Since containment was introduced by the government to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the French can only go out for the bare necessities. Shops, bars, restaurants and cultural venues are closed to the public until further notice in order to avoid any gatherings. In the absence of reliable treatment and vaccine, social distancing is indeed the best way to fight the spread of COVID-19. This is a blow to culture, but in order to keep it alive, many cultural venues and artists are offering free admission to some of their performances. Shows to be found on websites, streaming platforms or social networks. A short tour of operas, ballets, concerts and theatrical productions to watch quietly from your home computer
Ballet and opera performances
The Paris Opera was one of the first cultural structures to mobilize for the broadcasting of performances during the confinement. Thus, to see wonderful online performances of the complete cycle of Tchaikovsky's Symphonies, Mozart's Don Giovanni or the unmissable Swan Lake, visit the Paris Opera website and the Culture Box Facebook page. Please note that other shows should be put online from April onwards, as long as the confinement is expected to last.
For a little travel, the prestigious Metropolitan Opera of New York also offers a home-opera system, with performances such as Puccini's La Bohème and Verdi's La Traviata. Not forgetting the Vienna Opera, which offers a show every evening at 5pm
Concerts by the greatest orchestras
The Philharmonie de Paris has made available on its website more than one hundred concerts that allow the public to rediscover the works of renowned artists such as Beethoven. In neighbouring Germany, it is the Berliner Philharmoniker who have set up free access to Digitalconcerthall.com, a video platform that simply requires a nominative registration. More than 600 concerts are offered by the Berlin Philharmonic, enough to occupy the long days at home without going out and keeping a smile on your face. And for all those who are not satisfied, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra invites you to visit its website gsoplay.com for a concert available every Tuesday and Friday, featuring big names such as Kent Nagano and Barbara Hannigan
Concerts in all styles
In order to bring their music to life in the daily lives of confined people, many artists have also decided to post videos of their concerts on social networks. This is the case of Christine and The Queen, who meet every day on Instagram at 6pm to share a composition with their community. On his website, the singer Neil Young offers "Fireside Sessions", music sessions by the fireplace where he is filmed at home by his wife. And to show how many initiatives are multiplying to make you live this not always simple period, you should not miss to connect to ArteConcert, the concert offer is very eclectic, with the possibility to dance from your living room on the songs of Blondie, Bob Marley, Interpol or Iggy Pop.
On the theatre side
Theatre lovers also have something to look forward to, with several structures that have mobilized to stay as close as possible to their regulars. For example, the Théâtre de l'Odéon has put the beautiful show L'École des femmes de Molière, directed by Stéphane Braunschweig, online via Vimeo. The National Theatre of Rouen has also decided to come and meet the public directly in their homes. Every Monday and Friday, it offers a recording of its shows to be discovered free of charge on its website. Shakespeare's Hamlet or Ahmed Madan's F(l)ammes and Illuminations are among the proposals to watch from his sofa. In a completely different style, the Apollo Théâtre de Paris offers one-man shows that bring a little cheerfulness to the atmosphere and for apprentice actors, we must salute the beautiful initiative of the Théâtre national de Nice, whose director Muriel Mayette-Holtz offers a daily appointment called Bibliotexte. Every day at 5pm, everyone can connect to the TNN's social networks, Facebook and Instagram, to do diction exercises and work on texts
