What To Watch July 5th To Take Away The Blues

Works & Process at the GuggenheimAnnounces WPA Virtual Commissions with Donald Byrd

12pm: Great Performances at the Met Der Fliegende Holländer Wagner’s eerie early masterpiece stars Evgeny Nikitin as the cursed Dutchman, alongside Anja Kampe as Senta with Franz-Josef Selig as Daland and Sergey Skorokhodov as Erik. Valery Gergiev conducts.

Director François Girard’s new production is set on the Norwegian coast during the 19^th century. A storm has driven Captain Daland’s ship several miles from home. Daland sends his crew to rest and leaves a young steersman in charge, who then falls asleep. A ghostly schooner drops anchor next to Daland’s ship and its captain steps ashore to reflect on his fate. Once every seven years, he leaves his ship to find a wife. If she is faithful, she will redeem him from his deathless wandering. If not, he is condemned to sail the ocean until Judgment Day. Daland discovers the phantom ship and the stranger who introduces himself as “a Dutchman.” The Dutchman offers gold and jewels for a night’s lodging. When he learns that Daland has a daughter, he asks for her hand in marriage. Happy to have found a rich son-in-law, Daland agrees and sails home.

2pm: The Greatest Wealth: Olivier winner Sharon D. Clarke to perform First, Do No Harm by Booker Prize winner Bernadine Evaristo as part of the The Old Vic’s monologue series The Greatest Wealth.

3pm: Sunday Tea With John McD. John McDaniel serenades audiences and shares stories from his life and career on Broadway, concert tours, and his days as Rosie O’Donnell’s band leader on The Rosie O’Donnell Show. He has previously collaborated with artists such as Carol Burnett, Cab Calloway, Kristin Chenoweth, Paul Newman, Madonna, Patti LuPone, and Bette Midler.

4pm–9:30pm: Marie’s Crisis Virtual Piano Bar scheduled pianists are Adam Michael Tilford (@Adam-Tilford-1) and Dan Daly (@DanDalyMusic). 

6pm: Memorial For Us All: Vanessa Williams By Lincoln Center.

As we find our footing in this new terrain, faith leaders have enlisted New York City artists and Lincoln Center to offer a weekly Memorial for Us All. Music unlocks thoughts, feelings, and memories that unite and free us. These memorials allow music to begin to heal us all, as it has in so many rituals since the beginning of time.

Memorial for Us All is a secular community remembrance, welcoming all to celebrate the lives of those who have left us too soon. Community members are invited to submit the names of a neighbor, friend, or loved one to honor here.

7pm: John & Jen: A Virtual Production By Short North Stage. From composer Andrew Lippa and lyricist Tom Greenwald this musical stream on Vimeo July 5–12.  Filmed at the Garden Theater in Columbus, Ohio, John & Jen: A Virtual Production stars Hunter Minor and Dionysia Williams. Short North Stage Artistic Director Edward Carignan directs with musical direction by Lori Kay Harvey. With a book by Lippa and Greenwald, the two-hander follows Jen and her relationships with the two Johns of her life: her younger brother, who was killed in Vietnam, and his namesake, the son who is trying to find his way in a confusing world. On-demand for $15 at ShortNorthStage.org, with a special opening night Zoom party set for July 5th at 7 PM ET with composer Andrew Lippa. 

7:30pm: Rossini’s La Donna del Lago Rossini, one of the great masters of glittering Italianate charm and spectacle, would seem an unlikely candidate to create an operatic retelling of Sir Walter Scott’s shadowy epic of clan warfare in 16th-century Scotland. But the heart of the drama is a classic love triangle—something every opera composer is comfortable with—and as Elena, the title heroine, is pursued by two tenors portraying suitors from rival factions, Rossini has the perfect opportunity to bring all of his musical brilliance to bear.

8pm: The Cherry Orchard Festival presents Boston’s Arlekin Players Theatre with State vs. Natasha Banina (www.ArlekinPlayers.com), a newly-conceived live Zoom interactive theater art experiment , directed by Igor Golyak and featuring Arlekin company’s leading actress and 2020 Elliot Norton Award winner (Outstanding Actress) Darya Denisova. State vs. Natasha Banina is based on a play by contemporary Russian playwright, Yaroslava Pulinovich’s Natasha’s Dream. For information or to reserve a Zoom spot, visit CherryOrchardFestival.org. Each performance will also offer live post-show discussion.

8pm: The Seth Concert Series: Melissa ErricoTony nominee Melissa Ericco (Amour) performs highlights from some of her biggest roles. Errico has been seen on Broadway in Anna Karenina, My Fair Lady, Dracula The Musical, and more.