DON GIOVANNI (Royal Opera)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/packages/don-giovanni/videos/don-giovanni-1

Available until: 15^th August 2021

Don Giovanni is not like Mozart’s other main characters. There are some who do things which aren’t the best idea like the characters in Così fan tutte. There are characters who get themselves into really serious difficulties like the title character in Idomeneo (who makes a promise he really regrets) and Tito in La clemenza di Tito (who expects his best friend not to want to kill him). Even in the lighter operas, the characters get themselves into serious trouble. But we like all these main characters and we hope for a happy ending for them.

FATAL SYSTEM ERROR (8bit/Royal Opera)****

 

 By Louise

Link: https://playcanv.as/p/A5qC9ftM/?overlay=false 

Available until: 30^th May 2021

I really like the Royal Opera’s 8bit series. They have really pushed the boundaries and tried to do things which are different and not usually something you see on the opera stage, but the works they’re producing still feel like opera.

OUR DARK SIDE AND THE MOON: A NIGHT-TIME DUET (8bit/Royal Opera)****

  

By Dave

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJfbSr2XIvA 

Available until: 30^th May

Our Dark Side and the Moon is part of the Royal Opera’s 8bit series of newly-commissioned vocal and dance pieces that can be enjoyed for free online. The aim of the series is to push the boundaries of opera and ballet and this one is inspired by the Moon and Mars landings.

AMONG THE FLOWERS (Royal Opera)**

 

By Cal

Link: https://www.instagram.com/tv/COSUCT2jw0X 

Available until: 30^th May 2021

It is important for opera companies to try to reach out to new audiences. While there are young people like me and some of my siblings who genuinely enjoy opera and have even, in some cases, either sung arias or even appeared in an opera, young opera fans do seem to be few and far between.

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS/MAHAGONNY SONGSPIEL (Royal Opera)***

  

By Cal

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/packages/the-seven-deadly-sins-mahagonny-songspiel/videos/the-seven-deadly-sins-mahagonny-songspiel 

Available until: 9^th May

The last two years at the ROH are hardly what the Jette Parker Young Artists would have expected and hoped for. There has been very limited opportunity to work alongside seasoned professionals or to play roles in large-scale, well-known operas, and we can’t dismiss the impact of the absence of the audience: not just the instant positive feedback but the energy they give the singers throughout the performance, just by being there.

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO (Royal Opera)*****

By Sophie 

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/packages/the-marriage-of-figaro-2015/videos/the-marriage-of-figaro-2015 

Available until: 4^th April 2021

Le nozze di Figaro can be very difficult to classify as an opera. It’s not a tragedy, though some of the characters feel that way at times. It’s certainly romantic as there is at least one happy couple at the end (I’m not admitting to any more than that, but I’m not ruling it out). Many would call it a comedy, though it is possible to put on a production of Figaro that focuses on the more serious elements and although it’s compelling as both a romantic and a dramatic piece, it’s not necessarily always overwhelmingly funny.

TONY AND THE YOUNG ARTISTS (Royal Opera)****

 

By Imogen 

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/packages/tony-and-the-young-artists/videos/tony-and-the-young-artists 

Available until: 21^st March 2021

Tony and the Young Artists is a concert performed in the Crush Room and the Royal Opera House. Tony is Antonio Pappano, the Music Director of the Royal Opera House. Three of the current Jette Parker Young Artists appear in this concert, soprano Alexandra Lowe, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Wake-Edwards and tenor Filipe Manu.

IL TRITTICO (Royal Opera House)****

 

By Louise

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/products/il-trittico-2011

Available until: 7^th March 2021

Il trittico is a series of three very different short operas by Giacomo Puccini. It is common for them to be performed together, just like Cavalleria rusticana is performed with Pagliacci, and Puccini did intend for them to be performed together. Il tabarro and Suor Angelica are serious dramas, set in a barge on a river and a convent. Gianni Schicchi is a family comedy. If they were composed by different people, they would probably never have become a trittico. Sometimes just two of the operas are presented rather than all three. Sometimes they present the two serious operas. Sometimes they leave out Suor Angelica as many see it as the weakest. Sometimes Il tabarro is left out as it is a darker and nastier opera than the other two.

CENDRILLON (Royal Opera)****

 

By Louise

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/packages/cendrillon-cinderella-2011/videos/cendrillon-cinderella-2011

Available until: 21 February 2021

The story of Cinderella has been mentioned on this blog quite a lot. It is a very popular story for a pantomime and there were a few livestreamed versions, including Covidella and the Masked Ball. Glyndebourne Festival Opera put their production of La Cenerentola on YouTube. Imogen reviewed Into the Woods, which includes Cinderella.

ANDREA CHENIER (Royal Opera)***

 

By Dave

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/packages/andrea-chenier-2015/videos/andrea-chenier-2015

Available until: Sunday 7^th February 2021

Andrea Chenier is an interesting streaming choice from the Royal Opera (though they are obviously restricted to the productions they chose to film), but it’s a good choice. Mostly, they’ve been streaming the popular operas which everyone knows and this is a time when a lot of people might want a bit of familiarity. It’s not like we get much of it in the rest of our lives.

THE ROYAL OPERA CHRISTMAS CONCERT (Royal Opera)*****

By Louise

Link: The Royal Opera Christmas Concert - Royal Opera House Stream (roh.org.uk)

Available until: 17^th January 2021

The Royal Opera hoped to perform their concert to a live audience. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible, but they still performed and recorded the concert. It is very beautiful and uplifting. The Christmas tree from the Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker towers over the singers and sets a festive scene. I have seen it lots of times, but it is still awe-inspiring!

LA BOHEME (Royal Opera)*****

 

By Aashiq

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/products/la-boheme-2020 £3

Available until: 10^th January 2021

La bohѐme used to be my favourite opera. It was my first ever trip to the Royal Opera House. I couldn’t believe how posh it was, I was almost scared of going on those red carpets which was weird as I always thought I was born for the red carpet. But the Royal Opera House was so beautiful and so was La bohѐme.

DON GIOVANNI (Royal Opera)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/packages/don-giovanni-2019/videos/don-giovanni

Available until: 27^th December 2020

The Royal Opera have been really wonderful for keeping us entertained during the pandemic. They stream their past productions online for a very small price, as well as putting on socially-distanced shows for a very small or no audience, which can be watched online.

This production of Don Giovanni is probably my favourite ROH streamed production so far, but I did enjoy all the other productions a lot. It is a beautiful opera musically anyway and it has lots of interesting characters, but in Kasper Holton’s production – revived by Jack Furness - they are especially interesting because he has shown the characters in ways I have never seen them before. The ending is really interesting too.

ARIODANTE (Royal Opera)*****

 

By Tommy

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/products/ariodante-in-concert £10

Available until:  Sunday 20^th December 2020

How wonderful to see a full live opera at the Royal Opera House once more! Of course, it was not possible to see this opera in person and might not have been as fully satisfying experience for them as it was for their online audience, but I really hope they were able to find some enjoyment in their excellent performances of this beautiful opera and to know that it was very much appreciated by those of us who are missing opera.

ENSEMBLES CONCERT (Royal Opera/Linbury Studio)****

 

By Dave

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v62xt34iI20

Available until: Unknown but most of the Royal Opera videos are available until 24^th November.

The Ensembles Concert was presented as part of Meet the Young Artists Week and it featured all the current Jette Parker Young Artists, along with their very welcome gatecrasher, last year’s graduate German Alcantara. They sing several duets (some of which became trios for part of the scene), some well-known and some not, before singing a quartet as a finale.

JUKE BOX 2 (Royal Opera)*****

 

 By Tommy

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/packages/jukebox-2/videos/jukebox-2

Available until: Sunday 29^th December 2020

Earlier in the week, the Jette Parker Young Artists (plus one former member of the Programme) performed in Juke Box 1. Each Young Artist sang the opening of three different arias or songs and audience voted on youtube and facebook for their favourite. The winning songs were all performed in full in the Jukebox 2 concert.

AT THE STATUE OF VENUS (Royal Opera)****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWs4LDHmnOc

Available until: 24^th November 2020

For Meet the Young Artists Week, the Royal Opera have produced three short works for solo female voice. None were written as operas – this is a song, though it is nearly half an hour long. They have all, though, been staged as operas and they work very well.

ARIANNA A NAXOS (Royal Opera)*****

 

By Dave

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPOpj8UfNkE

Available until: 24^th November 2020

Possible trigger warning: fake blood

As an opera fan, you get to hear and see new and exciting singers all the time and it’s one of the best things about being an opera fan but every so often, you discover a singer who is not just truly exceptional but unlike any other singer you’ve seen before. It’s especially exciting when the singer is young and almost certain to get a lot better. Stephanie Wake-Edwards impressed me in her recent Wigmore Hall recital with Allan Clayton and in the Royal Opera’s Juke Box 1. This performance only seems to confirm her star status and incredible potential.

LA DAME DE MONTE-CARLO (Royal Opera)****

 

By Emma

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-RFhLrnH6I

Available until: 24^th November 2020

This is actually a sung monologue for soprano and orchestra but here it is performed with a pianist and staged. It is often performed alongside La voix humaine (which Welsh National Opera has filmed as part of lockdown) and was written for the same soprano.

JUKE BOX 1 (Royal Opera)****

 

By Tommy (and some of the younger bloggers)

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04nppOsfdig

Available until: The video will be available for about a month. However, if you wish to vote, you’ll need to do that before midday on Thursday 29^th October.

The Royal Opera has had a Young Artist programme for most of the current century. A small group of talented young singers spend two years working at the Royal Opera House, singing small roles (and occasionally leading roles) and understudying others. They also have a concert at the end of each year and certainly, in the past, they have been given the opportunities to perform recitals at the opera house too.