(Credit: Jonathan Tichler/Metropolitan Opera)

The Metropolitan Opera is set to return to the stage on Sunday, May 16, at the Knockdown Center, the Queens performing arts space.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin will lead members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, and soloists Angel Blue, Stephen Costello, Justin Austin, and Eric Owens, in “A Concert for New York.” The program will include the “Lacrymosa” movement of the Mozart Requiem and the aria “Peculiar Grace” from Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones.” The concert will also feature music by Verdi and Mozart.

There will be two performances of the 45-minute program at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and due to current Covid-19 restrictions, attendance is limited to 150 people per performance. Tickets are being distributed by lottery to Met audience members and to first responders affiliated with Mount Sinai’s hospital in Queens.

In a statement, Peter Gelb said, “As the city’s largest performing arts company, we are determined to participate in New York’s re-opening, even though there is much still to be settled with our unions and in preparing the opera house for next season. With the Met currently unavailable, we’re excited to present this concert at the Knockdown Center.”

He added, “We’re particularly pleased to welcome first responders from Mount Sinai to attend these concerts to thank them for their heroic work in saving lives, and also to thank the hospital for their ongoing medical advice to ensure that the Met reopens safely in the fall.”

The audience of 150 per performance will be socially distanced in their seating and audience members must provide proof of vaccination or proof of negative PCR test within 72 hours of the performance or proof of a negative antigen text within six hours before the performance. Masks will be required.