We got my Mother-in-Law tickets to the Australian Ballet production of Sleeping Beauty for her birthday - a gift we purchased maybe a week before the coronavirus travel bans started rolling in. At the time, we had no idea that the ballet, along with art galleries, beauty salons and restaurants would be forced to close. We didn't know that she wouldn't be able to go.
When the Australian Ballet announced it would be cancelling the current and upcoming seasons, it came with a silver lining.
"We have a wealth of high-quality production recordings which we are looking to present on our web and social media platforms. We look forward to bringing you our ballet ‘seasons’ this way," the Australian Ballet said on Instagram.
And this is exactly what has happened. The Australian Ballet is now proudly presenting its digital season.
Straight to your living room, the new season is called At Home with Ballet TV. A collection of cinema-quality productions, you won't have to leave the house to experience Cinderella or Romeo & Juliet. And it's all free. You can find all the of the productions here. Each performance will have a two-week "season", so do make sure to tune in while you can. They won't be there forever
The digital season starts with David McAllister’s The Sleeping Beauty, with Orchestra Victoria performing the original score from Tchaikovsky. A combination which makes for perfect Easter weekend viewing in my opinion.
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But The Australian Ballet aren't the only ones who have gone digital. The Sydney Opera House is now also presenting a digital season. The Sydney Opera House was forced to shut it's doors to the public on March 23 to comply with the new social-distancing restrictions in New South Wales. But just like with the ballet, there are plenty of performances you can now stream, straight to your home for free.
Head the theatre's "digital season" page and you'll find a packed weekly program of full-length performances and even a few live performances that you'll have to tune in for. There's also a selection of on demand content like the Sydney Symphony Orchestra performing Beethoven's Nine and even David Walliams discussing his latest children's book. And if you look closely, there's a few never-before-seen pieces from the Opera House archives.
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Stay safe, stay home.
