Arts groups, singers stream their works to the homebound
Some of the world’s greatest performance halls are shuttered. Singers and musicians are in lockdown. But art is finding a way to escape COVID-19.
From archived masterpieces to DIY concerts inside various quarantines, here’s a look at some ways to stay entertained for free via new streaming initiatives:
The Metropolitan Opera is streaming a different performance each day at 4:30 p.m. at metopera.org. If you miss the live stream, each opera, filmed in HD, will remain on the homepage for on-demand streaming until 12:30 p.m. the following day.
Broadway is pitching in with a couple of efforts. SiriusXM Broadway host Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley, are putting together daily specials featuring entertainers performing and being interviewed from their homes. The project, “Stars in the House,” can be seen at youtube.com/theactorsfund. BroadwayWorld is partnering with singers and performers for its series, “Living Room Concerts.” They can be found at broadwayworld.com/topic/LIVING-ROOM-CONCERTS.
Global Citizen, an organization devoted to ending extreme poverty, is coordinating a series of at-home concerts under the “Together, at Home” banner. Chris Martin, John Legend, Charlie Puth, Common and Niall Horan have performed on their personal Instagram accounts. For updates, see globalcitizen.org/en/ or follow @GlblCtzn on social channels.
Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard has been performing at 4 p.m. daily on YouTube and Facebook. For more information, see found.ee/BenGibbard-LiveFromHome.
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is offering free access to its archive of past performances at livefromorchestrahall.vhx.tv.
The Berlin Philharmonic has dropped the paywall for its Digital Concert Hall, its archive of concerts and films. Find it at berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/.