A Concert for Ukraine
The 2021–22 season will be remembered in Metropolitan Opera history as a period of determination, renewal, and joy. As the first season to follow an 18-month closure, both expectations and uncertainty were high. Would our New York audience return? Would we be able to persevere, even through potential surges of Covid-19?
These questions were answered with a resounding yes starting on September 11, 2021, with a commemorative performance of Verdi’s Requiem on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and in memory of those we lost to Covid-19. The orchestra and chorus received a five-minute-long standing ovation, and the performance was one of incredible beauty, conducted by Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and featuring soprano Ailyn Pérez, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung, tenor Matthew Polenzani, and bass-baritone Eric Owens.
The Met’s September 27 Opening Night premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones by Terence Blanchard, in a new production by James Robinson and Camilla A. Brown, was an immediate international sensation. It also held the distinction of being the first opera by a Black composer to be performed by the Met. Fire had a nearly sold-out run with brilliant performances by baritone Will Liverman and sopranos Angel Blue and Latonia Moore, as well as rousing choreography by Brown.
Other exciting new productions included the Met premiere of Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice, the Met’s first performance of the original French version of Verdi’s Don Carlos, and an inventive staging of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor set in the American Rust Belt. We also welcomed a new abridged, English-language version of Massenet’s Cinderella to continue the company’s tradition of holiday presentations for families.
In addition, the Met was honored to welcome one of opera’s greatest young talents, Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen, for three different operas: Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos and Elektra.
In the second half of the season, the Met took the lead in the artistic world’s support of Ukraine, presenting A Concert for Ukraine on March 14 and co-producing this summer’s Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra tour in Europe and the United States.
We are deeply grateful to our audiences who returned to the opera house, including our intrepid New York–area fans, and those who braved air travel to come from throughout America and internationally. Your support brought joy in difficult times and has strengthened our resolve to bring you another stellar season in 2022–23.*
Many of the Met’s accomplishments are made possible by the generosity of our supporters. If you feel inspired to leave a legacy of artistic excellence by establishing a gift for the Met as part of your will or other estate plan, please contact us. We would be honored to assist you.
*Learn more about the Met’s upcoming season. We are thrilled to debut seven new productions, including Renée Fleming’s return in the Met premiere of Kevin Puts’s The Hours, and Terence Blanchard’s first opera, Champion.