Though the Metropolitan Opera has canceled all performances on its stage until at least December 31, the New York City institution will instead present ticketed, live streamed concerts from around the world.
A handful of opera stars and Met favorites will take part in the 12-concert series, which kicks off July 18 with Jonas Kaufmann; the tenor will perform live from Bavaria’s Polling Abbey. Later performances include Renée Fleming from D.C.’s Dumbarton Oaks Museum, Sondra Radvanovsky and Piotr Beczała from Barcelona, Anna Netrebko from Liechtenstein Palace in Vienna, Sonya Yoncheva from Berlin, and Angel Blue from New York City.
Unlike the Met’s earlier “At-Home Gala,” the concerts will be professionally filmed in spaces other than the singers’ homes. The streams, hosted by soprano Christine Goerke, will also highlight the art and architecture of the global locations, plus previously recorded documentary segments. Gary Halvorson, who’s headed the Met’s Live in HD broadcasts—many of which have been streamed throughout the pandemic in the Nightly Met Streams series—will direct.
Also unlike the gala—access to the streams will cost $20 (and will be available for 12 days following the event). They will also air on PBS at a later time.
Check out the full concert lineup below. All performances stream live at 1 PM ET.
July 18: Jonas Kaufmann, from the Polling Abbey in Polling, Bavaria
August 1: Renée Fleming, from the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington, D.C.
August 16: Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak, from the Château de la Chèvre d’Or in Èze, France
August 29: Lise Davidsen, from the Oscarshall Palace in Oslo, Norway
September 12: Joyce DiDonato, from the Fundació Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona, Spain
September 26: Sondra Radvanovsky and Piotr Beczała, from Barcelona
October 10: Anna Netrebko, from Liechtenstein Palace in Vienna, Austria
October 24: Diana Damrau and Joseph Calleja, from Malta (castle location TBD)
Nov 7: Pretty Yende and Javier Camarena, from Zurich, Switzerland (location TBD)
Nov 21: Sonya Yoncheva, from Berlin, Germany (location TBD)
December 12: Bryn Terfel, from Wales (church location TBD)
December 19: Angel Blue, from New York City (location TBD)
