{"id":70710,"date":"2021-03-29T09:24:40","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T13:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=70710"},"modified":"2021-03-29T10:10:43","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T14:10:43","slug":"critics-picks-classical-opera-streams-absolutely-need-see-week-march-29-april-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2021\/03\/29\/critics-picks-classical-opera-streams-absolutely-need-see-week-march-29-april-4\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical And Opera Streams You Absolutely Need To See This Week: March 29 \u2013 April 4)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Classical music and opera events streaming on the web for the week of March 29 \u2013 April 4.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Critic\u2019s Picks (March 29 \u2013 April 4)<\/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. Nearly all European venues are closed to live audiences. France has just announced a new lockdown for Paris. 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 revised program to be announced in May. In other words, the situation is unpredictable due to the ever-changing pandemic developments.<\/p>\n

At press time, the Prague Summer Nights Young Artists Music Festival is 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. Due to government decree, the Polish National Opera has cancelled all performances until April 9, affecting the previously announced Die Zauberfl\u00f6te<\/em> (March 26, 27, 28), and Werther<\/em> with Piotr Beczala (April 9 and 11). Bayerische Staatsoper M\u00fcnchen streamed its new Der Rosenkavalier<\/em> on March 21 but cancelled the performance on April 3, as well as performances of La Traviata<\/em> (April 9, 11, 15).<\/p>\n

La Scala\u2019s COVID outbreak in the Corps de Ballet, where 35 dancers and 3 staff members tested positive, led to a delay of the recording of the Tribute to Nureyev Gala. It finally happened on March 28. La Scala did livestream an opera concert on March 24 starring Francesco Meli and Maria Agresta. 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. Spain is literally alone in Europe performing for live audiences, with Barcelona\u2019s Gran Teatre del Liceu scheduled to stage Otello<\/em> for an audience of 1,000. Their decision is perhaps bolstered by a new study by Fraunhofer Heinrich Institute & Konzerthaus Dortmund, which 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 cancelled all shows with a live audience into June, meaning for the rest of the 2020-21 season. France has just announced a new lockdown for the next four weeks. The Op\u00e9ra National de Paris has cancelled all performances up to May 2, given the lockdown in Paris. It streamed Faust<\/em> from the Op\u00e9ra Bastille on March 26, accessible on France 5, made available on Culturebox for six months. The Op\u00e9ra Comique cancelled La Belle H\u00e9l\u00e8ne<\/em> in March starring Canadian mezzo Marie\u2013Nicole Lemieux. Toulouse\u2019s Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Capitole remains closed, cancelling the scheduled Pell\u00e9as et M\u00e9lisande.<\/em> Op\u00e9ra de Rouen Normandie has cancelled all performances in March. The Theater an der Wien, Vienna\u2019s third opera house, is closed until further notice.<\/p>\n

On this side of the pond, there\u2019re modest activities. After its Ring festival, San Francisco Opera is streaming Don Pasquale<\/em> (April 3-4), The Fall of the House of Usher<\/em> (April 10-11), and Don Carlo<\/em> (April 17-18), this last with Michael Fabiano. 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.<\/p>\n

Now in its 55th week, the Met\u2019s nightly free streaming continues with \u201cLove Triangles,\u201d starring great singers the likes of Luciano Pavarotti and Renee Fleming. All Met streams start at 7:30 p.m. ET and remain available for 23 hours. Canadians this week in the Met streams include soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, tenor Joseph Kaiser, and baritone Russell Braun. Watch for TSO Live Streams starting March 31 to June, with one or two concerts per month on a pay-to-view basis. The Screaming Divas chat with American bass-baritone Christian Van Horn. Esprit Orchestra brings back a comic mini-opera Toothpaste<\/em> starring Barbara Hannigan. Also don\u2019t miss the Strauss bon-bon of Fr\u00fchlingsstimmen<\/em>, played by the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Riccardo Muti, on the 2021 New Year\u2019s Concert from the Musikverein.<\/p>\n

Monday 29<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Met | Bellini\u2019s Norma<\/strong>. Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Joyce DiDonato, Joseph Calleja, and Matthew Rose, conducted by Carlo Rizzi. Production by Sir David McVicar. From October 7, 2017. This performance stars the great Norma of our time, Sondra Radvanovsky. She\u2019s well supported by the wonderful DiDonato as Adalgisa. Not-to-be-missed. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Tuesday 30<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Met | Strauss\u2019s Capriccio.<\/strong> Starring Ren\u00e9e Fleming, Sarah Connolly, Joseph Kaiser, Russell Braun, Morten Frank Larsen, and Peter Rose, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. Production by John Cox. From April 23, 2011. A connoisseur\u2019s piece, this is Strauss\u2019s last opera, a meditation on the enduring powers of both word and music. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Wednesday 31<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Toronto Symphony Orchestra LiveStreams | All Mozart Program<\/strong> \u2014 7:30 p.m. ET. TSO kicks off its new livestreaming series with a Mozart concert conducted by Simon Rivard, featuring the overture to La finta giardiniera, Violin Concerto No. 3 (soloist Zeyu Victor Li), and Symphony No. 40. Tickets $50, $20, and $10. Stream available for seven days. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met | Donizetti\u2019s Roberto Devereux<\/strong>. Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, El\u012bna Garan\u010da, Matthew Polenzani, and Mariusz Kwiecie\u0144, conducted by Maurizio Benini. Production by Sir David McVicar. From April 16, 2016. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Deutsche Oper Berlin | Wagner\u2019s Rienzi<\/strong> \u2014 9:00 a.m. ET. This is a rarity, early Wagner where he doesn\u2019t sound like himself! I saw this very production in Berlin, and to my ears it\u2019s more Italian than anything. It stars Torsten Kerl and Camilla Nylund. If 9 am is too early for Wagner, it\u2019s available on demand until April 4. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met | Verdi\u2019s Il Trovatore<\/strong>. Starring Eva Marton, Dolora Zajick, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, and Jeffrey Wells, conducted by James Levine. Production by Fabrizio Melano. From October 15, 1988. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Met | Massenet\u2019s Werther<\/strong>. Starring Lisette Oropesa, Sophie Koch, Jonas Kaufmann, and David Bizic, conducted by Alain Altinoglu. Production by Sir Richard Eyre. From March 15, 2013. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Brott Music | Handel\u2019s Messiah Easter Weekend Special.<\/strong> Brott Music are doing a three-day virtual Handel\u2019s Messiah to celebrate Easter. Originally recorded in December 2020, Boris Brott, the National Academy Orchestra and Arcady Singers are joined by four superb soloists in this memorable musical celebration, accompanied by stunning artworks marking Christ\u2019s journey. From April 2-4. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met | Donizetti\u2019s L\u2019Elisir d\u2019Amore<\/strong>. Starring Anna Netrebko, Matthew Polenzani, Mariusz Kwiecie\u0144, and Ambrogio Maestri, conducted by Maurizio Benini. Production by Bartlett Sher. From October 13, 2012. Tickets are $10. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Trio Arkel | La Bonne Chanson<\/strong> \u2014\u00a03 p.m. ET. Marie B\u00e9rard and Winona Zelena of Trio Arkel are joined by baritone Russell Braun, pianist Carolyn Maule, violinist Erika Raum and violist Remi Pelletier in a program of Beethoven, Shostakovich, Vaughan Williams, and Faur\u00e9. Tickets: Pay What You Can ($20 suggested). | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met | Wagner\u2019s Tristan und Isolde<\/strong>. Starring Nina Stemme, Ekaterina Gubanova, Stuart Skelton, Evgeny Nikitin, and Ren\u00e9 Pape, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. Production by Mariusz Treli\u0144ski. From October 8, 2016. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

1) Screaming Divas with Sondra and Keri | Christian Van Horn<\/strong> Streamed March 26, the peripatetic divas chat with American bass-baritone Christian Van Horn, who sang Enrico brilliantly in the COC Anna Bolena opposite the two divas a few years ago. In between sipping vodka martini\u2019s, the three chat about Van Horn \u201cjumping into a new production of Faust at the last minute, singing every performance like it is your last, fame, CVH Podcast, spending time at home during the pandemic and storytelling on stage.\u201d A fun show.<\/p>\n