Yannick Nézet-Séguin Asks Joe Biden and Kamala Harris To Appoint Secretary for Arts

(Credit: Hans van der Woerd) Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera and Philadelphia Orchestra, has sent an open letter to incoming U.S. President Joe Biden, and incoming Vice-President Kamala Harris. In his letter, the famed Canadian maestro asked the new administration to take immediate action in order to save the embattled US cultural sector. “Artists need {…}

Q & A: MET Orchestra Members Barbara Jöstlein Currie & Julia Bruskin on the Orchestra’s Spotlight Series & the Current State of Organization

The MET Orchestra, one of the greatest in the world, is in jeopardy. Read that again. The MET Orchestra, one of the greatest in the world, is in jeopardy. That’s not just an opinion. As reported in multiple news outlets, including this one, none other than the iconic conductor, Maestro Riccardo Muti, unequivocally stated just that. In his letter dated {…}

Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Joyce DiDonato, Lisette Oropesa, Hildegard Behrens Headline Metropolitan Opera’s Nightly Streams to End January 2021

The Metropolitan Opera has announced the next two weeks of nightly streams which will include a number of operas focused on the greatest roles for sopranos as well as its greatest anti-heroes. Here’s a run-down of the two-week slate. Week 45– Leading Ladies: Opera’s Greatest Heroines Monday, January 18 – Bizet’s Carmen Starring Anita Hartig, Anita Rachvelishvili, Aleksandrs Antonenko, and Ildar {…}

AFM Lambasts Metropolitan Opera for Hiring Non-Met Musicians for Virtual New Year’s Gala

(Credit: Jonathan Tichler/Metropolitan Opera) The American Federation of Musicians has released a statement following the Metropolitan Opera’s New Year’s Eve gala and its use of non-met musicians. In a statement AFM Local 802 President Adam Krauthamer said, “It is artistic malpractice and unacceptable that non-Met musicians are being hired to perform under the banner of the Metropolitan Opera at tonight’s New {…}