Glitzy galas are a regular feature of the opera calendar, but a lockdown gala – with many of the world’s best-known singers performing from their homes – is a first. On Saturday, New York’s Metropolitan Opera will host an online gala featuring 43 of its leading singers live from their homes in 15 countries on three continents.
The gala, streamed free on the Met’s website, will be co-hosted by general manager Peter Gelb from his apartment in New York, and music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in Montreal. It begins at 1pm eastern daylight time (6pm BST/7pm central European time) and will last four hours. There’s a brief chance to catch it on demand – the show will be on the Met’s website until 6:30pm (EDT)/1.30am (BST) the following day.
The performances in this ambitious exercise in logistics and time zones will be relayed in real time from the singers’ laptops and transmitted via Skype. Among the artists whose livings rooms you can peek into will be Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Netrebko, Bryn Terfel, Roberto Alagna, Jamie Barton, Diana Damrau, Renée Fleming, Lawrence Brownlee, and many more.
From Moscow to Malta, Baton Rouge to Bavaria, the 43 performers will sing music by composers including Mozart, Verdi and Donizetti, while Terfel promises Alma Bazel Androzzo’s If I Can Help Someone, accompanied by his harpist partner Hannah Stone.
Several opera power couples also feature in the lineup, including Diana Damrau and Nicolas Testé, Nicole Car and Étienne Dupuis, and Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov, so it seems likely duets will feature, too. Some singers will perform a cappella, some will accompany themselves on the piano, some will perform to backing tracks; one singer will be accompanied by a neighbour on accordion. The only pre-recorded element will be the Met’s chorus, who have virtually and digitally joined together to sing Va, Pensiero (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) from Verdi’s Nabucco.
The At-Home Gala is being streamed free but is part of the Met’s The Voice Must Be Heard fundraising campaign to protect the company’s future. The Met has long been at the forefront of streaming and digital innovation, relaying productions live to hundreds of cinemas around the world since 2006. Alongside its paid-for, on-demand content, the opera house is currently making a different production available to watch each day for free on its website: the Met Nightly Opera Streams have reached more than four million people.
“While the Met is famous for its high-definition transmissions into cinemas, this will be a great artistic but low-tech operation,” said Gelb. “We will be providing operatic uplift to our audiences, as well as for our singers, who are eager to connect with their fans.”