Closure culture: Where to watch opera and theater productions online

Posted March 18, 2020 11:00 pm

By Scott C. Morgan

Tony Award-winners Laura Benanti and Jane Krakowski starred in the 2016 Broadway revival of “She Loves Me.” The 1963 romantic musical comedy is available to stream online at BroadwayHD. Courtesy of Joan Marcus, 2016

I was supposed to be in New York this week.

I had a ticket for the rarely produced 1948 musical “Love Life” by composer Kurt Weill and lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and plans to see the gender-swapped Broadway musical revival of Stephen Sondheim's “Company.” I also hoped to catch Joyce DiDonato in Jules Massenet's tragedy “Werther” at The Metropolitan Opera.

Those performances - and my trip - were canceled in the wake of coronavirus closures.

But I can at least console myself with many performing arts options available online while stuck at home. Here are a few suggestions to see streamed musicals, plays, ballets and operas - many free - while local venues are shuttered and we all hunker down at home.

Mighty Met Archive

Since Monday, The Metropolitan Opera in New York has been offering “Nightly Met Opera Streams” from its website at metopera.org. The works are uploaded at 6:30 p.m. and are free for the next 20 hours.

This weekend features:

Natalie Dessay stars as tomboy Marie in Donizetti's comedy "La Fille du Régiment" ("The Daughter of the Regiment"), which is streamed online for free for 20 hours starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 20, from metopera.org. Courtesy of Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera, 2008

“La Fille du Régiment” (“The Daughter of the Regiment”) on Friday, March 20. The 2008 production of Donizetti's comedy starred Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez.

“Lucia di Lammermoor” on Saturday, March 21. Chicago director Mary Zimmerman staged a 2009 revival of Donizetti's tragedy starring Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczała.

“Eugene Onegin” on Sunday, March 22. This 2007 revival of Tchaikovsky's tragedy starred Renée Fleming and the late Dmitri Hvorostovsky.

But these offerings just scratch the surface of what The Metropolitan Opera has on offer via its On Demand subscription service, which has a seven-day free trial period.

Russian soprano Anna Netrebko starred in "Lucia di Lammermoor" at the Metropolitan Opera in 2009. Donizetti's tragedy is streamed online for free for 20 hours starting at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at metopera.org. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera, 2009

The Metropolitan Opera started Saturday matinee radio broadcasts in 1931. The 1970s saw the start of regular Metropolitan Opera TV broadcasts, and 2006 saw the launch of the ongoing high-definition simulcasts to movie theaters. Many of those audio and video performances can be streamed online or watched via Smart TV or Roku.

I can partially make up for my missed New York trip by watching “Werther” from a 2014 Live in HD simulcast. I also looked ahead to the Lyric Opera of Chicago's next season by doing some research on Saint-Saëns Biblical drama “Samson et Dalila.”

I can compare and contrast videos of director Darko Tresnjak's 2018 version versus director Elijah Moshinsky's African-inspired 1998 production (the latter is coming to Chicago). The site also has a 1936 “Samson et Dalila” recording conducted by Maurice Abravanel, the preferred conductor of composer Kurt Weill.

Bountiful Broadway and more

The number of filmed stage productions has increased in recent years, including Broadway hits. Many can be streamed online at BroadwayHD.com, or at Marquee.tv (which is more focused on European productions). Both offer free trial periods.

Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope perform in the title ballet of "An American in Paris." The Broadway musical was filmed in 2017 during its London run, and is available for streaming online at BroadwayHD. Courtesy of Matthew Murphy, 2015

Chicago-area ticket holders who missed out on “An American in Paris” at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace can find a version of it at BroadwayHD.com. This 2014 stage adaptation of the Academy Award-winning 1951 film musical features Christopher Wheeldon's Tony Award-wining choreography, which was captured in a 2017 taping during its London run.

More Wheeldon choreography is featured in his Royal Ballet adaptation of Lewis Carroll's “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,” which is available at both Marquee.tv and BroadwayHD.com.

Another highly recommended BroadwayHD.com offering is the 1963 romantic musical comedy “She Loves Me.” An acclaimed 2016 Roundabout Theatre Company revival was captured and starred Zachary Levi, Jane Krakowski and Laura Benanti.

Individual artists

Many performers are seeking ways to connect online while everyone is self-isolating.

Tony Award winner Laura Benanti asked teenagers on Twitter to post videos of themselves performing numbers from their canceled high school musicals.

On Twitter, Laura Benanti invited students to record themselves singing numbers from school musicals they were set to perform in before the shows were canceled. Rather than their performances being silenced, the students get to share a sample of their artistry online.

So be on the lookout for new and emerging ways to be connected to people in the performing arts. With all of the uncertainty, it's nice to know of the ways that operas, musicals, ballets and plays can be accessed online.

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