The Metropolitan Opera announced plans today to livestream an At-Home Gala on Saturday, April 25, at 1pm EDT, featuring performances by many of the company’s most prominent artists, live from their own quarantines around the world. Hosted by General Manager Peter Gelb in New York City and Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin in Montreal, the program will be streamed for free on the Met’s website.
“While the Met is famous for its high-definition transmissions into cinemas, this will be a great artistic but low-tech operation,” said Mr. Gelb, noting that the performances will be relayed in real time from the singers’ laptops and transmitted via Skype in what will nonetheless be a complicated exercise in logistics and time zones. “We will be providing operatic uplift to our audiences, as well as for our singers, who are eager to connect with their fans.”
While Mr. Gelb will be producing the event from his apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Mr. Nézet-Séguin will be co-hosting from his apartment in Montreal. Mr. Nézet-Séguin will also be participating in the gala as a pianist.
The gala will start at 1pm EDT, the regularly scheduled time for the Met’s Saturday matinee performances, and will be available via the Met’s website at metopera.org. After the live showing, the program will continue to be available on demand on the Met website until 6:30pm EDT the following day. The complete program will be announced shortly.
Some of the artists participating in this gala are Diana Damrau, Michael Fabiano, Isabel Leonard, René Pape, Ailyn Pérez, Matthew Polenzani, Elza van de Heever, Pretty Yende, Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Erin Morley and Anita Rachvelishvili.