What to do when you can’t hold your galas due to the pandemic? You hold one online. Which is exactly what the Metropolitan Opera is doing this Saturday, April 25th. They have assembled a veritable who’s who of opera to participate in at At-Home Gala that will be streamed live beginning at 1 PM EDT/10 AM PDT.
It would almost be easier to ask who isn’t participating than who is. But since you asked, here is the list of artists who will be performing live from their homes:
Ildar Abdrazakov from Moscow, Russia
Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak in Le Raincy, France
Marco Armiliato in Lugano, Switzerland
Jamie Barton in Atlanta, Georgia
Piotr Beczala in Zabinca, Poland
Angel Blue in Alpine, New Jersey
Lawrence Brownlee in Niceville, Florida
Joseph Calleja in Mellicha, Malta
Javier Camarena in Zurich, Switzerland
Nicole Car and Etienne Dupuis in Paris, France
David Chan in Closter, New Jersey
Anthony Roth Costanzo in New York City
Stephen Costello and Yoon Kwon Costello in New York City
Diana Damrau and Nicholas Testé in Orange, France
Michael Fabiano in Bonita Springs, Florida
Renée Fleming in Virginia
Elīna Garanča in Riga, Latvia
Christine Goerke in Teaneck, New Jersey
Gunther Groissböck in Lugano, Switzerland
Jonas Kaufmann in Munich, Germany
Quinn Kelsey in Toronto, Canada
Isabel Leonard in New York City
Ambrogio Maestri in Lugano Switzerland
Peter Mattei in Bromma, Sweden
Erin Morley in New Haven, Connecticut
Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov in Vienna, Austria
Lisette Oropesa in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
René Pape in Dresden, Germany
Ailyn Pérez and Soloman Howard in Chicago, Illinois
Matthew Polenzani in Pelham, New York
Anita Rachvelishvilli in Tbilisi, Georgia
Golda Schultz in Bavaria, Germany
Nadine Sierra in Valencia, Spain
Bryn Terfel and Hannah Stone in Wales
Elza van den Heever in Montpellier, France
Michael Volle in Berlin, Germany
Sonya Yoncheva in Geneva, Switzerland
The At-Home Gala will be hosted by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin (who will also play piano) and General Manager Peter Gelb.
Like the operas that are available each day at the Met Opera’s website, this, too, will be available there during the livestream event and until 6:30 PM EDT on Sunday.
Let’s be honest, one of the great joys of these livestream events is we get to see how other people live. By the same token, we should be grateful that they invite us into their homes for these performances.
Since this is an At-Home Gala, let’s all dress up for it. Open a bottle of champagne and celebrate. We could all use a little joy and spectacle in our lives right now. This seems like a great reason to get all dolled up and enjoy the music.
Note: All clips within this post are from previous performances
Photo of the Metropolitan Opera Auditorium by Jonathan Tichler/Courtesy of Met Opera