Royal Opera Live presents a day of behind-the-scenes access

Charlotte Smith
Friday, December 28, 2012

The Royal Opera House is to offer a glimpse into life backstage by streaming a full working day - including rehearsals with the Royal Opera Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House - live on The Space and Guardian websites. Royal Opera Live, taking place on January 7, follows the success of Royal Ballet Live in March 2012, which was watched by more than 200,000 people on the day and a further 1 million people since then.

The day’s broadcasts will feature rehearsals for Stephen Langridge’s production of Harrison Birtwistle's The Minotaur and Kasper Holten’s new production of Eugene Onegin, Rolando Villazón’s backstage preparations for singing Rodolfo in La bohème, and interviews with singers, directors, designers and conductors, including John Tomlinson, Stephen Langridge, Simon Keenlyside and Ryan Wigglesworth.

Events will conclude with an exclusive behind-the-scenes peek at activity during a live performance. Act III from Die Walküre, pre-recorded earlier in the season, will be depicted by 21 cameras positioned at every conceivable angle - from above the stage, to the wings, to the orchestral pit. Presented by BBC Radio 3’s Suzy Klein with commentary by director Keith Warner, the broadcast will be available as three different streams on The Space - from backstage, in the pit with conductor Antonio Pappano, and onstage. The performance stars Bryn Terfel as Wotan and Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde.

Audience participation will also be encouraged with questions submitted live via Twitter throughout the day. In the run up to the event viewers are also encouraged to submit video of themselves singing ‘Va pensiero’ from Nabucco with the help of online tutorials and a downloadable Italian text. A selection of these will be broadcast as part of the day's events.

Royal Opera Live takes place between 10.30am and 9pm on January 7, 2013. Visit www.thespace.org and www.guardian.co.uk/classical for full details.

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