{"id":71207,"date":"2021-05-31T10:22:53","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T14:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=71207"},"modified":"2021-05-31T10:22:53","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T14:22:53","slug":"critics-picks-classical-and-opera-streams-you-absolutely-need-to-see-this-week-may-31-june-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2021\/05\/31\/critics-picks-classical-and-opera-streams-you-absolutely-need-to-see-this-week-may-31-june-6\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical And Opera Streams You Absolutely Need To See This Week: May 31 \u2013 June 6"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Classical
Classical music and opera events streaming on the web for the week of May 31- June 6.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Critic\u2019s Picks (May 31 \u2013 June 6)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWe live in an extraordinary Age\u201d \u2014 Carl Sagan.<\/em> With the decline in COVID cases in most of Europe and North America, a respite from this modern plague beckons. Some venues are striving to reopen for online or in-person performances, while others are looking ahead and announcing their 2021-22 seasons. As reported in Opera Wire<\/em>, 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. Teatro La Fenice will reopen on June 2 with a new production of Faust<\/em>, with a live audience.<\/p>\n

Sadly, not all reopenings went smoothly, and not all for COVID reasons. Slipped Disc<\/em> reports that Op\u00e9ra de Lyon cancelled its reopening due to a strike by its staff. Opera Wire<\/em> reports that La Scala postponed its L\u2019Italiana in Algeri on May 25 when an artist involved in the production tested positive. Similarly, conductor Alan Gilbert, scheduled to open Berlin Philharmonic on June 5, cancelled, to be replaced by Sakari Oramo. Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Spain postponed its May 24 opening of Carmen<\/em> due to two positive tests in its production team. The Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar has announced the cancellation of the remainder of its current season.<\/p>\n

The Salzburg Whitsun Festival in Austria reopened with a blockbuster Tosca<\/em> 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 \u2014 no, not as Tosca, but as the Shepherd Boy! 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 2021 started with an opening weekend of K\u00e1t\u2019a Kabanov\u00e1<\/em> and Il turco in Italia<\/em> on stage, and The Cunning Little Vixen<\/em> online. It continues to August 29, with 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. 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 \u2013 Aug 2).<\/p>\n

LA Opera will return to live, in-person performances starting with a June 6 performance of Stravinsky\u2019s Oedipus Rex<\/em>\u00a0at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. James Conlon conducts, with Russell Thomas, J\u2019Nai Bridges, and John Relyea. Two orchestras have announced 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<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

The theme of Met Opera\u2019s nightly free streaming this week is \u201cAria Code: The Operas Behind the Podcast,\u201d featuring operas highlighted in the Met\u2019s podcast collaboration with WQXR, a classical music station in New York. Top stars featured in this week\u2019s streams include Anna Netrebko, El\u012bna Garan\u010da, Joseph Calleja, and Roberto Alagna. Met streams start at 7:30 p.m. ET and remain available for 23 hours. A Concert for New York<\/em>, the first concert involving Met Opera forces since the pandemic, took place successfully on May 16. In the meantime, the virtual Met Stars Live in Concert<\/em> series came to a successful conclusion with the Three Divas<\/em> (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.<\/p>\n

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

Opera InReach | Songs of Childhood<\/strong> \u2014\u00a08:30 p.m. ET. Opera InReach hosts a virtual concert, raising awareness of AAPI heritage month. It features works by composers Kosaku Yamada and Yoshinao Nakada, with text by Rofu Miki and Shuichi Kato, as well as traditional Bicolano and Tagalog folksongs arranged by Lucrecia R. Kasilag. Mezzo Renee Fajardo, baritone Luka Kawabata, and pianist Perri Lo. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met Opera | Puccini\u2019s Turandot<\/strong>. Starring Christine Goerke, Eleonora Buratto, Yusif Eyvazov, and James Morris, conducted by Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From October 12, 2019. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Bayerische Staatsoper | Aribert Reimann\u2019s Lear<\/strong> \u2014\u00a01 p.m. ET. This performance of Lear by Aribert Reimann, premiered on May 30, will be a free video on demand starting at this time and will be available for 30 days. (Normally there is a fee for their on-demand viewing) Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducts, with Christian Gerhaher as Lear and Angela Denoke as Goneril. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Wigmore Hall | Covid\u2019s Metamorphoses<\/strong> \u2014 2:30 p.m. ET. Part of Wigmore Hall\u2019s anniversary week celebrations, \u201cthis song gala reflects on our pandemic journey, through the feelings and experiences we have all had in the last 14 months; danger, lockdown, hope and our continued recovery.\u201d Soloists are soprano Sarah Fox, mezzo Christine Rice, tenor Alessandro Fisher, baritone Roderick Williams, and bass William Thomas. Pianist is Graham Johnson. Ticket to this sold-out concert is \u00a325. It\u2019ll also be live streamed and available on demand for 30 days. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met Opera | Saint-Sa\u00ebns\u2019s Samson et Dalila<\/strong>. Starring El\u012bna Garan\u010da, Roberto Alagna, Laurent Naouri, Elchin Azizov, and Dmitry Belosselskiy, conducted by Sir Mark Elder. Production by Darko Tresnjak. From October 20, 2018. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Met Opera | Bizet\u2019s Carmen<\/strong> Starring Aleksandra Kurzak, Cl\u00e9mentine Margaine, Roberto Alagna, and Alexander Vinogradov, conducted by Louis Langr\u00e9e. Production by Sir Richard Eyre. From February 2, 2019. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Royal Conservatory of Music\/Glenn Gould School | New Music Ensemble<\/strong> \u2014\u00a03 p.m. ET. Two programs of New Music \u2014 Abalone (world premiere) by Anna H\u00f6stman; Matt Curlee\u2019s The Yellow Wallpaper; and Laconisme de l\u2019aile by by Kaija Saariaho, and a set of cello pieces performed by GGS faculty member\/TSO Principal Cello Joseph Johnson, all free to watch. Also, Season One of Music of My Life is now available on demand<\/a>. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Women\u2019s Musical Club of Toronto | A Career Develop.m.ent Award Celebration<\/strong> \u2014 1:30 p.m. ET. This special concert features Francine Kay, Jeanie Chung, and Charles Richard-Hamelin, piano; James Ehnes and Blake Pouliot, violin; Yegor Dyachkov, cello; Shannon Mercer, soprano; Vincent Lauzer, recorder; and Michael Bridge, accordion. Available on demand until June 24 on YouTube. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met Opera | Donizetti\u2019s La Fille du R\u00e9giment<\/strong>. Starring Pretty Yende, Stephanie Blythe, Kathleen Turner, Javier Camarena, and Maurizio Muraro, conducted by Enrique Mazzola. Production by Laurent Pelly. From March 2, 2019. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Sinfonia Toronto | Virtuosity<\/strong> \u2014\u00a08 p.m. ET. This newly released archival video features chamber symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergey Prokofiev, conducted by Nurhan Arman – Prokofiev’s opus 50 and Shostakovich’s opus 118. Tickets are $15. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Oper Frankfurt | Mozart\u2019s Requiem<\/strong> \u2014\u00a01:30 p.m. ET. This free stream of Mozart Requiem features Thomas Guggeis conducting the Choir and Orchestra of the Frankfurt Opera, with soprano Florina Ilie, mezzo Cecelia Hall, tenor Michael Porter, and bass Thomas Faulkner. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

Met Opera | The 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><\/p>\n

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

Met Opera | Verdi\u2019s Macbeth<\/strong>. Starring Anna Netrebko, Joseph Calleja, \u017deljko Lu\u010di\u0107, and Ren\u00e9 Pape, conducted by Fabio Luisi. Production by Adrian Noble. From October 11, 2014. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Met Opera | Philip Glass\u2019s Akhnaten<\/strong>. Starring D\u00edsella L\u00e1rusd\u00f3ttir, J\u2019Nai Bridges, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Aaron Blake, Will Liverman, Richard Bernstein, and Zachary James, conducted by Karen Kamensek. Production by Phelim McDermott. From November 23, 2019. | Details<\/a><\/p>\n

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

1) Wigmore Hall | Sir Andras Schiff.<\/strong> Streamed May 30 and now on demand for 90 days. \u201cSir Andras Schiff has been performing at Wigmore Hall regularly since his debut in 1978 and has become a firm audience favourite. He shows no signs of slowing down as he joins the Summer 2021 Series with two evening recitals; this second programme features music by Mozart.\u201d<\/p>\n