Met Opera At-Home Gala: Renée Fleming and Jonas Kaufmann part of online stream from world’s opera stars

24 April 2020, 16:24 | Updated: 24 April 2020, 16:38

Some of the world's top opera stars are coming together for a free concert live streamed by the Met Opera. Picture: Getty / PA

By Sian Moore

From Diana Damrau to Renée Fleming, the world’s greatest opera stars are assembling to perform an ‘At-Home Gala’ – and everyone’s invited.

This Saturday (25 April), the Met Opera will live-stream a free concert featuring some of the biggest names in opera including Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Netrebko and Renée Fleming.

More than 40 stars of the opera world will give virtual performances from their homes via Skype, as they self-isolate across the globe.

The event, which the Met describes as an ‘At-Home Gala’, will take place on 25 April at 1pm EDT (6pm BST), sticking to the usual scheduled time of their Saturday matinee performances.

Welsh baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, American soprano Angel Blue, American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and Latvian mezzo Elīna Garanča are also on the star line-up.

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The Met’s General Manager Peter Gelb will be hosting the online experience from his home in New York.

He hopes the concert will give an “operatic uplift to our audiences, as well as for our singers, who are eager to connect with their fans.”

Joining Gelb as a (virtual) co-host is Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who will also provide piano accompaniment from his home in Montreal.

“I can’t tell you how happy it makes me for all these tremendous artists to be able to come together and perform in this way during this time of crisis,” Nézet-Séguin said.

“While we cannot wait to get back to the Met stage, for the moment, this is the next best thing.”

American soprano Angel Blue joins the Met Opera for an all-star virtual concert. Picture: Getty

How do I watch the Met Opera’s At-Home Gala?

The concert will be live-streamed on Saturday 25 April at 1pm EDT (6pm BST) on the The Metropolitan Opera website.

After the live event, the At-Home Gala will be made available for on-demand viewing on the Met website until 6:30 pm EDT the next day (until 10.30pm, Sunday 26 April).

The At-Home Gala aims to raise money for the Met’s “The Voice Must Be Heard” campaign to support the company and protect its future. Click here to find our more or donate.