Concerts of Romania's George Enescu Festival available online, opera houses & theaters stream performances

As social isolation measures imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic have gotten more serious, an increasing number of cultural institutions in Romania have decided to stay in touch with their audiences with performances available online. We outline some of these initiatives below.

George Enescu International Festival is offering, beginning March 18, free, online access to concerts that were part of the festival or of the associated competition. The classical music concerts can be viewed on the festival's website and will be available for four days each.

The concerts can be viewed for free as an invitation to the public to donate to doctors, nurses, hospitals and NGOs instead of purchasing tickets.

The first concert will be Verdi’s Requiem, performed by the Orchestra and Choir Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, conducted by Fabio Luisi. It was chosen to honor the people of Italy, and the country's people and artists, as it is currently the European nation hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

At the same time, it is meant to “convey a message of support and compassion, inspired by George Enescu’s values and conduct: in difficult times it is best to stay together unite, and music is the perfect liaison. Music heals souls, and music lovers get stronger when they brace each other,” Mihai Constantinescu, the executive director of the festival and the competition, said. During World War I, composer George Enescu worked for a military hospital and set up an orchestra meant to bring relief to the wounded.

Other performances that will be available online this month are from the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Foster; Orchestre National de France, conducted by Ion Marin; St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Christian Badea; and Orchestre Philharmonique Royal De Liège conducted by Gergely Madaras, and having violinist Renaud Capuçon as soloist, among others. British composer Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes, performed by the Romanian National Radio Orchestra & Radio Academic Choir conducted by Paul Daniel, will also be available. The full program is available here. This project is an open-ended one, and the program is continuously updated.

The Romanian National Opera in Cluj Napoca will stream online several of its past performances beginning March 20. The selected performances are Michael Theodorakis’