“The Lyon Opera Festival, March 13-April 2, is banning Italian journalists from attending, for fear that they will bring the Coronavirus with them,” writes Susan Elliott in Monday’s (3/9) Musical America (subscription required). “Northern Italy is shuttered altogether and Italy’s opera houses along with it. France is banning gatherings that exceed 1,000…. The Met Opera [in NYC] is asking visiting artists from affected countries to quarantine themselves for two weeks before coming to work; the Juilliard School has cancelled alumni weekend March 27-29. [California’s] San Jose Chamber Orchestra canceled a concert scheduled for March 29, as did the California Pops Orchestra for a March 8 ‘Magic of Broadway’ program in San Mateo…. In Seattle, the Symphony and the Opera appear to be moving along as scheduled, with the symphony promising ‘additional hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes throughout the building, particularly in high traffic areas.’ … The Spring Festival in Tokyo has been cancelled, but will stream three of its chamber music concerts for free March 14-15 with no audience…. Japanese tour management Tempo Primo announced that the tour of Münchner Symphoniker … scheduled to cover nine cities in nine concerts March 10-24, has been cancelled.” On Tuesday (3/10) morning, Musical America announced that this year’s IAMA (International Artist Managers’ Association) conference, set to take place in Barcelona April 22-24, has been postponed, and that the Vienna State Opera has canceled all performances between March 10 and 31.
The League of American Orchestras is posting information about COVID-19 preparedness as a service to the orchestra field. Find resources, guidance, and updates on the League’s coronavirus preparedness site.
