The Opera Platform

For those intrigued by Covent Garden's new production of Szymanowski's King Roger (see my review), but unable to attend a performance, there is good news. The opera will be streamed live, and available on demand, on a new website The Opera Platform. Covent Garden and Welsh National Opera are two of the companies joining a Europe-wide network of opera companies who are making content available for the new website. The Opera Platform will offer free content from the 15 opera companies involved. This will include full opera performances and extracts, synopses and background material, artist interviews and behind-the-scenes documentaries.

The website is launched today with a live transmission of La Traviata from Madrid's Teatro Real, King Roger from Covent Garden follows on 16 May and the first WNO opera will be Iain Bell's new opera In Parenthesis based on David Jones' poem which will be broadcast this summer. Also coming up are Finnish choreographer Tero Saarinen's dance piece to Sibelius's Kullervo from Helsinki (23 May) and Gotterdammerung from the Vienna State Opera in June. There is a lot more else besides on the website, and it is well worth exploring

This new website is supported by the European Commission’s Creative Europe programme and created by a partnership led by Opera Europa – the European association of opera companies and festivals