{"id":70248,"date":"2021-02-01T10:34:38","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T15:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=70248"},"modified":"2021-02-01T10:34:38","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T15:34:38","slug":"critics-picks-classical-opera-streams-absolutely-need-see-week-february-1-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2021\/02\/01\/critics-picks-classical-opera-streams-absolutely-need-see-week-february-1-7\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical And Opera Streams You Absolutely Need To See This Week: February 1 \u2013 7"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Classical
Classical music and opera events streaming on the web for the week of February 1 \u2013 7.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Critic\u2019s Picks (February 1 – 7)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWe live in an extraordinary Age\u201d \u2014 Carl Sagan<\/em>. COVID-19 continues to decimate our musical life, with a depressing start to 2021. Op\u00e9ra Royal de Wallonie-Li\u00e8ge canceled concerts by Juan Diego Fl\u00f3rez and Jonas Kaufmann due to pandemic measures by the government of Belgium. Opera houses in Darmstadt, Kassel, Wiesbaden, Marburg, Gie\u00dfen, Staatsoper Hannover, Deutsches Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle Weimar, Oper Frankfurt, Semperoper Dresden, and National-theater Mannheim, Deutsche Oper Am Rhein, Finnish National Opera \u2014 all closed for various lengths of time, and some won\u2019t reopen until Easter. The Palau de Les Arts Reina Sof\u00eda in Valencia, Spain announced that Daniele Gatti\u2019s Verdi Requiem<\/em> is postponed to July 1 and the upcoming Tristan und Isolde<\/em> will be replaced by Falstaff<\/em>, due to the large orchestra and chorus requirements for the Wagner opera. Falstaff<\/em>, originally scheduled for February, will now be presented on March 2, 7, 11, and 14.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, a new study by Fraunhofer Heinrich Institute & Konzerthaus Dortmund has concluded that concert halls and theatres are safe when attendance is kept to 50% of capacity. Let\u2019s hope they are right! Opernhaus Z\u00fcrich, Grand Th\u00e9\u00e2tre de Gen\u00e8ve, and Theater Basel are closed until at least Feb. 28. The Italian government has declared a State of Emergency to last until April 30. The Royal Swedish Opera has extended its closure until at least March 26. If the pandemic situation allows, the opera house will reopen for the premiere of Richard Strauss\u2019 opera Ariadne auf Naxos<\/em> on March 27.<\/p>\n

The Met Opera\u2019s nightly free streaming celebrates Black History Month by featuring performances given by many of the great African American singers, the likes of Leontyne Price, Jessye Norman, and Kathleen Battle. All Met nightly streams start at 7:30 p.m. ET and available for 23 hours. San Francisco Opera announced its screenings of Tosca<\/em> originally from 2009 starring Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka at the Fort Mason Flix Drive-In. Originally schedule for December, it is now scheduled for Feb. 12 and 13. The opera will be screened twice a day at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., allowing for 98 cars per show, parked six feet apart. Masked required for anyone over 2 years old while outside the vehicle. However, going out is not encouraged except to use the facilities.<\/p>\n

An interesting and unusual lineup of Video-On-Demand this week. Tenor David Webb gives an intensely personal take in Winter Journey<\/em>, highlighting the importance of mental healthcare. Remember Canadian soprano Ambur Braid? She\u2019s now a Fest artist at Oper Frankfurt, here singing arias and duets from Butterfly<\/em> and Tosca<\/em>. I am intrigued by a new documentary from the von Karajan Institute called Two Geniuses: Karajan and Mozart<\/em>. Comparing the conductor with Mozart \u2014 brilliant or chutzpah? You decide. And don\u2019t miss Canadian tenor Isaiah Bell in The Human Voice<\/em>, a gender-bending twist of La voix humaine<\/em> and a fresh take on this classic work, updated to our time.<\/p>\n

Monday 1<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Wigmore Hall | C\u00e9dric Tiberghien<\/strong> \u2014\u00a02:30 p.m. ET. A regular at Wigmore, the French pianist returns to play a program of Robert Schumann, Beethoven, and Webern. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Bayerische Staatsoper | Montagsstucke XII<\/strong> \u2014\u00a02:15 p.m. ET. The young dancers from the Bayerisches Junior Ballett Munich perform a triple bill, including a world premiere of Unsterbliche Geliebte by Austrian choreographer J\u00f6rg Mannes, set to Beethoven\u2019s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, and Martina La Ragione\u2019s UnHeaven, set to music by Carl Orff. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Mozart\u2019s Le nozze di Figaro<\/strong> \u2014\u00a09:30 a.m. ET (Live Stream). This is the venerable production by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, starring Andr\u00e8 Schuen, Federica Lombardi, Louise Alder, Philippe Sly, and Virginie Verrez. Philippe Jordan conducts. Free but one-time registration required. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Met | Gershwins\u2019 Porgy and Bess.<\/strong> Starring Angel Blue, Golda Schultz, Latonia Moore, Denyce Graves, Frederick Ballentine, Eric Owens, Alfred Walker, and Donovan Singletary, conducted by David Robertson. Production by James Robinson. From February 1, 2020. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Met | Verdi\u2019s La Forza del Destino.<\/strong> Starring Leontyne Price, Isola Jones, Giuseppe Giacomini, Leo Nucci, and Bonaldo Giaiotti, conducted by James Levine. Production by John Dexter. From March 24, 1984. One of the last performances of Price before retirement. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Wednesday 3<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Met | Poulenc\u2019s Dialogues des Carm\u00e9lites<\/strong>. Starring Maria Ewing, Jessye Norman, Betsy Norden, R\u00e9gine Crespin, and Florence Quivar, conducted by Manuel Rosenthal. An inspired production by John Dexter, done on a very low budget in the mid \u201870s, and it remains one of the Met\u2019s most acclaimed. From April 4, 1987. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Met | Rossini\u2019s La Cenerentola<\/strong>. Starring Elina Garan\u010da, Lawrence Brownlee, Simone Alberghini, Alessandro Corbelli, and John Relyea, conducted by Maurizio Benini. Production by Cesare Lievi. From May 9, 2009. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Met | Mozart\u2019s Le Nozze di Figaro<\/strong>. Starring Carol Vaness, Kathleen Battle, Frederica von Stade, Thomas Allen, and Ruggero Raimondi, conducted by James Levine. Production by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. From December 14, 1985. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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

San Francisco Opera | Wagner\u2019s Lohengrin<\/strong> \u2014\u00a07 a.m. ET. Tenor Brandon Jovanovich (Lohengrin), soprano Camilla Nylund (Elsa), mezzo Petra Lang (Ortrud), bass-baritone Gerd Grochowski (Telramund). Nicola Luisotti conducts. Available until 11:59 p.m. the next day. Free registration required here<\/a><\/span>. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Met Stars Live in Concert | Anna Netrebko<\/strong> \u2014\u00a01 p.m. ET. The Russian soprano performs live from the historic Spanish Riding School in Vienna, singing songs by Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Dvo\u0159\u00e1k, Faur\u00e9 and Strauss, with pianist Pavel Nebolsin. Netrebko is joined by mezzo Elena Maximova for duets from Les Contes d\u2019Hoffmann and Queen of Spades. Available on demand for 14 days. Tickets $20 USD | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Met | Strauss\u2019s Ariadne auf Naxos<\/strong>. Starring Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Tatiana Troyanos, and James King, conducted by James Levine. Production by Bodo Igesz. From March 12, 1988. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Met | Puccini\u2019s Tosca<\/strong>. Starring Shirley Verrett, Luciano Pavarotti, and Cornell MacNeil, conducted by James Conlon. Directed by Tito Gobbi. From December 19, 1978. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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

1) Oper Frankfurt | B\u00fchne frei!<\/strong> Streamed Jan. 29, Canadian soprano Ambur Braid, a Fest artist at Oper Frankfurt, is joined by tenor A J Glueckert, mezzo Karolina Makula, and baritone Liviu Holender, in a recital of arias and duets from opera by Donizetti, Puccini, and Leh\u00e1r. Pianist is In Sun Suh.<\/p>\n