As tempting as it maybe to put on sweat pants, grab an beer or two, and a large tub of popcorn and lie on the couch and binge watch really bad TV (ie anything with the Kardashians in it) eventually you are going to get really bored. You’ll realize that whatever city the Real Housewives are from, they are ALL the same, and no-one can dress like that when there is coronavirus everywhere.
That’s when you’ll realize its time for some real culture other than Andy Cohen, and luckily there is a lot now available AND best of all most of it is FREE.
The Royal Opera House in London has launched a program of free online content for what they politely describe as “the culturally curious at home“.
They will be offering a free program of curated online broadcasts, musical masterclasses and cultural insights that get under the skin of both ballet and opera and offer everyone a unique look behind the scenes at one of the world’s most famous cultural institutions.
The R.O.H. have created a schedule of free broadcasts and live content that audiences can access for free anywhere, anytime across the globe, bringing both ballet and opera to every home and every device. This will include the following productions offered on demand and for free via the ROH’s Facebook and YouTube channels:
- Peter and the Wolf, The Royal Ballet, 2010 – 27 March 2020, 7pm GMT
- Acis and Galatea, The Royal Opera, 2009 – 3 April 2020, 7pm BST
- Così fan tutte, The Royal Opera, 2010 – 10 April 2020, 7pm BST
- The Metamorphosis, The Royal Ballet, 2013 – 17 April 2020, 7pm BST
Plus the ROH are suggesting you sign up for a free 30-day trial on Marquee TV, the international multi-genre performing arts streaming service. In collaboration with the Royal Opera House, A range of recent opera and ballet productions are available including La Traviata and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with new titles being added all the time.
The Metropolitan Opera in NY is also offering a wealth of amazing world-class performances online and FREE. Each day, a different encore presentation from the company’s Live in HD series is being made available for free streaming on the Met website, with each performance available for a period of 23 hours, from 7:30 p.m. EDT until 6:30 p.m. the following day. The schedule will include outstanding complete performances from the past 14 years of cinema transmissions, starring all of opera’s greatest singers.
The second week of their free Nightly Opera Streams right now is dedicated to the epic masterpieces of Richard Wagner, operas that often depict destruction and strife, but also offer hope for redemption and rebirth—a message that resonates now more than ever.
The streams are also available through the Met Opera on Demand apps for Apple, Amazon, and Roku devices and Samsung Smart TV. To access them without logging in, click “Browse and Preview” in the apps for connected TV, and “Explore the App” on tablets and mobile devices.
Back to London and the Globe Theatre THE home for the Best of The Bard.
Globe Player has paid-for recordings of many of the theatre’s Shakespeare adaptations spanning more than 10 years, including Mark Rylance and Stephen Fry in their all-male Twelfth Night; Jonathan Pryce as the Merchant of Venice; Emma Rice’s naughty telling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Adetomiwa Edun and Ellie Kendrick in the 2009 production of Romeo and Juliet; and Lucy Bailey’s bloodthirsty Titus Andronicus.
Watching one of these for your sofa is probably more comfortable than being a groundling at the theatre itself, although you’ll pay roughly the same to rent, as you usually would for the cheapest tickets in the house.
If you’re particularly barmy about the Bard, bundles of nine different seasons at the Globe are also available to buy.
Free content on Globe Player is admittedly limited, although there’s some interesting behind-the-scenes content to check out.
