm Martineau is the pianist. Watch it at Wigmore Hall\u2019s website<\/a><\/span> (free registration required) or on YouTube<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | The Nutcracker<\/strong> \u2014 1 p.m. ET. Kevin Rhodes conducts this iconic Holiday classic, choreographed by the great Rudolf Nureyev. Clara is Natascha Mair, and Robert Gabdullin is the Prince. Free registration required. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Met | Cilea\u2019s Adriana Lecouvreur<\/strong>. Starring Anna Netrebko, Anita Rachvelishvili, Piotr Becza\u0142a, Carlo Bosi, Ambrogio Maestri, and Maurizio Muraro, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. From January 12, 2019. Talk about epic rivalries \u2014 sparks fly with these two divas \u2014 Russian Anna Netrebko and Georgian Anita Rachvelishvili. Very entertaining. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Met | Rossini\u2019s La Donna del Lago<\/strong>. Starring Joyce DiDonato, Daniela Barcellona, Juan Diego Fl\u00f3rez, John Osborn, and Oren Gradus, conducted by Michele Mariotti. From March 14, 2015. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Rossini\u2019s La Cenerentola<\/strong> \u2014 1 p.m. ET. Isabel Leonard, Maxim Mironov, Alessio Arduini, Luca Pisaroni. Jean-Christophe Spinosi, conductor. From 22. February 2018. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Met | Bizet\u2019s Les P\u00eacheurs de Perles<\/strong>. Starring Diana Damrau, Matthew Polenzani, Mariusz Kwiecie\u0144, and Nicolas Test\u00e9, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. From January 16, 2016. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s Rusalka<\/strong> \u2014 1 p.m. ET. Piotr Beczala, Olga Bezsmertna, Jongmin Park, Elena Zhidkova, Monika Bohinec. Tom\u00e1\u0161 Hanus, conductor. From February 4, 2020. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Met | Bellini\u2019s I Puritani<\/strong>. Starring Anna Netrebko, Eric Cutler, Franco Vassallo, and John Relyea, conducted by Patrick Summers. From January 6, 2007. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Wagner\u2019s Die Walkure<\/strong> \u2014\u00a01 p.m. ET. Christopher Ventris, Ain Anger, Waltraud Meier, Linda Watson, Tomasz Konieczny. Adam Fischer, conductor. From 13. January 2016. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Met | Mascagni\u2019s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo\u2019s Pagliacci<\/strong>. Cavalleria Rusticana: Starring Eva-Maria Westbroek, Jane Bunnell, Marcelo \u00c1lvarez, and George Gagnidze, conducted by Fabio Luisi. Pagliacci: Patricia Racette, Marcelo \u00c1lvarez, George Gagnidze, and Lucas Meachem, conducted by Fabio Luisi. From April 25, 2015. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Mahler, Live (Ballet)<\/strong> \u2014\u00a01 p.m. ET. Olga Esina, Marcos Menha\/Yuko Kato, Rebecca Horner, Solisten und Corps de ballett des Wiener Staatsballetts. Axel Kober, conductor. From 4 December 2020. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Met | Donizetti\u2019s Maria Stuarda.<\/strong> Starring Elza van den Heever, Joyce DiDonato, Matthew Polenzani, Joshua Hopkins, and Matthew Rose, conducted by Maurizio Benini. From January 19, 2013. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s Vec Makropulos<\/strong> \u2014 1 p.m. ET. Laura Aikin, Ludovit Ludha, Thomas Ebenstein, Margarita Gritskova, Markus Marquardt, Heinz Zednik. Peter Stein, conductor. From December 20, 2015. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday 10<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Met | Verdi\u2019s Il Trovatore.<\/strong> Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Dolora Zajick, Marcelo \u00c1lvarez, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and \u0160tefan Koc\u00e1n, conducted by Marco Armiliato. From April 30, 2011. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Wagner\u2019s Siegfried<\/strong> \u2014\u00a01 p.m. ET. Christian Franz, Linda Watson, Tomasz Konieczny, Herwig Pecoraro, Jochen Schmeckenbecher. Adam Fischer, conductor. From 17 January 2016. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Video-on-demand performances:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

1) Wiener Philharmoniker | Neujahrskonzert 2021<\/strong>. The granddaddy of New Year\u2019s Concert takes place in the Musikverein in Vienna. Riccardo Muti conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in a program of warhorses by Franz von Supp\u00e8, Johann Strau\u00df I &II, Josef Strau\u00df, Carl Zeller, Carl Mill\u00f6cker, plus a film, \u201cHappy Birthday Burgenland 1921-2021.\u201d No audience thus no applause, but they played three encores anyway, ending with the obligatory Redetzky Marsch. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

2) Teatr Wielki Opera Narodowa | Gala Sylwestrowa.<\/strong> Streamed on Dec. 31 and available until January 6, it features alumni of the Polish National Opera\u2019s Academy: baritone Andrzej Filo\u0144czyk (who sang Marcello in La Boheme in Toronto two seasons ago), baritone Tomasz Kumi\u0119ga, and soprano Olga Pasiecznik, in a program of Mozart and Rossini. Patrick Fournillier conducts the Polish National Opera Orchestra and Chorus.<\/p>\n