{"id":70647,"date":"2021-03-22T10:55:35","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T14:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=70647"},"modified":"2021-03-22T10:55:35","modified_gmt":"2021-03-22T14:55:35","slug":"critics-picks-classical-opera-streams-absolutely-need-see-week-march-22-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2021\/03\/22\/critics-picks-classical-opera-streams-absolutely-need-see-week-march-22-28\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical And Opera Streams You Absolutely Need To See This Week: March 22 \u2013 28"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Classical
Classical music and opera events streaming on the web for the week of March 22 \u2013 28.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Critic\u2019s Picks (March 22 \u2013 28)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWe live in an extraordinary Age\u201d \u2013 Carl Sagan.<\/em> For a second year, COVID-19 continues to decimate our musical life. With the onset of the dreaded Third Wave led by new variants, any plan to reopen has proven challenging. Virtually all European venues are closed to live audiences. France has just announced a new lockdown for Paris to last four weeks starting March 19. Italy and Germany are in full lockdown mode. Austria\u2019s Salzburg Easter Festival is postponed to coincide with All Saint\u2019s Day on November 1, with a revised program to be announced in May. Frankly, the situation is unpredictable, due to the ever-changing pandemic situation.<\/p>\n

At press time, the Prague Summer Nights Young Artists Music Festival is still going ahead for an in-person festival (July 5-Aug 2), despite the Czech Republic having the highest cases per million population of any country in the world. The Polish National Opera has announced a new program for March and April, opening with Prokofiev\u2019s Romeo and Juliet<\/em> followed by Puccini\u2019s Madama Butterfly<\/em> with Aleksandra Kurzak, followed by Die Zauberfloete<\/em> (March 26, 27, 28), Cardillac<\/em> (April 23, 25, 27, 29), and Werther<\/em> with Piotr Beczala (April 9 and 11). Switzerland has further extended its closure beyond the originally announced March 31. Bayerische Staatsoper M\u00fcnchen cancelled a run of Lucia di Lammermoor<\/em> (March 20 & 26) and I vespri Siciliani<\/em> (April 5, 10 & 13), although it did stream the new Der Rosenkavalier<\/em> on March 21.<\/p>\n

La Scala had an outbreak of COVID cases in the Corps de Ballet, with 35 dancers and 3 staff members tested positive. The planned recording of the Tribute to Nureyev Gala has been suspended. On the opera front, La Scala is presenting a concert on March 24 starring Francesco Meli and Maria Agresta, to be streamed on Youtube. The Palau de Les Arts Reina Sof\u00eda in Valencia, Spain has rescheduled Daniele Gatti\u2019s Verdi Requiem<\/em> 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 Wagner. 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 and with the proper precautions. Let\u2019s hope they are right!<\/p>\n

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<\/em> on March 27. It has just announced it will stream a Tosca<\/em> with Malin Bystr\u00f6m available throughout March. France has just announced a new lockdown for the next four weeks, affecting all performing arts venues. The Paris Opera will stream Faust<\/em> from the Op\u00e9ra Bastille on March 26, accessible on France 5, and will then be made available on Culturebox for six months. The Op\u00e9ra Comique in Paris cancelled La Belle H\u00e9l\u00e8ne<\/em> in March starring Canadian mezzo Marie\u2013Nicole Lemieux. Toulouse\u2019s Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Capitole will remain closed, cancelling the scheduled Pell\u00e9as et M\u00e9lisande.<\/em> Op\u00e9ra de Rouen Normandie has cancelled all performances in March.<\/p>\n

On this side of the pond, there are modest signs of a resumption. LA Opera is launching a Signature Recital Series online to showcase singers the likes of Russell Thomas, J\u2019Nai Bridges, Christine Goerke, Julia Bullock, and Susan Graham, in venues across the country and in Europe, available on-demand. Houston Grand Opera will present My Favorite Things: Songs from The Sound of Music<\/em> on May 8, a singalong and fundraiser featuring members of the principal cast from the full production. The Merola Opera Program will present a virtual charity gala, scheduled on April 10. Un Gala In Maschera<\/em> is a tribute to Merola\u2019s artistic director, Sheri Greenawald. San Francisco Opera is streaming its Ring Cycle throughout March.<\/p>\n

Now in its 54th week, the Met\u2019s nightly free streaming continues with Myths and Legends<\/em>, with many great singers such as Placido Domingo, Renee Fleming, Hildegard Behrens, and Bryn Terfel. All Met streams start at 7:30 p.m. ET and remain available for 23 hours. Canadian singers this week include soprano Adrianne Pieczonka and bass John Relyea. After a delay, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra\u2019s streaming of Vivaldi\u2019s Four Seasons<\/em> commences this week. Also, watch out for the monthly video blog of Perryn Leech, the incoming COC General Director.<\/p>\n

Monday 22<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Met | Gluck\u2019s Orfeo ed. Euridice Starring Danielle de Niese, Heidi Grant Murphy, and Stephanie Blythe, conducted by James Levine. Production by Mark Morris. From January 24, 2009. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Tuesday 23<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Met | Berlioz\u2019s La Damnation de Faust. Starring Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, and John Relyea, conducted by James Levine. Production by Robert Lepage. From November 22, 2008. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Wednesday 24<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Met | Gluck\u2019s Iphig\u00e9nie en Tauride<\/strong>. Starring Susan Graham, Pl\u00e1cido Domingo, Paul Groves, and Gordon Hawkins, conducted by Patrick Summers. Production by Stephen Wadsworth. From February 26, 2011. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Thursday 25<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Met | Strauss\u2019s Elektra<\/strong>. Starring Nina Stemme, Adrianne Pieczonka, Waltraud Meier, and Eric Owens, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Production by Patrice Ch\u00e9reau. From April 30, 2016. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Friday 26<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Met | Mozart\u2019s Idomeneo.<\/strong> Starring Hildegard Behrens, Ileana Cotrubas, Frederica von Stade, Luciano Pavarotti, and John Alexander, conducted by James Levine. Production by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. From November 6, 1982. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Saturday 27<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

San Francisco Opera | Wagner\u2019s G\u00f6tterdammerung<\/strong> \u2014\u00a01 p.m. ET. SFO\u2019s March Ring Festival ends with the sublime G\u00f6tterdammerung, in the Francesca Zambello production, with a striking cast. Free stream, available until 11:59 p.m. Pacific time Sunday. Registration required. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Tapestry Opera | Where Do I Go?<\/strong> \u2014\u00a08 p.m. ET. Pianist Morgan-Paige Melbourne and dancer Natasha Poon Woo intertwine contemporary dance, spoken word and masterful piano in a short film about \u201cfinding serenity in a time when hope is withering and uncertainty grows unbearable, but not all is lost.\u201d The film is followed by behind-the-scenes interviews with the creative team. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Met | Mozart\u2019s Don Giovanni.<\/strong> Starring Ren\u00e9e Fleming, Solveig Kringelborn, Hei-Kyung Hong, Paul Groves, Bryn Terfel, Ferruccio Furlanetto, and Sergei Koptchak, conducted by James Levine. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From October 14, 2000. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday 28<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Met | Wagner\u2019s Der Fliegende Holl\u00e4nder<\/strong>. Starring Anja Kampe, Mihoko Fujimura, Sergey Skorokhodov, David Portillo, Evgeny Nikitin, and Franz-Josef Selig, conducted by Valery Gergiev. Production by Fran\u00e7ois Girard. From March 10, 2020. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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

1) Screaming Divas | Sophie Joyce.<\/strong> Streamed on March 19, Sondra Radvanovsky and Keri Alkema chat with Sophie Joyce, Director of Casting at the Paris Opera, \u201cabout starting a new job during a pandemic and the challenges facing young singers today as well as what it takes to cast an opera.\u201d Joyce has Alexander Neef\u2019s old job in Paris, where he was casting director for five years before joining the COC.<\/p>\n