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Royal Opera House announces Autumn Opera and Ballet Concerts
The Royal Opera House is delighted to announce two packed evenings of opera and ballet, live from our stage in Covent Garden and available to view wherever you are in the world online.
1 September update: We are sorry to announce that due to newly-imposed travel restrictions, Sonya Yoncheva has had to withdraw from The Royal Opera: Live in Concert performance on Friday 4 September. We are delighted to announce that soprano Kristine Opolais will be taking to the stage to sing ‘Song to the Moon’ from Rusalka, and Act I duet from Tosca alongside Gerald Finley, Filipe Manu, Jeremy White and the Royal Opera Chorus.
These autumn performances follow from the success of #OurHouseToYourHouse – where through the spring-summer lockdown the ROH presented full-length performance streams, livestreamed socially-distanced concerts, mini-documentaries and interactive activities for children – generating more than 206 million views from 183 countries around the world.
The first of these events, The Royal Opera: Live in Concert will be broadcast live on Friday 4 September 7.30 BST. Curated by the Royal Opera House’s Director of Music, Antonio Pappano, the concert will see Aigul Akhmetshina, Charles Castronovo, Gerald Finley, Lisette Oropesa, Sonya Yoncheva, and Vito Priante take to the stage.
Performing much-loved classics of the opera repertory by Bellini, Bizet, Donizetti, Dvorak, Massenet, Mozart, Puccini, Rossini and Verdi – the outstanding cast will be joined by current Jette Parker Young Artists Filipe Manu and Stephanie Wake-Edwards, 67 members of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and members of the Royal Opera Chorus performing together in person for the first time since we closed our doors to the public on 16 March.
On Friday 9 October, the second of these evenings will see The Royal Ballet return for a unique celebration as the whole Company are reunited on their home stage for the first time in seven months. The Company will perform the programme, together with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, in what promises to be a dance event not to be missed in a showcase of heritage and modern highlights from The Royal Ballet’s repertory. Details of The Royal Ballet event and the Autumn 2020 Season will follow in the coming weeks.
Hosted by the BBC’s Katie Derham, the opera event will be broadcast live via Vimeo, priced at £16.00 per household and will be available for 30 days. The BBC will be partnering with ROH, bringing the concert to the small screen later this year, and on BBC Radio 3 later in September.
Rehearsals and performances for both concerts will all take place in a carefully-controlled, socially distanced environment. All artists will observe strict social distancing, as well as undertake other COVID mitigations as per the government guidance.
Oliver Mears, Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House said: ‘As we continue to navigate the biggest crisis in our industry’s history, it is vital that we embrace new ways to reach audiences while at the same time generating revenue. Although our pay per view model won’t get close to matching the revenues from a live audience, it will go some way to bridging the financial gap we’ve been experiencing since March. I am certain that we will soon be able to welcome audiences back to our theatres, but in the meantime, we must do all we can to secure our future’.
Programme for the performance*
- Mozart: Overture from Le nozze di Figaro
- Rossini: ‘Largo al factotum’ (The Barber of Seville) – Vito Priante (Figaro)
- Donizetti: ‘Caro Elisir’ (L’elisir d’amore) – Charles Castronovo (Nemorino) & Lisette Oropesa (Adina)
- Rossini: ‘Non più mesta’ (La Cenerentola) – Aigul Akhmetshina (Angelina), Royal Opera Chorus Tenors and Basses
- Bellini: La sonnambula, final scene – Lisette Oropesa (Amina) and Filipe Manu (Elvino), Royal Opera Chorus
- Verdi: ‘Forse la soglia attinse’ (Un ballo in maschera) – Charles Castronovo (Riccardo)
- Verdi: ‘Credo in un Dio crudel’ (Otello) – Gerald Finley (Iago)
- Dvořák: ‘Song to the Moon’ ‘(Rusalka) – Sonya Yoncheva (Rusalka)
- Offenbach: ‘Scintille, diamant’ (Les contes d’Hoffmann) – Vito Priante (Dappertutto)
- Massenet: Recitative & Gavotte (Manon) – Lisette Oropesa and Royal Opera Chorus Tenors & Basses
- Bizet: Final act of Carmen – Aigul Akmetshina (Carmen), Charles Castronovo (Don Jose), Vito Priante (Escamillo) and Royal Opera Chorus
- Puccini: Act I duet and ‘Te Deum’ from Tosca – Sonya Yoncheva (Tosca) and Gerald Finley (Scarpia), Filipe Manu (Spoletta), Jeremy White (Sacristan) and Royal Opera Chorus
* Please note that participating artists are subject to change due to challenging travel and quarantine restrictions.
For more details of performances, dates and times, please visit our website or follow
#OurHouseToYourHouse on the Royal Opera House’s social media channels.
Tickets and details on how to watch can be found if you click here.
The Royal Opera: Live in Concert is priced at £16.00 and available for 30 days.
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