RENÉE FLEMING, Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Roberto Alagna and Bryn Terfel are among 38 opera stars in 13 nations scheduled for the Metropolitan Opera’s (Met) At-Home gala, which will be streamed live April 25 starting at 1 p.m. EDT (1 a.m. April 26 Beijing time).

Singers will perform live from their homes and transmit via Skype to All Mobile Video, whose equipment is used for the Met’s high definition broadcasts to theaters during the season. The show is designed to be a fundraiser for the organization; there will be a donate button on the landing page of the website. The gala, expected to last about three hours, will air on the Met’s website and will be available for replay until 6:30 p.m. EDT the next day.

Some artists quarantined as couples will perform together: Netrebko and tenor Yusif Eyvazov in Vienna; Alagna and soprano Aleksandra Kurzak in Le Raincy, France; Terfel and Hannah Stone, former official harpist to Britain’s Prince Charles, in Wales; tenor Stephen Costello and Met violinist Yoon Kwon Costello in New York; and soprano Nicole Car and bass-baritone Etienne Dupuis in Paris.

Gary Halvorson will direct from Los Angeles and Gelb will host from his apartment in New York.

The Met has not performed since March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic and has canceled the rest of its season. It started an emergency fundraising drive of US$50 million to US$60 million in an attempt to make up the shortfall in its US$308 million budget. The company stopped pay of unionized workers March 31, including the orchestra and chorus, and cut pay of administrative staff earning more than US$125,000. (SD-Agencies)