Metropolitan Opera Classical Concert Listings

New Production September 22–October 20 The season opens with hair-raising drama and spectacular singing as two of opera’s most extraordinary artists star in Macbeth, Verdi’s thrilling take on the immortal Shakespearean tale of the scheming couple determined to seize power at any cost. Following past triumphs in many of Verdi’s signature baritone roles, Quinn Kelsey is the Scottish king haunted by the ghosts of his murderous ascent to the throne, opposite Lise Davidsen—the world’s reigning dramatic soprano—as the power-mad Lady Macbeth, whose ruinous ambition damns them both. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium for a penetrating production by Louise Proske, a brilliant young director making waves around the world. Rounding out the all-star cast are tenor Freddie De Tommaso as the heroic Macduff and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green as Macbeth’s friend-turned-victim Banquo.

Program: Verdi , Macbeth Performers: Metropolitan Opera; Yannick Nézet-Séguin , Conductor; Louisa Proske , Director; Quinn Kelsey , Macbeth; Lise Davidsen , Lady Macbeth; Ryan Speedo Green , Banquo; Freddie De Tommaso , Macduff

Program: Mozart , Così fan tutte Performers: Metropolitan Opera; Nimrod David Pfeffer , Conductor; Phelim McDermott , Director; Federica Lombardi , Fiordiligi; Samantha Hankey , Dorabella; Duke Kim , Ferrando; Andrey Zhilikhovsky , Guglielmo; Gerald Finley , Don Alfonso; Ana María Martínez , Despina

Revival September 23–October 23 Overflowing with gorgeous melody and hilarious hijinks, Mozart’s satirical comedy of fickle young love is one of the composer’s most sublime creations. Phelim McDermott’s “colorful, inventive” (The New York Times) staging, inspired by Coney Island in the 1950s, sets the uproarious story at a boardwalk amusement park, where the two pairs of lovers at the heart of the tale find themselves on one emotional—and literal—thrill ride after another.

Program: Mazzoli , Lincoln in the Bardo Performers: Metropolitan Opera; Yannick Nézet-Séguin , Conductor; Steven Osgood , Conductor; Lileana Blain-Cruz , Director; Peter Mattei , Lincoln

World Premiere - New Production October 19–November 14 George Saunders’s, Booker Prize–winning novel arrives at the Met in operatic form, with music by American composer Missy Mazzoli—hailed by The New Yorker as a “once-in-a-generation magician of the orchestra”—and libretto by Royce Vavrek. The supernatural story takes place in the “bardo,” a transitional plane between the end of this life and the beginning of the next, populated by those who resist all the powers of light and darkness and refuse to accept their fates. The action revolves around 11-year-old Willie, recently deceased son of Abraham Lincoln, whose grief-stricken visits to Willie’s tomb prevent his son’s spirit from moving on. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts an ensemble cast led by baritone Peter Mattei as Lincoln, alongside a superlative group of singers as the kaleidoscopic residents of the bardo, who band together to help Willie escape being trapped there for eternity—including soprano Christine Goerke, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, and countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo. Director Lileana Blain-Cruz has created an otherworldly setting for one of the great literary achievements of the 21st century.

New Production September 22–October 20 The season opens with hair-raising drama and spectacular singing as two of opera’s most extraordinary artists star in Macbeth, Verdi’s thrilling take on the immortal Shakespearean tale of the scheming couple determined to seize power at any cost. Following past triumphs in many of Verdi’s signature baritone roles, Quinn Kelsey is the Scottish king haunted by the ghosts of his murderous ascent to the throne, opposite Lise Davidsen—the world’s reigning dramatic soprano—as the power-mad Lady Macbeth, whose ruinous ambition damns them both. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium for a penetrating production by Louise Proske, a brilliant young director making waves around the world. Rounding out the all-star cast are tenor Freddie De Tommaso as the heroic Macduff and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green as Macbeth’s friend-turned-victim Banquo.

Program: Verdi , Macbeth Performers: Metropolitan Opera; Yannick Nézet-Séguin , Conductor; Louisa Proske , Director; Quinn Kelsey , Macbeth; Lise Davidsen , Lady Macbeth; Ryan Speedo Green , Banquo; Freddie De Tommaso , Macduff