{"id":70380,"date":"2021-02-15T15:07:16","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T20:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=70380"},"modified":"2021-02-15T16:51:46","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T21:51:46","slug":"critics-picks-classical-opera-streams-absolutely-need-see-week-february-15-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2021\/02\/15\/critics-picks-classical-opera-streams-absolutely-need-see-week-february-15-21\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical And Opera Streams You Absolutely Need To See This Week: February 15 – 21"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Classical
Classical music and opera events happening in and around Toronto for the week of February 15 \u2013 21.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Critic\u2019s Picks (February 15 – 21)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in an extraordinary Age\u201d \u2013 Carl Sagan. COVID 19 continues to decimate our musical life. Virtually all European opera houses are in varying states of closure, for varying lengths of time. Any livestreaming takes place in an empty hall. The Palau de Les Arts Reina Sof\u00eda in Valencia, Spain announced that Daniele Gatti\u2019s Verdi Requiem is rescheduled to July 1 and the upcoming Tristan und Isolde will be replaced by Falstaff, due to the large orchestra and chorus requirements for Wagner. Falstaff, originally scheduled for February, will now be presented on March 2, 7, 11, and 14. Op\u00e9ra de Monte-Carlo has announced the cancellation of a recital on Feb. 24 featuring famed British bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions. <\/em><\/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! In Switzerland, 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 Ariadne auf Naxos on March 27.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the latest news<\/em>: Wiener Staatsoper has postponed its Le nozze di Figaro (Feb. 1). The premiere of Calixto Bieito\u2019s production of Carmen (Feb. 7) has been postponed to Feb. 21, by livestream, and with a cast change <\/em>\u2014 Piotr Becza\u0142a replaces Charles Castronovo as Don Jos\u00e9.\u00a0 Castronovo was hospitalized with COVID-19, and currently recovering at home. <\/em><\/p>\n

Op\u00e9ra National de Paris has cancelled its concert of Il Trovatore at the Op\u00e9ra de Bastille, as well as chamber concerts (Feb. 11-25) at the Studio and Amphith\u00e9\u00e2tre Bastille. Additionally, the ballet program scheduled for February at the Palais Garnier and the Academy concert (Feb. 17) are cancelled. La Monnaie in Brussels announced that it will remain closed in February and will stream an all-Mozart program. Toulouse\u2019s Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Capitole will remain closed into March, cancelling the scheduled Pell\u00e9as et M\u00e9lisande.<\/em><\/p>\n

A bit of good news <\/em>\u2014 the Salzburg Easter Festival is going ahead with pandemic modifications. It opens April 2 with a Mozart choral concert conducted by Christian Thielemann, starring Golda Schultz and others. An orchestral concert of Grieg and Beethoven with Thielemann conducting pianist Denis Matsuev follows on April 3. Hilary Hahn headlines an orchestral concert of Mozart and Schumann conducted by Antonio Pappano (April 4). The festival ends on April 5 with a Gala Concert featuring Anna Netrebko, Golda Schultz and Yusif Eyvazov, performing excerpts from Turandot, conducted by Thielemann. Meanwhile, the peripatetic Netrebko returned to the Mariinsky Theatre on February 10 as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin. <\/em><\/p>\n

The Russian diva has been the subject of some controversy lately, having appeared in a video chat with Met General Manager Peter Gelb, drawing the ire of the Met orchestra musicians who have not been paid since last April. The musicians responded by announcing a virtual concert (Feb. 21) with Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu, who has been supportive of the Met musicians. She\u2019ll engage in a live chat at the end of the performance.<\/em><\/p>\n

On this side of the pond, the Met\u2019s nightly free streams continue with Franco Zeffirelli Week. <\/em><\/p>\n

All Met streams start at 7:30 pm ET and available for 23 hours. Wiener Staatsoper also provides free streaming, with one-time free registration required. All shows are from the archives except Carmen on Feb. 21, which is live! Opera Naples <\/em>\u2014 that\u2019s Florida, not Italy <\/em>\u2014 is going ahead with an in-house Under the Stars Festival, featuring a recital (Mar. 10) with tenor Joseph Calleja as well as a production of La Traviata (Mar. 11, 13). Also scheduled is a concert West Side Story (Mar. 12) starring Isabel Leonard as Maria and Alex McKissick as Tony. <\/em><\/p>\n

Plenty of interesting Video-On-Demand shows this week. The great American baritone Thomas Hampson, Hadrian with the COC two seasons ago, chats with the Screaming Divas. Tafelmusik offers a free streaming of Mozart Together. Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins, in remembrance of his sister Nathalie who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2015, has commissioned a song cycle, Songs For Murdered Sisters, with music by Jake Heggie and text by Margaret Atwood. The great Italian soprano Mirella Freni passed away a year ago on Feb. 9 at age 84. Teatro Communale in Modena, her hometown, is streaming a Don Carlo in her memory.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Monday 15<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Bayerische Staatsoper | Montagsst\u00fcck XIV, The Soldier\u2019s Tale (L\u2019histoire du soldat) <\/strong>\u2014\u00a02:15 pm ET. Vladimir Jurowski conducts the Bayerisches Staatsorchester in Stravinsky\u2019s drama about a soldier who outwits the devil and wins the heart of a sick princess. Bayerisches Staatsballett members Carollina Bastos, Nicholas Losada and Ariel Merkuri dance in a new choreography by Norbert Graf. | Details<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Mozart\u2019s Don Quixote<\/em> (ballet) <\/strong>\u2014\u00a01 pm ET. Kevin Rhodes conducts a production choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev, starring Maria Yakovleva, Denys Cherevychko, Ketevan Papava, Roman Lazik, Olga Esina, and corps de ballet of the Vienna State Ballet. Performance of May 28, 2016. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met |<\/strong> Puccini\u2019s La Boh\u00e8me.<\/strong> Starring Angela Gheorghiu, Ainhoa Arteta, Ram\u00f3n Vargas, Ludovic T\u00e9zier, and Oren Gradus, conducted by Nicola Luisotti. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From April 5, 2008. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Tuesday 16<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Mozart\u2019s La Clemenza di Tito<\/em> <\/strong>\u2014\u00a01 pm ET. Adam Fischer conducts the J\u00fcrgen Flimm production, starring Benjamin Bruns, Caroline Wenborne, Margarita Gritskova, Hila Fahima, Miriam Albano. Performance of April 4, 2016. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met | Verdi\u2019s Falstaff<\/em>. <\/strong>Starring Mirella Freni, Barbara Bonney, Marilyn Horne, Bruno Pola, and Paul Plishka, conducted by James Levine. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From October 10, 1992. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Wednesday 17<\/span><\/h3>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Mozart\u2019s Die Zauberfloete<\/em> <\/strong>\u2014\u00a01 pm ET. Adam Fischer conducts production by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, starring Benjamin Bruns, Olga Bezsmertna, \u00cdride Mart\u00ednez, Markus Werba, Annika Gerhards, Franz-Josef Selig Performance from January 4, 2015. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met | Mascagni\u2019s Cavalleria<\/em> Rusticana<\/em> and Leoncavallo\u2019s Pagliacci<\/em><\/strong>. Starring Tatiana Troyanos, Jean Kraft, Pl\u00e1cido Domingo, and Vern Shinall; Teresa Stratas, Pl\u00e1cido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, and Allan Monk, conducted by James Levine. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From April 5, 1978. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Thursday 18<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Donizetti\u2019s L’elisir d\u2019amore<\/em> <\/strong>\u2014\u00a01 pm ET. Marco Armiliato conducts the Otto Schenk production starring Valentina Nafornita, Stephen Costello, Marco Caria, Erwin Schrott. Performance from June 13, 2016. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Royal Conservatory of Music | The Glenn Gould School New Music Ensemble: FLIPBOOK: Music and Images <\/strong>\u2014\u00a08 pm ET. Brian Current conducts the GGS New Music Ensemble, in a program of works by Corie Rose Soumah (Canada), Nicole Liz\u00e9e (Canada), Pierre Jodlowski (France), and Martin Matalon (France\/Argentina). \u00a0<\/strong>Free of charge. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met |<\/strong> Puccini\u2019s Tosca<\/em>.<\/strong> Starring Hildegard Behrens, Pl\u00e1cido Domingo, and Cornell MacNeil, conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From March 27, 1985. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday 19<\/span><\/h3>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Rossini\u2019s La Cenerentola<\/em> <\/strong>\u2014\u00a01 pm ET. Jean-Christophe Spinosi conducts the Rolf Glittenberg production starring Isabelle Leonard, Maxim Mironov, Alessio Arduini, Luca Pisaroni. Performance from February 22, 2018. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Joshua Hopkins\/Houston Grand Opera | Songs for Murdered Sisters <\/strong>\u2014\u00a08:30 pm ET. On September 22, 2015, Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins\u2019s sister Nathalie was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in one of the worst cases of domestic violence in Canadian history. To honour his sister\u2019s memory and to speak out against domestic violence, Hopkins conceived and co-commissioned this song cycle with the Houston Grand Opera, with music by Jake Heggie and text by Margaret Atwood. Available to March 19, through Marquee TV’s Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV apps or Marquee TV’s website. After the performance is a Creator’s Discussion including Atwood, Heggie and Hopkins, moderated by HGO’s Music Director Patrick Summers. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met | Mozart\u2019s Don Giovanni<\/em>. <\/strong>Starring Carol Vaness, Karita Mattila, Dawn Upshaw, Jerry Hadley, Samuel Ramey, Ferrucio Furlanetto, and Kurt Moll, conducted by James Levine. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From April 5, 1990. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday 20<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Bellini\u2019s La Sonnambula<\/em> <\/strong>\u2014\u00a01 pm ET. Guillermo Garc\u00eda Calvo conducts production by Marco Arturo Marelli, starring Daniela Fally, Juan Diego Fl\u00f3rez, Luca Pisaroni, Maria Nazarova Performance of January 13, 2017. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met | Bizet\u2019s Carmen<\/em>. <\/strong>Starring Angela Gheorghiu, Waltraud Meier, Pl\u00e1cido Domingo, and Sergei Leiferkus, conducted by James Levine. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From March 25, 1997. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Sunday 21<\/span><\/h3>\n

Wiener Staatsoper | Bizet Carmen <\/strong>\u2014\u00a012 pm ET (Live Stream!) Andr\u00e9s Orozco-Estrada conducts production by Calixto Bieito, starring Anita Rachvelishvili, Piotr Beczala, Erwin Schrott, and Olga Kulcynska. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met Orchestra Musicians | Angela Gheorghiu: Song to the Moon <\/strong>\u2014\u00a012:15 pm ET. A<\/p>\n

fundraising concert starring Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu, who made her Met debut in 1993 and was slated to return in the cancelled 2020\/21 season. The orchestra musicians will play from New York City via a live link to Bucharest\u2019s Romanian Athenaeum where Gheorghiu will be singing. Proceeds from ticket sales goes to the MET Orchestra Musicians Fund that supports more than 150 musicians whose livelihood has been decimated during the pandemic. Gheorghiu will appear in a live chat after the concert. Available to stream until March 31, 2021. Ticket: US$15. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met | Puccini\u2019s Turandot. <\/strong>Starring Maria Guleghina, Marina Poplavskaya, Marcello Giordani, and Samuel Ramey, conducted by Andris Nelsons. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From November 7, 2009. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

1) National Ballet of Canada | The Dreamers Ever Leave You.<\/strong> Originally premiered in 2016 as part of The Idea of North<\/em>, a Lawren Harris exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the title of the ballet comes from Harris\u2019 1922 poem, Little Houses. Choreographed by Robert Binet and directed by Ben Shirinian.<\/p>\n