Our top picks from the Bolshoi Theatre’s free YouTube screenings of ballet and opera amid coronavirus shutdown

Moscow theatre is streaming recordings of some of its top opera and ballet performances captured live on stage, including The Tsar’s Bride and Boris Godunov

UK’s National Theatre Live will likewise show recordings of live-captured plays, including Jane Eyre, Treasure Island, and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

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A scene from the Bolshoi Theatre's performance of Boris Godunov, with Mikhail Kazakov in the title role. The Moscow theatre is showing free recordings of live-captured performances, including this Mussorgsky opera, on its YouTube channel. Photo: Bolshoi Theatre

Tribune News Service,Agence France-PresseandSCMP Reporter

Published: 8:00pm, 30 Mar 2020Updated: 7:01pm, 1 Apr 2020

The legendary Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow will broadcast its best classic performances online for free in response to new restrictions to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The Bolshoi’s decision came after the Moscow mayor last Thursday ordered the closure of all non-essential services and encouraged residents to stay home.

“Our country, like the rest of the world, is experiencing a very difficult time” said Vladimir Urin, general director of the Bolshoi Theatre, announcing the digital shows.

“We’ve never faced this type of situation before and since we had to close the theatre we didn’t want to lose our connection with our audience,” he said.

A scene from the Bolshoi Theatre's performance of the Rimsky-Korsakov opera The Tsar's Bride, one of six being shown free of charge on the Moscow theatre’s YouTube channel. Photo: Bolshoi Theatre

The ballet and opera house said it will show six of its most popular productions on its YouTube channel.