|
The First Art Newspaper on the Net |
|
Established in 1996 |
|
Thursday, November 14, 2024 |
|
Shut by virus, Met Opera announces starry 'at home' concert |
|
|
The Metropolitan Opera on New Years Eve in New York on Dec. 31, 2019. More than 40 artists will participate in At Home Gala on April 25, which comes as the company faces up to $60 million in losses because of the coronavirus pandemic. Krista Schlueter/The New York Times.
by Zachary Woolfe
|
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Starry (and often epically long) concerts are a Metropolitan Opera stock in trade.
In 1966, the Met bid farewell to its old theater with an all-hands-on-deck gala, and cast-of-dozens spectacles have been mounted over the years for retirements, anniversaries and the companys centennial, in 1983 a concert that lasted 11 hours, with dinner break.
All those events, while sometimes shot through with melancholy, were celebratory in spirit. The At Home Gala the company is planning for Saturday, April 25, is far different, coming as the Met has been forced to cancel the final two months of its season and begin an urgent effort to raise the tens of million dollars it is losing because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Met announced on Monday afternoon that the concert will feature more than 40 artists, including stars like Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann and Renée Fleming, performing from their homes and streamed on the companys website, metopera.org. (In true operatic style, it is an international bunch, with singers hailing from as far afield as Poland, Wales and New Jersey.)
It will have a homespun quality, said Peter Gelb, the Mets general manager, who will host the concert from New York, alongside Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the companys music director, who is in Montreal.
The event estimated to run around three hours, a blink of an eye by opera gala standards will begin at 1 p.m., and the program will be available on the companys website until Sunday evening. It is not explicitly a benefit: Its not a fundraising telethon, Gelb said. But it is part of the Mets attempt to keep up its profile while its stage is dark.
The company has been attracting robust audiences for nightly streams of performances from its Live in HD archives. But its situation like that of other institutions that rely on large gatherings is grim. The Met expects to lose up to $60 million because of its closure, and its orchestra, chorus and stagehands stopped being paid at the end of March, though they have retained their health benefits.
Cultural performances seem unlikely to go forward even well into the summer, if not beyond. Were still hoping the Met will open in September, Gelb said. But clearly that is becoming increasingly questionable as things progress.
I dont think potential audience members are going to want to return to any large performing arts venue until they know its safe, he added. And thats going to require a situation where it really is safe.
© 2020 The New York Times Company
|
|
Today's News
April 15, 2020
In rural Japan, a 370-year-old tradition falls to one child
Frieze Viewing Room to launch with Frieze New York 2020
Andrew Jones Auctions announces highlights included in its online DTLA Collections & Estates auction
Hauser & Wirth presents online exhibition Rashid Johnson, Untitled Anxious Red Drawings
Lockdown stalls Notre-Dame's rebirth one year after fire
Peter Beard still missing, weeks after disappearing on Long Island
Auschwitz online: raising Holocaust awareness in the digital age
Lyon & Turnbull's Contemporary & Post-War Art sale includes works by Nan Goldin
Period & historically significant works lead online sale at Freeman's
Victor Skrebneski, who captured stars in striking photos, dies at 90
9K gold presentation bowl gifted to Queen Elizabeth II's grandparents in Heritage Silver & Objects of Fine Vertu Auction
Hand-signed letter from Florence Nightingale among treasures in Heritage Historical Manuscripts Auction
Music capital Vienna silenced by coronavirus crisis
Rolex, Patek Philippe ditch Baselworld to create new watch fair
Albert K. Webster, who built up the New York Philharmonic, dies at 82
A dancer's quarantine diary: Coming full circle
Abrons Arts Center and Henry Street Settlement launch a relief fund artists
Damiani publishes 'Body Language' by Allen Wheatcroft
Stream and shout: 10 underseen rock documentaries
Cannes film festival difficult to hold 'in original form': organisers
Algerian author wins top Arab fiction prize for 'Spartan Court'
Holocaust memorial sites fight new threat from far right
In about-face, musicians' union agrees to pandemic fundraiser
Shut by virus, Met Opera announces starry 'at home' concert
Cinema's Most Iconic Casino Scenes
Traveling on a Budget
How art is transforming the fashion industry in Asia
Ways to Boost Your Child's Creativity
What makes a personal injury lawyer good.
|
|
|
|
|
Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography, Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs, Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, . |
|
|
|
Royalville Communications, Inc produces:
|
|
|
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful
|
|