{"id":71144,"date":"2021-05-24T10:01:53","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T14:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=71144"},"modified":"2021-05-24T10:01:53","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T14:01:53","slug":"critics-picks-classical-opera-streams-absolutely-need-see-week-may-24-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2021\/05\/24\/critics-picks-classical-opera-streams-absolutely-need-see-week-may-24-30\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical And Opera Streams You Absolutely Need To See This Week: May 24 \u2013 30"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Classical
Classical music and opera events streaming on the web for the week of May 24\u201330.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Critic\u2019s Picks (May 24 \u2013 30)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWe live in an extraordinary Age\u201d <\/em>\u2014 Carl Sagan. We are now in late spring of the second pandemic year. Some venues are striving to re-open for online or in-person performances, while others are looking ahead and announcing their 2021-22 seasons. As reported in Opera Wire, among the theatres announcing their upcoming seasons are Op\u00e9ra National de Paris, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Badisches Staatsoper Karlsruhe, Th\u00e9\u00e2tre Capitole de Toulouse, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Op\u00e9ra National du Rhin, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Op\u00e9ra de Toulon, Th\u00e9\u00e2tre des Champs-Elys\u00e9es, Oper Frankfurt, Festival Castell de Peralada, Opera Philadelphia, Spain National Orchestra and Chorus, Opernhaus Z\u00fcrich, Festival Valle d’Itria, and the Teatro Real de Madrid. The reopening are not all smooth, sad to say \u2013 Slipped Disc just reported that Op\u00e9ra de Lyon has cancelled its reopening for non- COVID reasons \u2013 the building is closed due to a strike by its staff.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

The Salzburg Whitsun Festival in Austria opened this week with a blockbuster Tosca starring Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann, replacing the originally announced Anja Harteros and Bryn Terfel. An interesting twist is that it also featured the great Cecilia Bartoli \u2013 no, not as Tosca, but as the Shepherd Boy!\u00a0 She made her debut in this cameo role at the age of 10. These performances feature personalized ticketing to facilitate contact tracing, a maximum of 50% capacity, proof of vaccination, and use of face masks. Glyndebourne Festival has re-opened (May 20 to August 29), with K\u00e1t’a Kabanov\u00e1.<\/em> the first in a program of four operas and a concert series. The Czech Philharmonic performed a concert with a live audience of 350 on May 10 in Prague, conducted by Semyon Bychkov. This marked the Czech Republic\u2019s first cultural event with a live audience since the pandemic lockdown. Austria\u2019s Salzburg Easter Festival now takes place on November 1. Wiener Staatsoper reopened on May 19 to a live audience, with COVID precautions. The Prague Summer Nights Young Artists Music Festival is going ahead for an in-person festival (July 5-Aug 2). \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

LA Opera will return to live, in-person performances starting with a June 6 performance of Stravinsky\u2019s Oedipus Rex, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. James Conlon conducts, with Russell Thomas, J\u2019Nai Bridges, and John Relyea. Two orchestras have announced its summer plans: LA Philharmonic reopens the Hollywood Bowl in July, and the Cleveland Orchestra returns to the Blossom Festival on July 11. New York\u2019s Teatro Nuovo has announced that it will put on Rossini\u2019s The Barber of Seville on July 27 and 28 on the summer stage at Lincoln Center\u2019s Damrosch Park. And Toronto\u2019s Luminato Festival, normally taking place in June, will be moved to October this year. <\/em><\/p>\n

The theme of Met Opera\u2019s nightly free streaming this week is \u201cRare Gems,\u201d referring to operas that are rarely staged in North America, such as The Nose and Prince Igor. \u00a0Big stars to be seen this week include Renee Fleming, Mirella Freni, Placido Domingo and Juan Diego Florez. Met streams start at 7:30 p.m. ET and remain available for 23 hours. \u201cA Concert for New York,\u201d the first concert involving Met Opera forces since the pandemic, took place successfully on May 16. In the meantime, the virtual \u201cMet Stars Live in Concert\u201d series came to a successful conclusion with the Three Divas (Ailyn Perez, Nadine Sierra and Isabel Leonard) last Saturday. With COVID numbers now going down in the US, the future for live performances is looking a little brighter. Stay tuned. \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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

Met Opera | Massenet\u2019s Tha\u00efs<\/em>. <\/strong>Starring Ren\u00e9e Fleming, Michael Schade, and Thomas Hampson, conducted by Jes\u00fas L\u00f3pez-Cobos. Production by John Cox. From December 20, 2008. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Met Opera | Borodin\u2019s Prince Igor<\/em>. <\/strong>Starring Oksana Dyka, Anita Rachvelishvili, Sergey Semishkur, Ildar Abdrazakov, Mikhail Petrenko, and \u0160tefan Koc\u00e1n, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. Production by Dmitri Tcherniakov. From March 1, 2014. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Wednesday 26<\/span><\/h3>\n

Toronto Wagner Society | Jane Eaglen \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>7:30 pm ET. The great Wagnerian soprano Jane Eaglen, a memorable Brunnhilde and Isolde, is the guest of TWS. She is now a noted voice teacher training the next generation of singers. | Details <\/a><\/p>\n

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

Thursday 27<\/span><\/h3>\n

Opera Atelier | Handel\u2019s The Resurrection \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>7 pm ET. Opera Atelier presents a fully staged film of The Resurrection<\/em>, starring sopranos Carla Huhtanen and Meghan Lindsay, mezzo Allyson McHardy, tenor Colin Ainsworth, and bass-baritone Douglas Williams. Originally scheduled for April 2020 and now online, ticket is $25, and available to purchasers for on-demand viewing until June 10. Read our preview here<\/a>. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met Opera | Shostakovich\u2019s The Nose<\/em>. <\/strong>Starring Andrey Popov, Alexander Lewis, and Paulo Szot, conducted by Pavel Smelkov. Production by William Kentridge. From October 26, 2013. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday 28<\/span><\/h3>\n

Met Opera | Giordano\u2019s Fedora<\/em>. <\/strong>Starring Mirella Freni, Ainhoa Arteta, Pl\u00e1cido Domingo, Dwayne Croft, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, conducted by Roberto Abbado. Production by Beppe De Tomasi. From April 26, 1997. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Opera de Quebec | Le Barbier de S\u00e9ville \u2014 <\/strong>3 pm ET. Hugo Laporte, baritone (Figaro), Sarah Bissonnette, mezzo (Rosina), Andrew Haji, tenor (Comte Almaviva), Doug MacNaughton, baritone (Bartolo), Alain Coulombe, bass (Basilio). Orchestre symphonique de Qu\u00e9bec, conducted by Jean-Michel Malouf. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Salle Bourgie | Jana Miller and Philippe Sly \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>7 pm ET. This live audience concert at Bourgie Hall in Montreal features two Schumann song cycles, \u201cFrauenliebe und Leben\u201d sung by Miller and \u201cDichterliebe\u201d sung by Sly. Plus \u201cKinderszenen\u201d played by pianist Jean Marchand. $54\/$46(museum members)\/$28(under 34). Purchase online access ($20) for viewing from June 5 to 19. | Details<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Met Opera | Strauss\u2019s Capriccio<\/em>. <\/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. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Sunday 30<\/span><\/h3>\n

Met Opera | Rossini\u2019s Le Comte Ory. <\/strong>Starring Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato, Susanne Resmark, Juan Diego Fl\u00f3rez, St\u00e9phane Degout, and Michele Pertusi, conducted by Maurizio Benini. Production by Bartlett Sher. From April 9, 2011. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

1) Wigmore Hall | Graham Johnson: Poulenc, The Life in the Songs. <\/strong>The great British pianist Graham Johnson talks about his lifelong interest in the music of Francis Poulenc, culminating in his new book on the French composer. A fascinating revelation \u2014 Johnson asserts that Poulenc \u201cborrowed\u201d Baron Ochs\u2019 great waltz in Act 2 Der Rosenkavalier<\/em> and modified it for \u201cLes chemins de l\u2019amour!\u201d<\/p>\n