The Met Presents the Opera of Tomorrow

In this exciting new season of opera at the Met, you’ll find an exciting array of brand-new productions, revivals, special events, and more. Be sure to check out our live streaming and radio offerings to keep up with the world of opera!

The 2022-23 season includes two new stagings of works by Mozart. The first is Don Giovanni, conducted by Ivo von Hove with a cast that includes baritone Peter Mattei.

Verdi’s Aida

Aida is one of the most popular operas in the world. It features a setting of ancient Egypt and a story that revolves around forbidden love.

Verdi was commissioned to write an opera set in Egypt, and after a few years he finally wrote the piece. It was based on a story by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, and it tells the story of the Egyptian princess Amneris’s relationship with her Nubian slave Aida and her lover Radames.

However, while many people enjoy the setting and storyline of Aida, it has caused controversy in recent years due to its overt exoticism. This is especially true in the opinion of Palestinian intellectual Edward Said who argued that it was a product of European imperialism.

Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte

Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte is a ripe target for all kinds of interpretations and transpositions. It can be seen as an earthy folk tale, a fairytale opera, a German Singspiel and a heavy coloratura opera all rolled into one.

The overture begins with a serious tempo, contrasted by the light and lively Allegro. Mozart uses fugal writing in this music, where a theme is repeated back and forth between instruments.

Shostakovich’s Boris Godunov

A reorchestration of Mussorgsky’s original score, Shostakovich’s Boris Godunov was inspired by dissatisfaction with Rimsky-Korsakov’s version and the orchestration. The result is an opera of staggering power and heft, which deserves to be heard as a work of its own.

The story is a classic example of a Russian melodrama, enlivened by an unusually rich history/fate motif. The monk Pimen records Boris’s misdeeds in a chronicle, and the Pretender (the murder heir) takes up this theme with increasing gravity on each mention.

Giordano’s Fedora

Based on the play by Sardou, Fedora is Giordano’s second most popular opera. It was premiered in 1898, and despite being less dramatic than Andrea Chenier it remains an important work.

It’s a melody-strewn melodrama that requires big voices to deliver the drama. Luckily, the Met’s production features soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Princess Fedora and star tenor Piotr Beczala as Loris Ipanoff.

Teatro Grattacielo, which gives a concert performance of a verismo opera each winter, has decided to do a semi-staged version of Fedora with only the piano as accompaniment. It’s a compromised staging, but the cast is fully committed to the work.

Wagner’s Lohengrin

Wagner’s Lohengrin was a particularly important work in his development as a composer, both for its musical and dramatic significance. It was one of the first works that foreshadowed many of the ideas and techniques that would later become central to his Ring symphonies.

As the opera opens with a confrontation between the Christian God of Henry II and the pagan Norse goddess Ortrud, it is clear that Wagner saw this clash as a symbolic representation of the power struggle between the two faiths. The Christian God is anchored in a more dogmatic and complex system of beliefs, while Ortrud’s beliefs are based on observable nature.

Bellini’s Norma

Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma is considered to be one of the most significant operas ever written. It features a story of love and pain, as well as emotional content of stirring beauty.

The action takes place in ancient Gaul around 50 BC and centers on a love triangle between the Roman consul, Pollione, his former companion, Adalgisa, and her children. It is also set during a time of political upheavals in the area.

The role of Norma is known as one of the most difficult in the operatic repertoire and has been performed by many of the greatest divas in the world. Giuditta Pasta and Maria Callas are just a few who took on this challenging role.

Poulenc’s Blanche de la Force

In the early 1790s, during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, public worship is outlawed and monasteries are being guillotined. Yet, within the walls of one convent, a courageous young woman demonstrates a grace that exceeds her years.

Based on a play by Georges Bernanos, Poulenc’s 1957 opera is inspired by the story of the martyred Carmelites who lived in a convent outside Paris during the Revolution. This harrowing opera is a musical and dramatic tour de force that can’t help but move audiences.