We’re home. Feet up. Cleaning closets, biting our nails metaphorically or otherwise, in this quasi-enforced sabbatical from daily life as we knew it. Local arts organizations, especially live theater and music venues, have struggled to remain open but many have found it necessary to shutter temporarily. We’re pivoting; we’re asking what now?
The arts are still with us. The Metropolitan Opera has closed its doors and opened its streaming capabilities. Those Live in HD events you’ve paid dollars to see at your local theaters? The Met will be broadcasting its greatest hits on its website, one per day, beginning March 16.
New York, NY (March 13, 2020)—A day after canceling upcoming performances due to concerns around the coronavirus, the Metropolitan Opera announced that it would stream encore presentations from the award-winning Live in HD series of cinema transmissions on the company website for the duration of the closure. The new offering will begin on Monday, March 16 with the 2010 HD performance of Bizet’s Carmen, conducted by Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and starring Elīna Garanča in the title role and Roberto Alagna as Don José.
All “Nightly Met Opera Streams” will begin at 7:30pm and will remain available via the homepage of metopera.org for 20 hours. The homepage link will open the performance on the Met Opera on Demand streaming service. The performance will also be viewable on all Met Opera on Demand apps.
“We’d like to provide some grand opera solace to opera lovers in these extraordinarily difficult times,” said Met General Manager Peter Gelb. “Every night, we’ll be offering a different complete operatic gem from our collection of HD presentations from the past 14 years.”
To see the line-up for the first week, click here.
Think opera is not exactly your thing? If you’ve never seen one, this is the opportunity to view The Met at its best from the comfort of your own couch.
And whether you’re an opera fan or not, I guarantee you’ll love hearing Maurizio Marchini (photo, above) singing a well-known Puccini aria from his balcony while quarantined in Florence, Italy. Here’s the link. , or paste in your browser: https://www.classicfm.com/composers/puccini/nessun-dorma-florence/
I loved the aria, so beautiful. I really enjoy reading your blog! See ya around the neighborhood.
Thanks for sharing this great news!