|
 Standing apart due to social
distancing measures brought about by the
COVID-19 pandemic, the 25 singers are gathered
on the rooftop of the Royal Opera House in
London's Covent Garden.
Their performance, which also includes the final
chorus from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Magic
Flute", will be streamed on the Royal Opera
House's Facebook page on Good Friday as the
venue prepares to welcome back audiences in May.
"It's about greeting Easter time and greeting
the world after lockdown," American conductor
William Spaulding, who is the chorus director of
the Royal Opera House, told Reuters.
"We all need a bit of hope right now ... it's
been such a rough year and in particular for
opera," added director of opera Oliver Mears.
Like other cultural venues across Britain, the
Royal Opera House, also home to the Royal
Ballet, shut its doors in March 2020, when Prime
Minister Boris Johnson ordered Britons to stay
home to stop the spread of the virus.
Now, as the country slowly emerges from
lockdown, the venue last week announced early
plans for its 2021/22 Season, its first full
season since 2019.
[to top of second column]
|
 It will first welcome back
audiences from May 17, with performances
including a new Royal Opera production of
Mozart's "La Clemenza di Tito".
While some members of the chorus, which was
originally founded in 1946, performed in a
Christmas concert in December, most have not
sung together for a while.
Soprano Elizabeth Weisberg, who like fellow
chorus members was furloughed during lockdown,
said she felt she had lost a "big family
feeling" by being away from her colleagues.
"I'm looking forward to the day when we can hug
each other again," she told Reuters.
"We really do look after each other and (I'm)
just looking forward to seeing ... the standing
ovations when the audiences are back. I know
they need it just as much as we do, and it's
just going to mean so much more to everybody
once we are back and able to make music."
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; Additional
reporting and writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian;
Editing by Alex Richardson)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content |
