Many cultural institutions are continuing with a rich online programme of live streams and broadcasts of archive performances. Below we offer a list of some of the concerts and operas that you can enjoy in the following days.
Wintermezzo Festival, 19 January–12 February
This year the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra’s Wintermezzo festival consists of sixteen attractive streamed concerts, including a performance by the Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson from 5 February. The stream of this concert and all the other concerts in the programme can be found on the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra’s website.
Don Carlos, Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti, Modena
The live stream of Verdi’s famous opera took place on Saturday, 6 February and still available to watch on the theatre’s website or YouTube channel. The star-studded cast includes Andrea Carè, Michele Pertusi, Luca Salsi, Anna Pirozzi and Judit Kutasi.
Ernani, Metropolitan Opera, New York
This Met performance is from the stunning 1983 production of this early work by Verdi starring Leona Mitchell, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherill Milnes and Ruggero Raimondi.
Series of concerts by the London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra, which performed at the 64th Ljubljana Festival in 2016, has announced a series of eleven online concerts. The first concert, in which the orchestra is conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, who appeared at the jubilee 60th Ljubljana Festival, includes works by Dvořák, Ginastera and Gerhard.
Manon Lescaut on OperaVision, 12 February
On Friday, 12 February you will have the opportunity to enjoy one of the great operatic and literary love stories on the OperaVision streaming platform. The Staatsoper Hamburg production of Massenet’s Manon Lescaut, with Elsa Dreisig in the title role, is conducted by Sébastien Rouland. The director of the new production is David Bösch.
Black Love, Los Angeles Opera, 13 February
As part of its newly revived After Hours series, LA Opera marks Valentine’s Day weekend with a programme of love songs from Black composers such as H. Leslie Adams, Margaret Bonds, H. T. Burleigh, James H. East, Undine Smith Moore and William Grant Still. The songs will be performed by opera singers Alaysha Fox, Tiffany Townsend and Ashley Faatoalia, accompanied by pianist Leonard Hayes.
Liebe, Brooklyn Art Song Society, 13 February
The theme of the fourth concert of the Brooklyn Art Song Society’s Schubert festival is Liebe (Love). As the title suggests, the programme consists of a selection of the composer’s songs about love. The songs will be performed by sopranos Lucy Fitz Gibbon and Amy Owens and mezzo-sopranos Blythe Gaissert, Kate Maroney and Devony Smith, accompanied by pianists Michael Brofman and Dimitri Dover.
Der Freischütz, Bavarian State Opera, 13 February
The Bavarian State Opera will be broadcasting the premiere performance of Carl Maria von Weber’s romantic opera Der Freischütz, directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov and starring Boris Prýgl, Bálint Szabó, Golda Schultz, Anna Prohaska, Kyle Ketelsen, Pavel Černoch and Tareq Nazmi. The orchestra will be conducted by Antonello Manacorda.
Così fan tutte, San Francisco Opera, 13 and 14 February
Of all Mozart’s operas, Così fan tutte is perhaps the one that deals most openly with the question of the nature of love. This 2013 performance stars Francesco Demuro, Philippe Sly, Ellie Dehn, Christel Lötzsch, Susannah Biller and Marco Vinco.
Don Giovanni, Greek National Opera, 14 February
Don’t miss this chance to see Mozart and Da Ponte’s Don Giovanni in a unique production by the Greek National Opera, with the main roles sung by soloists Tassis Christoyannis, Vassiliki Karayanni, Yannis Christopoulos, Petros Magoulas, Anna Stylianaki, Artemis Bogri, Tassos Apostolou, Nikos Kotenidis and Chrissa Maliamani.
La bohème Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Liège, 14 February
This September 2020 performance of Puccini’s opera stars Angela Gheorghiu as Mimì, Stefan Pop as Rodolfo, Ionut Pascu as Marcello, María Rey-Joly as Musetta, Kamil Ben Hsaïn Lachiri as Schaunard, Ugo Guagliardo as Colline and Patrick Delcour as Benoît/Alcindoro. The orchestra was conducted by Frédéric Chaslin.
ACO StudioCasts, 17 February– 31 December
On 17 February the Australian Chamber Orchestra begins a season of eight online concert films that will feature both contemporary works and classical works for string orchestra. The first programme includes Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending, with the orchestra’s artistic director Richard Tognetti as soloist, and Tognetti’s arrangements of works by Beethoven. The other films in the season will include a performance featuring flautist Emmanuel Pahud and a chance to hear Tognetti’s arrangement of Pēteris Vasks’s Vox Amoris.
Pelléas et Mélisande on OperaVision, 19 February–19 August
Beginning on 19 February, the OperaVision platform offers you the chance to see the Grand Théâtre de Genève’s new production of Debussy’s opera Pelléas et Mélisande, with choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Damien Jalet and sets designed by world-famous artist Marina Abramović. The orchestra is conducted by Jonathan Nott and the main roles are sung by Jacques Imbrailo, Mari Eriksmoen and Leigh Melrose.
Source: operawire.com, theguardian.com
