Live from Covent Garden: Louise Alder, Toby Spence, Gerald Finley, and Wayne MacGregor

Live from the Royal Opera House © ROH 2016. Photograph by Sim Canetty-Clarke

Live performance is returning to Covent Garden, as the Royal Opera House has announced a series of performances to be recorded in the theatre, without a live audience and broadcast on-line.

The first will take place on Saturday 13 June 2020, when performers will include soprano Louise Alder [who was Susanna in Joe Hill-Gibbins new production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, the last performance at English National Opera before lockdown, see my review], tenor Toby Spence [who was King Manasseh in the first recording of Hubert Parry's oratorio Judith, recently issued on Chandos conducted by William Vann, see my review] and baritone Gerald Finley [who played the baritone roles in Covent Garden's first production of Britten's Death in Venice for over 25 years, see my review], accompanied by Sir Antonio Pappano, in repertoire from Handel, to Butterworth and Britten, to Mark-Anthony Turnage. And there will be a new, intimate, ballet from choreographer Wayne MacGregor.

The event, which is curated by Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera, Oliver Mears, Director of Opera, and Kevin O’Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet, is the first of a series with subsequent events on Saturdays June. Saturday 13 June's concert will be streamed free, but subsequent ones will cost £4.99.

Further details to be announced, see the Royal Opera House website.