April 01, 2021
Week of April 5: Lyric Commentaries for opera streaming and more
We hope you enjoy a new week of curated streaming opportunities that you can explore in the comfort of your own home! Turn on your biggest screen and check out our streaming suggestions below, along with commentaries that accompany Lyric titles.
As you delve into this week's set of streaming opportunities, you can peruse Lyric Opera Commentaries, which discuss the synopses, music, and some historical insights of the world's most beloved operas, and musical masterpieces you might never have experienced.
Lyric Opera Commentaries are sponsored by the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation in memory of their parents.
Sunday, April 4
WFMT
Ryan Opera Center Recital Series
Soprano Maria Novella Malfatti will perform works by Verdi, Fauré, and Duke Ellington. Mezzo-Soprano Kathleen Felty will sing Satie, Poulenc, and Mexican composer Maria Grever. And bass-baritone David Weigel will be featured in compositions by Lili Boulanger and Alberto Ginastera. Listen on WFMT Sunday, April 4 at 7pm.
Monday, April 5
The Metropolitan Opera
Gounod: Faust
This production from The Metropolitan Opera stars Jonas Kaufmann, Marina Poplavskaya, and René Pape, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Production by Des McAnuff. From December 10, 2011.
Lyric Commentary from the 2017/18 Season is by Nicholas Ivor Martin.
Faust
by Charles Gounod
Lyric Opera Commentaries are sponsored by the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation in memory of their parents.
© 2017/18 Lyric Opera Commentaries Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of Warner Music Group. All rights reserved. Recording & Production services provided by Mark Travis.
A project of the Women’s Board
Commentary by Nicholas Ivor Martin
Tuesday, April 6
Against the Grain Theatre
Handel: Messiah/Complex
Against the Grain Theatre’s daring new interpretation of Handel’s Messiah is a truly cross-Canada performance—in Arabic, Dene, English, French, Inuktitut, and Southern Tutchone, and accompanied by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. This stream is available to watch April 1-13.
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Belonging in Opera: Learning from Our Past, Engaging with Our Future
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Washington University's Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Equity are offering "Belonging in Opera: Learning from Our Past, Engaging with Our Future," a two-part symposium led by Naomi André about the canon of Black composers and the current reality of the Black experience onstage and behind the scenes. This stream is available Tuesday, April 6 and Tuesday, April 13, 5:30-7:30pm CT.
Wednesday, April 7
The Metropolitan Opera
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin
This streamed production stars Peter Mattei, Anna Netrebko, Elena Maximova, Alexey Dolgov, and Štefan Kocán, conducted by Robin Ticciati. Production by Deborah Warner. From April 22, 2017.
Lyric Commentary from the 2016/17 Season is by Roger Pines.
Eugene Onegin
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Lyric Opera Commentaries are sponsored by the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation in memory of their parents.
© 2016/17 Lyric Opera Commentaries
Music furnished through an arrangement with Universal Music. All rights reserved. Recording & production services provided by Mark Travis.
A project of the Women's Board.
Commentary by Roger Pines, Dramaturg
Thursday, April 8
Houston Grand Opera
Suite Española: Explorando Iberia
Houston Grand Opera will present the digital premiere of Suite Española: Explorando Iberia, created by HGO Artistic Advisor Ana María Martínez, one of the greatest sopranos in the world. The concert will celebrate the music of Spain, including the art form known as zarzuela, or Spanish musical theater, by featuring a collage of selections from the repertoire’s most beautiful pieces. This is available to stream for free until April 25, 2021.
Friday, April 9
The Metropolitan Opera
Shostakovich:The Nose
This production from The Metropolitan Opera stars Andrey Popov, Alexander Lewis, and Paulo Szot, conducted by Pavel Smelkov. Production by William Kentridge. From October 26, 2013.
Saturday, April 10
Pittsburgh Opera
Daniel Schnyder: Charlie Parker's Yardbird
While the body of the legendary tormented saxophonist Charlie “Yardbird” Parker lies unidentified in a New York City morgue, his ghost travels back to Birdland, the famed New York City jazz club named after him. As he struggles to complete his final masterpiece, the great bebop innovator revisits the demons, inspirations, and women who have fueled and hindered his creative genius. Conducted by Antony Walker, directed by Tomé Cousin.
Sunday, April 11
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Attila Highlights in Concert: Explore More with Enrique Mazzola
Music Director Designate Enrique Mazzola leads world-renown principal artists in a performance of piano-accompanied excerpts from Verdi's Attila, the story of the infamous "Scourge of God," his consuming desire for power, and his final downfall. Premieres Sunday, April 11 at 2pm CT on Lyric's YouTube and Facebook channels.
Watch now
Sole e Amore (Sun and Love)
Sole e Amore (Sun and Love)
Revel in the sounds of Italy with a virtual recital awash with beautiful lesser-known musical gems by beloved Italian opera composers, curated and hosted by Lyric’s Music Director Designate Enrique Mazzola and presented by The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. With Maestro Mazzola and Ensemble member Chris Reynolds alternating at the piano, members of the Ryan Opera Center 2020/21 Ensemble perform songs by Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, Puccini, and Mascagni, selected with love by Mazzola.
Creating The Factotum
Creating The Factotum
Follow the development of a new opera by Ryan Opera Center alumnus Will Liverman and DJ/recording artist K-Rico that transcends the limits of traditional repertoire. The Factotum, inspired by Rossini's The Barber of Seville, takes place in a present-day Black barbershop in Chicago and combines operatic singing with hip-hop, barbershop, gospel, funk, neo soul, and R&B music.
Chicago filmmaker Raphael Nash has captured the behind-the-scenes process of creating this new work and brings us backstage to meet the artists, hear from the creators, and feel the energy of a new opera being born.
Pasión Latina
Pasión Latina
Celebrate music of the Spanish-speaking world with a free virtual concert starring and hosted by renowned soprano and Lyric favorite Ana María Martínez, and featuring Ryan Opera Center artists and alumni.
These engaging artists perform a dynamic selection of some of their favorite music from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, Argentina, and Spain, with piano accompaniment by Ryan Opera Center Music Director Craig Terry and current Ensemble pianist Chris Reynolds.
Lawrence Brownlee and Friends: The Next Chapter
Lawrence Brownlee and Friends: The Next Chapter
Lyric's Ryan Opera Center presents a free virtual concert celebrating the depth and breadth of Black artistry, hosted by world-renowned tenor Lawrence Brownlee, who also serves as artistic advisor for the event. The concert also features prominent Ryan Opera Center alumni—soprano Whitney Morrison, mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges, and baritone Will Liverman—and three current 2020/21 Ryan Opera Center Ensemble members—tenors Martin Luther Clark and Lunga Eric Hallam, and baritone Leroy Davis.